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

Under Revised General Ordinances § 14-18(d), every household waste generator in the city must source separate recyclable materials, defined to include glass jars and bottles (caps removed), ferrous and nonferrous metal, bundled dry newspaper, and HDPE/PET plastics with lids removed. Materials must be placed in containers approved by the Department of Public Works (D.P.W.), supplied by the city, Onondaga County, or the Onondaga County Resource Recovery Agency, or by a licensed private hauler. Section 14-18(e) governs the collection mechanics: recyclables should be set out preferably the same day as trash but never sooner than 8:00 p.m. the evening before the scheduled collection day, and residents must pull containers back off the curb by 7:00 p.m. on collection day.

Newspapers must be kept separated from other recyclables. Recycling containers remain the property of Onondaga County; removing a container from the city, willfully destroying it, disposing of it other than by returning it to the city, or using it for anything other than temporary storage of recyclable material is a violation punishable by a $25.00 fine. Recyclables are separately banned from disposal as solid waste: material found mixed into a regular trash container draws a warning on a first occurrence and a $50.00 penalty for a second or repeated offense.

The commissioner of D.P.W. may also randomly sample households for source-separation compliance and award up to $50.00 per household (capped at twelve awards citywide per calendar year) to residents found in compliance; city officers, elected officials and city employees are ineligible for these awards. A second container is issued free if the original is lost or stolen, but any further replacement must be paid for by the household at a cost set by the commissioner.