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

Chapter Four's prohibited-actions section keeps solid waste and recycling separated at the point of collection. Section 6(e) states that no person shall place recyclable items in any solid waste bag placed out for collection, and Section 6(f) mirrors that in the other direction: no person shall place solid waste in any recycling bin placed out for collection. Together those two rules mean a resident who tosses food waste or non-recyclable plastic into the recycling bin, or bottles and cans into the trash bag, is violating the ordinance even though the material itself might otherwise be handled correctly elsewhere.

Section 6(h) adds a separate protection for the bins and bags themselves once they are at the curb: no person, unless authorized by the commissioner, may sort, open, remove items from, place items in, or otherwise disturb a solid waste bag or recycling bin that belongs to someone else, which covers both scavenging recyclables for resale and dumping unwanted material into a neighbor's bin. Section 6(g) makes clear these prohibitions, along with any rules and regulations the commissioner issues under Section 7, are all enforceable parts of the chapter.

The commissioner of public works and parks, under Section 1, is the official who sets the accepted-materials list referenced in Section 2, so what counts as 'recyclable' for purposes of Sections 6(e) and (f) tracks that list.