Smithtown, NY Trash & Recycling: Recycling Requirements (2026)
Key Facts
- Materials required to be separated
- Newspaper, cardboard, glass, metal, plastic
- Who must comply
- All residences, apartments, condos, community facilities
- Commercial recycling facility hours
- Mon.-Fri. during regular operating hours
- Enforcement mechanism
- Carter license revocation, up to $25,000 fine
- Governing article
- Ch. 177, Art. V, Recycling (§§ 177-58 to 177-62)
Summary
Every Smithtown residence with curbside collection, along with apartment buildings, condominiums and community facilities, must separate newspapers, cardboard, glass, metal and plastic from other trash for pickup by a Town-licensed carter.
All residential structures, including single- and multiple-family dwellings, apartment buildings and all condominiums with curbside collection and all community facilities shall be required to make provisions for the segregation of newspapers, corrugated cardboard, glass, metal and plastic from other solid waste for separate collection by a Town licensed carter.
Full Breakdown
Article V of Chapter 177, Recycling, opens with the applicability rule in § 177-58: all residential structures, including single- and multiple-family dwellings, apartment buildings and condominiums with curbside collection, plus all community facilities, must make provisions for segregating newspapers, corrugated cardboard, glass, metal and plastic from other solid waste so a Town-licensed carter can collect them separately. The definitions section, § 177-59, spells out what counts as paper recyclables, clean newsprint, newspaper supplements and comics, noncarbonized computer paper, magazines, corrugated boxes and wrapping paper, while excluding high-gloss paper and telephone books.
Commercial and industrial facilities face a parallel mandate under § 177-61, which requires them to source-separate corrugated cardboard and recyclables for carter pickup at a mutually convenient time, and deliveries of that material to the Smithtown Recycling Facility must occur Monday through Friday during regular hours. Section 177-62 makes clear the commercial mandate reaches every facility, building or establishment other than community facilities or residential structures, meaning the residential segregation duty in § 177-58 and the commercial duty in § 177-61 together cover essentially every property type in Town. The Town Board may promulgate additional rules governing the program at any time under § 177-60O.
Violations & Fines
Delivering contaminated corrugated cardboard to the Smithtown Recycling Facility requires the carter to remove it at its own cost and exposes the carter to fines under § 177-61D, and mixing recyclables with other solid waste or collecting Town-owned recyclables without a license violates § 177-60, enforceable through the license revocation and hearing process in Article IV, which can carry a fine of up to $25,000 per violation under § 177-52.
Frequently Asked Questions
Am I required to recycle in Smithtown?
Do Smithtown businesses have their own recycling requirement?
What paper products don't count as recyclables here?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Smithtown
New York rules heatmap·Compare Smithtown to another location·View the New York trash & recycling overview
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Recycling Requirements in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Suffolk County handle recycling requirements.