Manchester, CT Trash & Recycling: Recycling Requirements (2026)

Chapter 273 of the Manchester Code of Ordinances, adopted by the Board of Directors on October 13, 2009, makes the Town itself the recycling provider for most housing. Section 273-1A states the Town "provides curbside refuse and recycling collection and disposal services to single-, two-, three- and four-family dwellings by providing Town-issued refuse and recycling containers." Owners of larger buildings and non-residential properties fall outside that service and, under § 273-1B, must arrange their own recycling and refuse containers and disposal "in accordance with applicable statutes and regulations." What actually has to be recycled is defined in § 273-2: "recyclables" means every item municipalities are required to recycle under the Department of Environmental Protection's regulations adopted pursuant to C.G.S. § 22a-241b, plus any additional item the Director of Public Works designates for recycling in the rules and regulations the chapter authorizes under § 273-6.

That structure means the enforceable recycling list is set administratively rather than spelled out item-by-item in the ordinance text, tracking state DEEP mandates plus whatever Public Works adds locally. The Town-issued recycling container itself is defined in § 273-2 as "a Town-issued, wheeled blue plastic cart" provided specifically for storing designated household recyclables generated by residential activity for Town collection, distinguishing it from the green refuse cart used for ordinary household trash.