Landlords & Residential
CSWD provides a variety of services, at no cost, to help landlords, property managers, and residential groups in Chittenden County understand what the law requires of them and assist them in reducing and managing their solid waste effectively. These services are tailored to address the specific needs of each situation.
Explore this page:
What You Need To Know
State law and CSWD’s Solid Waste Management Ordinance include requirements that landlords, property managers, and condo/homeowner associations—and all those who arrange solid waste collection for multiple units—are required to:
- Provide instructions on proper waste management to new occupants—and to all residents at least once per year. This includes informing them that Blue-Bin Recycling, Organics (food scraps and natural wood), Hazardous Waste, and many items we consider to be Special Materials must not be put in the trash.
- Properties with five or more residential units must provide for collection of trash, recycling, and food scraps.
- Recycling must be picked up at the same frequency as trash
- Food scraps must be picked up weekly
- Provide an equal number of containers for Blue-Bin Recycling if you provide trash containers available to the general public (excluding bathrooms).
- For easy identification, recycling bins should be blue, trash bins should be black, and food scrap bins should be green.
The recycling and trash containers must be placed as close to each other as possible to provide equally convenient access, and properly labeled with decals provided by CSWD. Recycling containers should be medium or royal blue, and trash containers can NOT be royal or medium blue.
Failure to comply may result in fines of up to $500 per incident.
For more details on legal requirements, see CSWD’s Ordinance, Vermont Act 148 (Universal Recycling Law), and VT Department of Health’s Rental Housing Health Code (Section 5.5).
Contact Us Today!
Contact our Outreach Coordinator to learn more about CSWD requirements for landlord, property managers and condo/homeowner associations.
How We Can Help
We provide these resources and services for no fee.
Consultations and Presentations
- On-site consultations to assess opportunities for improving your waste management
- Staff training presentations for residents and on general waste reduction or tailored to your specific needs
- See options for on-site waste audits and tours of CSWD facilities below
Grant Funding
CSWD offers thousands of dollars in grant funding annually to help Chittenden County communities, businesses, institutions and not-for-profit organizations keep more resources out of the landfill and meet State and CSWD requirements.
Local Color Paint
We recycle leftover latex paint into our own high-quality, durable, and very affordable Local Color Paint sold at locations across Vermont.
Educational Articles and Case Studies
Waste reduction news, tips, and local success stories.
Why We Will No Longer Accept Compostable Food Ware
Composting with Worms
Back-to-school shopping? Try back-to-school swapping!
Keep Calm and Recycle On: Part 1, The Life of a Milk Jug
Upcoming Events
If no public offerings are scheduled or none meet your needs, we offer private tours, workshops, and trainings for groups of six or more. Contact our Community Outreach Coordinator to learn more or schedule your group.
