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

Section 128-81 of the Town Code lists the unlawful activities under the recycling article. It is unlawful for anyone other than an authorized collection district, village or sanitary district to collect recyclable materials without first obtaining a recycling collection permit under Section 128-74, to operate a recycling center without a permit under Section 128-75, or to run a construction and demolition debris processing facility without a permit under Section 128-76. The same section separately bars collecting solid waste from a residence and disposing of it mixed with recyclable materials, placing recyclables into a container destined for regular trash disposal, hindering Department of Sanitation employees enforcing the article, or putting waste-to-energy-unacceptable material such as tires, medical waste or hazardous waste into containers bound for the Town's waste-to-energy facility.

Section 128-82 lets the Commissioner suspend a permit for up to 90 days or revoke it outright for false statements on an application, insolvency, an application issued in error, or any violation of the article, with written notice served personally or by certified mail. A permit holder who is suspended, revoked or denied can appeal to a three-member Review Board made up of the senior Deputy Commissioner of Sanitation, the Highway Commissioner and the Town Clerk, by filing within 20 days of the Commissioner's decision.

Section 128-84 escalates penalties sharply for the permit-related violations in Section 128-81A through C: a first offense against unpermitted collection carries a $500 civil penalty, a second or later offense $1,000, while operating an unpermitted recycling center or C&D processing facility (Section 128-81B or C) carries $5,000 for a first offense and $10,000 for each offense after that, with every continuing day counted as a separate violation.