West Haven, CT Trash & Recycling: Recycling Rules (2026)

Section 119-14(A) sets a preparation rule for each material. Newspaper is placed in paper bags (not plastic) or tied in bundles, and bundles should not weigh more than 30 pounds. Corrugated boxes and cardboard cartons are collapsed and tied in bundles weighing not more than 30 pounds. Neither should be contaminated by food.

Glass food containers, metal food containers and plastic must be rinsed clean and free from any food or other contamination before they go in the recycling container. Under subsection B, those three streams can be mixed together in the same container, and bundled newspaper and cardboard are placed on top of the recycling containers when possible.

Bulkier and hazardous items have their own instructions. Scrap metal and storage batteries are placed on the ground between the curb or pavement edge and the property line, along with but separate from the recycling containers and solid waste. Waste oil, defined as crankcase oil used in internal combustion engines, is stored by the owner in a secured container and delivered to the regional hazardous waste collection center or another place the Director of Public Works indicates.

Leaves are collected only between October 15 and December 15, at times designated by the Department of Public Works. They go in paper bags, defined in § 119-12 as sacks of up to thirty-gallon capacity, placed alongside the other recyclables. No other yard waste goes in the bags with leaves, and no tape, staples or string may close them. Leaves from apartment buildings, business, commercial, industrial or institutional properties, or from commercial landscapers, are transported to a leaf compost facility approved by the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection, and the Department of Public Works keeps a list of local facilities.

Under subsection C, the Director of Public Works can modify these procedures when alternate collection procedures are developed.