Colonie, NY Trash & Recycling: Recycling Rules (2026)

Article III of Colonie's Solid Waste chapter, added August 27, 1992, declares that pulling recyclable and reusable material out of the waste stream protects health and safety by reducing landfill use, including at the Town's own sanitary landfill, and conserving resources and energy (§ 112-14). To carry that out, § 112-15 requires that, from the article's effective date, all solid waste left for collection or delivered to a solid waste management facility be separated into recyclable, reusable, or other components. Subsection B applies that duty broadly: residents, businesses, and every other generator of solid waste must separate recyclables from the rest of the waste stream before delivery to a solid waste management facility or before pickup by a hauler, whether that means before the landfill, before curbside placement, or before it goes into a dumpster.

'Recyclables' means whatever material the Town of Colonie Material Recycling Facility currently accepts, so the list can change without amending the ordinance. Section 112-18 backs the mandate by barring any licensed hauler from collecting solid waste from a generator who has 'clearly failed to source-separate recyclables,' shifting the compliance burden onto residents and businesses rather than the collector. Violations of the source-separation duty are punished under § 112-20's tiered schedule: a first offense draws a fine of up to $500, a second offense a 30-day suspension of any related license or permit plus a fine up to $1,000, and a third offense a one-year revocation plus a fine up to $2,500, with each day of noncompliance a separate violation.