Suffolk County mandates recycling under Local Law 13-2013 and New Yorks Mandatory Source Separation Law (ECL 27-0719). Residents must separate paper, metal, glass, and plastics #1 and #2 from trash. Most towns use single-stream curbside recycling weekly.
Suffolk County Code Chapter 563 requires source separation of recyclables and bans certain items from trash including paper, cardboard, metal cans, glass bottles, and PET/HDPE plastics. Brookhaven, Islip, Huntington, and Smithtown collect single-stream recycling weekly (paper, containers combined). Electronics (e-waste) are banned from landfills under New York State Electronic Equipment Recycling and Reuse Act; residents use town e-waste events or Best Buy/Staples drop-off. Polystyrene foam is banned from sale in food containers under Suffolk County Local Law 11-2017. Plastic bag ban applies under New York State Bag Waste Reduction Act (March 2020); 5-cent paper bag fee applies in Suffolk. Scavenging of recyclables from curbside is prohibited; recyclables become town property once placed curbside.
Failure to separate recyclables: 50-250 dollars first offense, up to 1,000 dollars repeat. E-waste in trash: 100 dollars. Scavenging: 250 dollars per Ch 563-10.
Suffolk County, NY
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Suffolk County, NY
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Suffolk County, NY
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Suffolk County, NY
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See how Suffolk County's recycling requirements rules stack up against other locations.
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