Philadelphia, PA Trash & Recycling: Recycling Rules (2026)

Section 10-717(1) bars placing Municipal Waste or Recyclable Materials in the right-of-way or at a pick-up point except under regulations the Streets Department establishes, which may cover designated collectible materials, the separation of recyclables from waste, the specific designated Recyclable Materials themselves (paper including mixed and office paper, plastic bottles and containers, aluminum, steel and bi-metallic cans, corrugated cardboard, glass bottles and jars, and leaves), approved containers, quantity and weight limits, and set-out dates and times. Subsection (2) then makes the separation duty mandatory: "All owners and persons in control of any premises shall separate out any designated Recyclable Materials from Municipal Waste set out for City collection." Subsection (3) requires any Operator of Regulated Premises that is not eligible for City collection, or that is eligible but doesn't use it, to instead contract with a private hauler for both waste and recycling collection.

Eligibility for free City pickup is set separately in Section 10-717.1: buildings with six or fewer occupied units, condominiums and cooperatives qualify, while larger buildings must arrange private service. Eligible properties also owe an annual $500 neighborhood sanitation and cleaning fee, with exemptions for single-family homes, condos and cooperatives, properties under a private hauling contract, and owner-occupied duplexes; giving the City false information to claim an exemption is itself a violation and makes the owner liable for the fee. Penalties for failing to separate recyclables or otherwise violating Section 10-717's collection rules fall under the Chapter's general penalty, Section 10-719(1): a $1,000 fine for each violation, since 10-717 is not among the sections (10-710, 10-722, 10-717.1) carved out for different fine amounts.