Recycling Pickup

We pick up residential recycling biweekly on your collection day. Recycling is required in New York State. Please put recyclable items into their blue recycling carts.

Getting Started with your Recycling Cart

Recycling Dos and Donts.png 

Plan to place your recycling cart at the curb on your regular biweekly collection day after you receive your cart. Place your cart at the curb no earlier than 6:00 p.m. before your trash date and remove it from the street by 7:00 p.m. on your trash date. Here are the timeframes:

Collection Day

Earliest Set-Out Time

Cart Must be Removed by:

Monday

Sunday 6:00 p.m.

Monday 7:00 p.m.

Tuesday

Monday 6:00 p.m.

Tuesday 7:00 p.m.

Wednesday

Tuesday 6:00 p.m.

Wednesday 7:00 p.m.

Thursday

Wednesday 6:00 p.m.

Thursday 7:00 p.m.

Friday

Thursday 6:00 p.m.

Friday 7:00 p.m.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Updated regulations for your recycling set-out.

To keep our City clean and help our sanitation crews, please follow these simple rules and be aware that failure to adhere to these guidelines may result in a violation notice and fine.

DO:

  • Place only unbagged materials in your recycling carts. Bagged materials will not be collected.
  • Securely close the cart lid to prevent litter and scavenging.
  • On your designated recycling week, place your cart at the end of your driveway or in front of your house between the sidewalk and street on your regular collection day.
  • Recyclable materials include paper, flattened cardboard and food boxes, metal cans, milk and juice jugs, glass jars and bottles, and plastic bottles and tubs. Learn more about recycling at ocrra.org/services/recycle/
  • Call Cityline at 315-448-CITY (2489) if you have an item that does not fit in your cart to request a bulk pickup.

DON’T:

  • Don’t use any container other than the City provided recycling cart. 
  • Don’t place recyclables in your trash cart.
  • Don’t place prohibited items, such as household trash, yard waste, hazardous/toxic waste, paint, TVs and other electronics, demolition waste, medical/pathological waste, explosives or radioactive materials in your recycling cart. Find out how to manage these items at ocrra.org.

To learn more about using your new recycling cart, see the Frequently Asked Questions.

Still have questions or need language interpretation? Call 315-448-CITY (2489).

2025 Biweekly Recycling Schedule

Click here to view and download the A Week schedule(PDF, 121KB)

Click here to view and download the B Week schedule(PDF, 122KB)

Is it an A or B Week?

Click here to see if it is an A or B Week.

Fines

Fines may be incurred for improper use of trash and recycling carts. All residents are required to use the trash and recycling carts provided by the City

DPW will not pick up trash and recycling that is improperly set out, and crews will issue a violation notice. Property owners will have 24 hours to pull back their setout from the curb to avoid having to pay the fine. Materials can then be set out properly for pickup the following week. Excess trash and recycling can also be transported to an Onondaga County Resource Recovery Agency drop-off site. Locations and fee information for OCRRA drop-off site can be found at ocrra.org.

You may receive fines for Health & Sanitation Violations (illegal set-outs and/or cart violations) including:

Cart Violation 

  • Containers not pulled back 
  • Overflowing cart - lid not shut
  • Trash not bagged
  • Recycling bagged 
  • Improper containerization  
  • Early or late set out

Health and Sanitation Violation 

  • Improper separation of trash 
  • Excessive trash/construction debris
  • Debris in roadway 
  • Mixed use property
  • Overweight can/bag
  • Litter & dumping 
  • Commercial trash in public view

For more information on Health and Sanitation Violations click here.

  • Don’t place prohibited items, such as yard waste, hazardous/toxic waste, paint, TVs and other electronics, demolition waste, medical/pathological waste, explosives, or radioactive materials in your cart. 

Overview

Step 1.When is my recycling collection day?

To find out your pickup day, click below to plug your address into our Trash & Recycling Pickup Route Map below.

When you put out your trash and recycling, remember:

  • Put your trash and recycling out by 6 a.m. on your collection day. If you put it out later, it may not be picked up. 
  • Don’t put it out too early. If you put it out before 8 p.m. the night before your collection day, you can get a fine. It’s called an “illegal set out.”
  • Make sure it’s easy for our workers to take your recycling. If your bin is filled with water or frozen to your can or to the ground, we can’t take it.

Trash and recycling pickup is delayed by one day the week for certain holidays. Pickups are delayed for following holidays:

  • New Year's Day
  • Martin Luther King Day
  • Memorial Day
  • 4th of July
  • Labor Day
  • Thanksgiving Day
  • Christmas Day

When you put out your recycling, remember:

  • Put your recycling out by 6 a.m. on your collection day. If you put it out later, it may not be picked up. 
  • Don’t put your recycling out too early. If you put your recycling out before 8 p.m. the night before, you can get a fine. It’s called an “illegal set out.”
  • Make sure it’s easy for our workers to take your trash. If your recycling is filled with water or frozen to your can or to the ground, we can’t take it.

Step 2.What goes in the blue recycling bin?

  • Cardboard and boxes including pizza, pasta, cereal, and more
  • Empty and rinsed:
    • Cans and jars
    • Dairy tubs without their lids
    • Milk and juice jugs
    • Plastic bottles and jugs, including their caps
    • Wine or beer bottles, which can also be taken to a redemption center 
  • Newspapers, magazines, catalogos, and softcover books
  • Paper, mail, and envelopes

Not sure if you should throw something in the trash or recycle it? Check out the searchable database or recyclables from OCRRA (Onondaga County Resource Recovery Agency).

Step 3.What doesn’t go in the blue recycling bin?

  • Egg cartons
  • Plastics (except plastic bottles and dairy tubs)
  • Syringes, sharps, and needs
  • Tires
  • Window glass, drinking glasses, or broken glass 
  • … And more!

When in doubt, throw it out! Placing the wrong item in a recycling bin makes it difficult for us to recycle the other things in that bin. You can also check if an item can be recycled on OCRRA’s website. 

If you put out something we can't recycle, we’ll let you know by putting an “Oops!” sticker on your recycling bin.

Questions?

Do you have questions or concerns about:

  • Your biweekly pick up? 
  • Neighbors repeatedly setting out their trash too early?
  • Abandoned cars in your neighborhood? 

Call Cityline at 315-448-CITY (2489).

Contact Us

Phone

315-448-CITY (2489)

City Services Guide

Click the image below to download this year's copy of the city services guide.

2025 City Services Guide .png(PDF, 3MB)

 

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