SULLIVAN COUNTY, NY — Scott Mace of Thompson Sanitation, a residential and business waste collection company, says some large trash collectors operating in the county are not recycling, breaking New York State laws, and others are dumping waste outside the county, in violation of Sullivan County law. 

Recycling is required by NYS law

“Recycling is mandatory in Sullivan County, either with private haulers or direct drop-off at transfer stations,” states a guide from the county department of solid waste and recycling.

Mace told the legislature on April 10 that according to Sullivan County Licensed Haulers’ tonnage numbers from January 1 to March 15, many of his competitors had zero tons of recycling labeled “SSR” for single-stream recycling. 

Mace said, “Notice that they have no single-stream recycling tipping. They are not recycling, which is mandated by counties.”

Recycling in New York State (NYS) became required by law after the Solid Waste Management Act of 1988 was passed, forcing local governments to adopt mandatory recycling laws. Additionally, Environmental Conservation Law Article 27 requires recycling. Consequently, haulers must comply with these local recycling requirements when collecting and transporting waste.

According to the records, some county haulers who have recycling services show 0 tons of SSR recorded from January 1 to March 15 at the county transfer station. For comparision, Thompson Sanitation had 85.35 tons of SSR over that same period. Though it’s required some collection companies are clear with customers that they don’t offer recycling, while others say they recycle and just don’t do it. Mace pointed out that if haulers are recycling they should have SSR tons recorded.

Multiple Sullivan residents have suspected county haulers of not recycling. One community member reported to the River Reporter that when they asked whether the company recycled, they were told “No,” although the company claimed to provide recycling collection. 

“We’re subsidizing everything; we’re the ones paying the bills,” Mace said.

He added, “If you guys don’t want us to recycle, that will cut my costs in half, because I’m running two routes, one to pick up the garbage, one to pick up the recycling. And we can’t keep competing with people that are dumping 25 percent less than us and are not recycling, because they don’t have the same costs as us.”

The Department of Environmental Conservation oversees violations, such as not recycling, and subjects the companies to fines and prosecution.

County law requires trash to be dumped in Sullivan

Sullivan County also has “flow-control requirements,” which prohibit haulers from dumping waste generated inside the county anywhere outside the county, which Mace said other haulers are doing.  

“None of it is being emptied here,” he told the legislature’s Public Works Committee. “This is very important to us—we’re spending an extra $30 a ton to keep it local, to do the right thing, to keep you guys solvent.” 

A county requirement guide for trash haulers guide states, “No person shall pick up or haul solid waste and/or recyclables generated inside the county to a solid waste management facility located outside of the county.”

Mace’s statement about the extra cost to keep trash local refers to the county’s increased trash tipping fees—the cost the county charges for waste brought to the county transfer stations—which were approved at the beginning of 2025. Costs rose from $120 a ton to $150 a ton. Read about increased-fee critiques at riverreporter.com/stories/your-trash-will-cost-more,177401.

District 7 legislator Joe Perrello, head of the public works committee, acknowledged the issue, saying he had received texts and emails from people telling him “companies are taking their garbage elsewhere,” but vowed the county would be “enforcing the flow control rules starting real soon.” 

In a county press release, Perrello said of the flow control law, “That rule has been in place for decades, but recently, we’ve discovered that some garbage-hauling companies are taking trash to Orange County or Pennsylvania, where tipping fees are cheaper.”

Deputy Commissioner of Public Works Mark Witkowski sent out a letter to haulers in the county with a reminder of the flow control law (Section 171-6b) that requires dumping waste within the county. The notice also included Sections 171-16b through 18, which outline the fees and recourse for violations. 

Being found guilty of a violation is a misdemeanor and punishable by a fine of $500 to $1,500, depending on the number of offenses, or by imprisonment for a term not to exceed six months, or both. 

Perrello said, “A primary reason for flow control is due to our contract with the upstate landfill to which we send our garbage: Seneca Meadows. If we don’t make our tonnage obligations, our rates can increase.”

But Mace said, “After this letter went out, nothing changed.”

Though the tipping fee for recycling is less expensive than waste, Mace says running two routes is more costly overall, and if haulers are dumping outside the county, the fee, recycling or not, is not being paid at all.