Chicopee, MA Trash & Recycling: Recycling Rules (2026)

Section 223-3 of the Chicopee Code, Separation and placement of materials; violations and penalties, makes it mandatory for all occupants in all buildings to separate designated recyclables from other refuse and place them properly. For buildings served by City collection, the placement rules are specific.

Metal and glass recyclables, as defined in § 223-2, go together in the designated recycling receptacle, apart from rubbish or garbage. They need not be washed but should be rinsed of food residue, and labels and lids need not be removed. Section 223-2 defines the accepted glass as unbroken jars and bottles and excludes blue and flat glass and window glass, dishes and crockery. Ferrous cans exclude containers that held paint or petroleum-based solvents and any pressurized aerosol cans, and aluminum includes foil and food trays.

Paper is handled differently. Recyclable newspapers and corrugated paper are placed on top of or next to the receptacle in a manner that prevents scattering. Newspapers are packed in standard grocery or paper bags, placed in cardboard boxes or securely tied in flat bundles, and none of those bundles can weigh more than 50 pounds. Boxes and cartons that are not used to pack paper are collapsed and tied in bundles of no more than 50 pounds. Mixed paper is defined to include white and colored paper, magazines, catalogs, telephone books and boxboard such as cereal and shoe boxes, with junk mail accepted only without waxy coatings and plastic windows. Plastic is accepted by resin numbers 1 through 7, with the exception of styrofoam.

Recyclables shall not be placed in plastic garbage bags, and they shall not be placed in the same refuse container as other solid waste. Receptacles are placed on and removed from the curbside or tree belt under Sec. 9-6(a). Once set out at the curbside tree belt, the material belongs to the City, and § 223-4 makes it a violation for anyone other than City agents or authorized private hauler employees to collect it. Under § 223-5(A), City crews collect biweekly on the rubbish schedule in § 169-12, and calendars are distributed annually or available at the DPW.