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

Article IV of Chapter 16 of the Revised Ordinances of the City of Everett, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, states its purpose in Section 16-111: to prohibit the removal of recyclable material by unauthorized persons. Section 16-113 then sets the permit terms for people who collect redeemable beverage containers. They must be permitted by the City Clerk's office and pay a fee established by the City Clerk, and they must keep the permit available for inspection while collecting. They cannot remove any other recyclable items, such as metals, products made of recyclable materials or items for resale, without first securing a junk collector's license, and they must follow the rules set by the Inspectional Services Department.

The junk collector's license is in Chapter 12, Article VIII. Section 12-240(a) says no person other than the city's contracted recyclables collector may go from place to place collecting junk, old metals, rags, paper, bottles and cans with any vehicle without a license from the city council or its designee. Each vehicle must display the licensee's name and a contact telephone number in letters at least three inches high. The licensee must carry the license and show it on request to a police officer or inspectional services officer, and a loaded collection vehicle cannot be parked or stored on a city street or in a residential neighborhood.

On the household side, Section 16-55(a) treats recyclable materials the same as other acceptable solid waste for set-out: containers go at the outer edge of the sidewalk no later than 7:00 a.m. on collection day and no earlier than sunset the day before, and recycling containers come off the sidewalk by 12:00 midnight. Section 16-32 fines anyone other than an authorized agent of the City of Everett who opens a container set out on the sidewalk or takes items from it.