Trash and Recycling in the City of Berlin
The City of Berlin is asking all residential, commercial and industrial properties to follow the current City Ordinance for Trash and Recycling. Reducing our tonnage ($67/ton) from our solid waste stream that is brought to the landfill is in all of our best interest. Yard waste and bulky items should be brought directly to the Transfer Station on Route 110 where they are recycled, mulched for biomass fuel or utilized as cover at the landfill. Recycling has been mandatory since September 2012. City staff will be conducting spot checks of residents and businesses to look for those who are noncompliant and issuing warnings. If these same residents and businesses continue to not follow the ordinance, fines will be levied. Below are the City Ordinances for Trash and Recycling.
Sec. 12-26. Disposal of refuse.
“(a) It shall be the duty of all persons residing in dwelling units within the City as well as all commercial and industrial establishments within the City to place all household refuse in suitable receptacles as may be approved by the director of public works and/or health officer and to place the same near the sidewalk or street on those mornings and at such times as designated by the director of public works as collection days. Snow must be cleared so receptacles are readily accessible to employees of the public works department. Refuse shall not be placed at the curb until the morning of the designated pick up day.(b) Municipal collection of commercial, industrial or institutional refuse shall be limited to not more than one (1)pickup per week and not more than two (2) cubic yards or two hundred forty (240) pounds of acceptable refuse per residential unit or commercial, industrial or institutional establishment. It shall be the duty of all persons residing in dwelling units within the City as well as commercial and industrial establishments within the City to place such refuse in suitable receptacles of not more than 30 pounds each. (Ord. 9-17-12)” Items such as leaf/yard waste, brush, wood waste, metal items, technological items, lights, furniture, appliance and other large items can be disposed of at the AVRRDD Transfer Station on Rte 110. Passes may be purchased at the City Hall Finance Department.
Sec. 12-27. Disposal of designated recyclable materials.
“It shall be the duty of all persons residing within dwelling units within the City as well as all commercial and industrial establishments within the City to separate designated recyclable materials from the solid waste and dispose of these materials separately in the manner indicated below: The separate curbside boxes containing separated recyclables as indicated below shall be placed at the curb for collection on the day(s) specified by the Director of Public Works. Recyclable items shall not be placed at the curb until the morning of the designated pick up day.”
The City of Berlin’s curbside pickup items for residential, commercial and industrial properties consist of the following which is listed below. At this time we do not pick up cardboard or junk mail/paper items in Residential Areas, you may bring these items directly to the Recycling Center on Rte. 110. At this time the City does collect cardboard for Downtown Commercial Properties every week on Fridays.
Recycling pickup will continue to be every other week usually on the same day as your garbage collection. Alternate dates for holiday week pickups are scheduled and advertised in the local paper. Schedules and additional information can be seen online at You may also call the Public Works Department, 752-4450, with questions or to have information mailed to you.
| WHAT | HOW | DO NOT INCLUDE |
MAGAZINES/NEWSPAPERS MUST BE SEPARATED FROM OTHER ITEMS | •Clean newspapers and magazines •Soft cover Catalogs | Place in paper bag or bundle up. | •Junk mail •Office paper •Books •Cardboard |
GLASS | •Food jars including canning jars •Beverage bottles •Ceramics | Remove caps and lids, rinse clean. | •Broken Glass •Window glass •Mirror glass |
PLASTICS #1 AND #2 ONLY | •Clear and green soda bottles with a ∆ #1 PET symbol on or near the bottom. •Containers which have narrow or wide mouths, screw-on or Snap-On tops, seams, down the side, and ∆ #1 or ∆ #2 symbols. | Remove caps.
Drain and rinse thoroughly.
| •Plastic bags or plastic wrap. •Plastic toys •Styrofoam •Shrink Wrap •Don not include any containers from automotive products such as oil and antifreeze
|
METAL AND ALUMINUM CANS | •Food or beverage aluminum and tin or metal cans. | Discard open end lid.
Drain and rinse. | •Teflon coated cans with plastic or paper parts •Aerosol cans •Aluminum foil/trays •Other Metals |
Sec. 12-36. Penalties.
Any person failing to comply with this article after due warning as defined herein shall be served a summons, shall be guilty of a violation and shall lose the privilege of municipal refuse collection until all levied fines for the infraction are paid or waived by the court, and, on conviction thereof, shall be fined in an amount not exceeding one hundred dollars ($100.00) for each violation. Each day in which such violation shall continue shall be deemed a separate offense. The term "due warning" as used herein shall mean at least two separate written notices from the City within any six (6) month period either left attached to a property owner's curbside receptacle and/or mailed to the property owner which states the nature of the violation which needs to be corrected. In addition to and/or in lieu of the penalties stated herein for violations which continue after "due warning", the Public Works Director at his/her discretion may discontinue refuse pickup and/or recycling services at the offending property until such violations are corrected. (b) Any person violating any of the provisions of this article shall become liable to the city for any loss, expense or damage occasioned the city by the reason of such violation or necessary actions needed to correct the violation. (Ord. 9-17-12)
We thank you all for your help in keeping our landfill rates down and our recycling rates up!
The City of Berlin