Reading, PA Trash & Recycling: Recycling Requirements (2026)

Reading's recycling framework rests on three legal layers. First, the Pennsylvania Municipal Waste Planning, Recycling and Waste Reduction Act (Act 101 of 1988), codified at 53 P.S. §§4000.101 through 4000.1904, mandates curbside recycling in every municipality with a population of 5,000 or more. Reading, as a third-class city with population ~95,000, is required under §4000.1501 to implement a curbside collection program covering at least three of the eight statutory materials (clear glass, colored glass, aluminum cans, steel and bimetallic cans, high-grade office paper, newsprint, corrugated paper, and plastics) and to provide for the recycling of leaf waste. Second, Reading's local ordinance implements the state mandate through the Public Works trash and recycling rules under the Citywide Waste Collection Initiative and QOL.016 of Chapter 180, Part 12, which requires recyclables to be stored in approved containers, kept clean and sanitary. Third, the City issues each address an official recycling bin that remains City property (residents may not take the bin with them at move-out) and that may only be used for recyclable materials on the accepted-materials list - typically commingled rigid plastic #1 and #2, aluminum and steel cans, glass bottles and jars, cardboard, and mixed paper, with the exact list periodically updated by Public Works in coordination with Republic Services and the materials recovery facility. Recycling collection follows the same Monday-Friday route schedule as trash; the set-out window opens at 5:00 p.m. the day before collection. Contamination (placing trash or non-accepted materials in the recycling bin) and using the bin for trash or storage are enforced as QOL.016 violations and may also trigger refusal-of-service by the hauler.