Clay, NY Trash & Recycling: Recycling Rules (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing law
- Onondaga County Source Separation Law, L.L. No. 12 of 1989
- Fine, recyclables as trash
- $200 per offense (§ 194-7A)
- Fine, container misuse
- $150 per offense (§ 194-7B)
- Container ownership
- Stays property of Agency or town, not resident
- Adopted
- September 18, 2000, L.L. No. 1-2000
Summary
The Town of Clay Code requires every licensed hauler to follow the Onondaga County Source Separation Law when serving Clay households. Haulers cannot dispose of recyclable materials as solid waste, and the blue recycling containers loaned to eligible households remain the property of the Onondaga County Resource Recovery Agency or the town, never the resident.
§ 194-7. Recycling plan. The town hereby adopts as its source separation legislation, required pursuant to General Municipal Law § 120-aa, the Onondaga County Source Separation Law (i.e., Local Law No. 12 of 1989) as adopted by the Onondaga County Legislature and subsequently amended under its terms. ... A. No hauler shall dispose of recyclable materials as solid waste. Nor shall any hauler accept recyclable materials for disposal as solid waste. ... B. Recycling containers shall at all times remain the property of the Agency or town, as the case may be, and are provided for the use and convenience of eligible households in complying with this chapter.
Full Breakdown
Section 194-7 of the Town of Clay Code adopts the Onondaga County Source Separation Law, Local Law No. 12 of 1989, as the town's source separation legislation under General Municipal Law § 120-aa. Subsection A bars any municipal hauler licensed under § 194-3 from disposing of recyclable materials as solid waste or accepting recyclables for disposal as trash. Subsection B addresses the blue bins: they stay the property of the Onondaga County Resource Recovery Agency or the Town of Clay, are issued only to eligible households of four units or fewer, and may be used solely for county-designated recyclables such as corrugated paper, glass, metal cans, newspapers, plastics #1 and #2, kraft paper, beverage cartons, paperboard and mixed paper.
Haulers may not remove a container from town, destroy one, or use it for anything but that temporary recyclable storage. Chapter 194, adopted September 18, 2000 by Local Law No. 1-2000, is enforced by the Town Code Enforcement Officer, the Town Building Inspector, the Town Fire Inspector, the Highway Superintendent, the Onondaga County Sheriff's Department, New York State Police and Department of Environmental Conservation officers under § 194-19, as amended July 20, 2009 by Local Law No. 3-2009. A hauler that mixes designated recyclables into solid waste faces a $200 fine under § 194-7A, and misusing, destroying or removing a recycling container carries a $150 fine under § 194-7B, with each day of noncompliance a separate offense under § 194-19A.
Violations & Fines
Violating the recycling plan is a strict-liability offense under § 194-20's penalty schedule: disposing of or accepting county-designated recyclables as solid waste costs a hauler $200, while removing, destroying or misusing a recycling container costs $150. Each day a violation continues is a separate offense under § 194-19A, and the Town Board can sue in a court of competent jurisdiction to compel compliance or restrain further violations by injunction under § 194-19B, on top of any hauler license revocation.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Sources & Official References
Other rules in Clay
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Recycling Rules in Nearby Cities
How other cities in this county handle recycling rules.