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

This rule is Subsection C of Section 11-39, "Dumping rubbish and matter prohibited; exception; penalties," inside Chapter 11's Board of Health article, but it addresses the opposite problem from the rest of that section: instead of banning dumping, it bans removing material a resident has already set out for the City's own recycling and collection system. The only people allowed to take the material back are the owner, lessee, occupant of the property it came from, or a representative of the Haverhill Highway Department, which runs the actual pickup.

Anyone else, commonly a scavenger collecting newspapers or cans for resale, who picks up, carries away or takes possession of that curbside material without authority is fined a flat $300, a penalty that does not escalate for repeat offenses the way Subsection B's dumping fines do. This subsection was added on June 13, 1995 by Doc. 99 and amended on July 10, 2007 by Doc. 76. The ban protects the collection system that Section 32-28 puts under the Board of Health's control for curbside pickup, since material taken by an unauthorized scavenger before the Highway Department arrives is material the City's own recycling program never receives. Section 11-40 separately obligates the Police Department to report Board of Health rule violations, including this one, so they can be pursued.