Bristol Township, PA Trash & Recycling: Recycling Rules (2026)

Section 170-3 of the Bristol Township Code, part of the Recycling Ordinance adopted by the Township Council as Ord. No. 2008-03 and amended 12-19-2013, controls how households present recycling. Residential recycling goes in the roll-out container provided by the hauler or the Township, and recyclable materials are placed inside with the lid closed. The container may be used only for household recycling from households located in the Township.

At the curb, recyclables go at the curb or street line, or at an area the Township designates, separate from municipal waste. The code sets the gap: recyclable materials must be placed at least three feet from the municipal waste. Cardboard boxes must be collapsed before they go into the recycling container, and boxes too large for the container are collapsed and set out curbside.

Timing is fixed in § 170-3(D). Containers are stored on the owner's property and cannot be put out before 6:00 p.m. on the evening preceding a scheduled collection day. Empty containers must be removed from the curb by 10:00 p.m. on the day of collection. Between collections the containers stay on the owner's property in a spot unseen from public streets or roads and from the front yards of immediate neighbors.

The container belongs to the Township and is assigned to the individual home, and it must stay with the location even when the property is sold. If a wheeled container is damaged, altered, lost or destroyed through the negligence of the person it was assigned to, that person reimburses the Township or hauler for a replacement. Customers keep the containers clean. Using the container for anything other than the recycling program, or letting someone other than the assigned person use it, is a violation.