Upper Darby, PA Trash & Recycling: Recycling Rules (2026)

Section 461-20 sets the operating rules for recycling once the mandatory program in Section 461-19 applies. Subsection A lets the Mayor and administration set regulations on collection days, and the type and location of recycling collection, changing them later after required notice, the same authority they hold over ordinary refuse under Section 461-16B. Subsection C requires all persons and entities to store their recyclables until the Township collects them, rather than disposing of them another way once separated. Subsection D specifies the container: recyclables go in containers the Township itself provides, placed on the sidewalk or alley no more than eight hours before the scheduled collection begins, with residents required to remove those containers within 12 hours after they are emptied, mirroring the timing rules for ordinary refuse under Section 461-17.

Subsection E addresses ownership: nothing in the article transfers ownership of recyclables away from the person who generated them until the material is actually placed at the sidewalk or alley for collection, at which point Section 461-22 makes it Township property and bars unauthorized collection. Together these subsections mean a resident keeps control of, and responsibility for, recyclables right up until the Township-issued bin goes out at the curb on the clock the ordinance sets.