Joliet, IL Trash & Recycling: Recycling Requirements (2026)
Key Facts
- Who may collect
- Only city-authorized recycling contractor or city staff
- Covered locations
- Curbside, alley, parkway bins and recycling centers
- Per-instance offense
- Each unauthorized pickup is a separate offense
- Fine range
- $150.00-$750.00 per offense (§ 1-8)
- Enacted
- Ord. No. 9213, adopted July 3, 1990
Summary
Joliet's curbside recycling program is protected by City Code § 14-8: once recyclables are set out at a parkway, alley, or curbside spot, at a designated collection point, or at a city recycling center, only the city's authorized recycling contractor or city employees may pick them up. Taking them yourself is a separate offense.
(a)No person, other than an authorized recycling contractor of the City of Joliet or authorized employees or agents of the city shall remove, collect, or pick up or cause to be removed, collected, or picked up any recyclable material that has been placed in a designated recycling collection location as part of a city sponsored recycling program or at a city designated recycling center. ... "Designated recycling collection location": The place designated by ordinance or in the contract between the city and an authorized recycling contractor from which recyclable materials will be collected. The "designated recycling collection location" shall include any parkway, alley, or curbside location from which municipal waste and other discarded materials are collected. The "designated recycling collection location" shall also include any recycling center or drop-off point authorized or sponsored by the city. ... (c)Any unauthorized removal, collection, or pickup of recyclable materials from one (1) or more designated recycling collection locations shall constitute a separate and distinct offense.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 200).
Full Breakdown
Chapter 14 of the Code of Ordinances, adopted by Ord. No. 9213 on July 3, 1990, governs Joliet's municipal recycling program. " The code defines that location broadly: it covers any parkway, alley, or curbside spot where municipal waste and other discarded materials are collected, plus any recycling center or drop-off point the city authorizes or sponsors. "Recyclable materials" is defined to include newspapers, glass, aluminum and other metallic items, and plastics separated from other municipal waste. The ordinance treats scavenging as a property-protection measure for the city's recycling program rather than a nuisance rule: subsection (c) makes each unauthorized removal, collection, or pickup from one or more designated locations "a separate and distinct offense," so a scavenger who works multiple bins on the same block can be cited multiple times in a single pass.
00 plus costs per offense, with every day of a continuing violation counted separately. The recycling program itself is run through a city contract with an outside hauler; residents do not need a permit to participate, but the ordinance exists specifically to keep recyclable material moving to that contractor instead of being pulled by unauthorized scrappers before collection trucks arrive.
Violations & Fines
Each unauthorized pickup from a curbside bin, alley location, or city recycling center is charged as its own separate offense under § 14-8(c). Because Chapter 14 does not set a specific dollar fine for this section, violations default to the Code's general penalty in Section 1-8: a fine of $150.00 to $750.00 plus costs for each offense, with continuing conduct treated as a new violation every day it occurs.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I pick up cans or bottles from a neighbor's recycling bin in Joliet?
Does the scavenging ban cover Joliet's recycling drop-off centers too?
What's the penalty for scavenging recyclables in Joliet?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Joliet
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