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

020 of the Lawrence Code of Ordinances, within Title 9's Property Offenses chapter, addresses taking papers to be picked up for recycling. It provides that when refuse in the form of discarded newspapers is placed near the curb for pickup, collection, or recycling by the city, or by any person or corporation the city has designated for that purpose, no one may pick up, carry away, or take possession of that material without authority except the owner, lessee, or occupant of the property, a representative of the Lawrence Sanitation Division, or someone acting on behalf of a religious, charitable, or veterans-sponsored paper drive.

010 of the code, the general penalty provision the city uses across Title 9 property offenses rather than a bespoke fine written into this section. The rule is narrow: it addresses only the taking of newspapers awaiting recycling pickup, not the city's broader recycling program rules, collection days, or accepted materials, which are set administratively rather than in this section. It exists to stop scavengers and unauthorized haulers from stripping recyclable paper stock, protecting both the value the city or its designated recycler may recover from a curbside collection and any authorized charitable paper drives operating in the city.