Sullivan County, NY Trash & Recycling: Recycling Requirements (2026)

The Sullivan County Legislature adopted county-wide mandatory recycling through the Solid Waste Management Law of 1992, codified at Chapter 171 of the Code of Sullivan County. Section 171-1F records that the Public Works Committee recommended a county-wide program requiring source separation of recyclable components, with the goal of expanding the list of accepted materials as the county's program matures. Section 171-7 turns that policy into a binding rule: every person must separate solid waste left for collection, or delivered to a solid waste management facility, into recyclable, reusable or other components for which an economic market exists, as that term is defined in the state's General Municipal Law.

The obligation runs through the collection chain, not just at the curb. Under § 171-6H, no person, hauler, residential user or commercial user may fail or refuse to separate waste at the source or into its designated components under the Solid Waste Management Rules. Section 171-6J bars leaving waste for collection without first pulling out designated recyclables, § 171-6K bars a hauler from collecting, storing or transporting county waste that has not been separated, and § 171-6L bars disposing of waste at a county facility unless the recyclable components have already been removed.

Title to any solid waste dropped at a county facility, including recyclables, vests in the county under § 171-8, which may then sell it. The program is administered by the Commissioner of Public Works under § 171-5, who adopts the detailed Solid Waste Management Rules that set out which materials, including paper, glass, metals and plastics named in § 171-1G, must be separated.