Landlords & Residential

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. Visit our Local Pick Up page for a list of haulers.
  • 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).