Syracuse, NY Trash & Recycling: Recycling Requirements (2026)

Syracuse's recycling mandate flows from two linked provisions. Section 14-17A readopts the Onondaga County Source Separation Law (Local Law No. 12 of 1989) as the city's required recycling plan, and bars any hauler from disposing of county-designated recyclables as solid waste. Section 14-18(d) then places the duty on residents: every household waste generator must source separate recyclable materials and place them in an approved recycling container supplied by the city, county, the Onondaga County Resource Recovery Agency, or a licensed private hauler. The accepted categories include empty, washed glass jars and bottles with caps removed; ferrous and nonferrous metal cans cleaned of food waste; bundled, dry newspaper free of glossy inserts; and HDPE and PET plastic bottles with lids removed, though film, vinyl, rigid, and foam plastics are excluded.

on collection day. The blue bins remain county property; a household gets one free replacement if a container is lost or stolen, but must pay for any container after that. 00 fine for a second and each later occurrence. 00, capped at twelve awards citywide per year, though city officers and employees cannot collect one.