OLR Report 2013-R-0325 explains the state's requirements for providing recycling collection containers in public places.
Connecticut law requires everyone, including residents, state agencies and institutions, schools, municipalities, and businesses, to recycle certain items (i.e., designated recyclables). The law's recycling requirements include providing collection containers for recyclables generated in certain common gathering areas or venues, such as arenas, bus terminals, and shopping centers. Supplying containers in these areas is generally the responsibility of the property or venue owner or operator (e.g., the business or municipality).
The law sets conditions under which the owner or operator must provide containers for collecting designated recyclables. Generally, they must provide containers if (1) the public generates the recyclables at the location and (2) they provide for solid waste collection. Because the recyclables must be separated from other solid waste, the owner or operator must provide separate containers for recyclables and other solid waste.
Besides providing containers for recyclables in certain common gathering areas or venues, municipalities, through their zoning powers, can regulate recycling containers but the law limits their ability to do so. They can require screens or buffers around the containers for aesthetic reasons. But the law generally prohibits them from (1) banning the use of containers to store designated recyclables, (2) requiring that containers comply with bulk or lot area requirements, and (3) unreasonably restricting access to or the size of the containers for businesses.
For more information, read the full report.
