Upper Darby, PA Trash & Recycling: Recycling Requirements (2026)

Section 461-19 creates the legal basis for curbside recycling in the Township in one sentence: there is hereby established a mandatory collection program for recyclables which are a part of the municipal waste generated in the Township. That mandatory status is backed by a separation duty in Section 461-23, titled Recyclables to be separated from refuse: it is unlawful for anyone to collect, remove or dispose of refuse, or place refuse at the sidewalk or alley for collection, without first separating all recyclables from it.

Recyclables under Section 461-15 are defined as materials with an economic value in a secondary market, specifically aluminum cans, bimetallic cans, glass containers, excluding plate glass, light bulbs, automotive glass and ceramics, corrugated paper, other paper products, narrow-necked plastic bottles numbered 1 or 2, plastic bags are excluded, and steel cans. Once recyclables reach the sidewalk or alley for collection they become Township property under Section 461-22, and it is a separate violation for anyone other than the Township or its authorized agent to collect them, with each unauthorized pickup, such as a scavenger pulling cans from a recycling bin before the truck ever arrives on the scheduled route, counting as its own separate offense under the article.