Schenectady moves closer to replacing problematic bulk trash program with new tiered system

SCHENECTADY — City leaders are one step closer to scrapping its failed bulk-trash sticker program in favor of a new system that would require homeowners to buy a 45-gallon garbage can with a lid for solid waste disposal and allow at least two bulk items to be picked up per month.

But the proposed two-tiered system will come into even sharper focus next month after the City Council receives projected costs from the commissioner of general services for a basic trash pickup service and a higher-level premium service for property owners or landlords who leave larger amounts of waste at the curb.

Meanwhile, Schenectady’s legal department would begin drafting revisions to city code to rescind the bulk trash sticker program and replace it with the two-tiered system, Sean O’Brien, one of the city’s attorneys, said at Monday’s council committee meeting.

He said a public hearing on the proposed changes could be held as early as May 27, with a vote on the amendments to the code in June.

Under the new system, a two-family home would be allowed two 45-gallon bins and four bulk items monthly, while a three-family unit would be permitted to set out three 45-gallon cans and up to six bulk items per month.

The bulk sticker program, which took effect in January 2025, charged $5 to $20 to pick up large items that the city used to haul away for free. Property owners who set out a bulk item without a valid sticker were charged the fee associated with the household good, plus a $50 administrative fee.

The sticker system was created to curb abuses by people who leave out piles of household goods and other large items, often referred to in Schenectady as garbage jackpots.

But the program was deeply unpopular with residents, who had difficulty acquiring the stickers. Former City Council President Marion Porterfield described it in November as “cumbersome at best” and doubted whether it was actually deterring illegal dumping.

The council suspended the program in December and extended the halt by 90 days last month while lawmakers continued brainstorming other solutions to the vexing issue.

On Monday, Deputy General Services Commissioner Chris Lunn discussed the potential impact of implementing the new trash collection system.

Council President Carl Williams pressed Lunn about whether he could “build a fee structure for those two tiers” and present it to the council in two weeks. Lunn said he could do that.

Mayor Gary McCarthy said Lunn would be better equipped to provide a more accurate cost estimate once the council settled on the exact quantity of solid waste and the restrictions on the bulk items.

The mayor said there would likely be a “phase-in” or grace period to give property owners time to buy the 45-gallon garbage bins.

Councilwoman Doreen Ditoro said she didn’t see the need to immediately rescind the sticker program or rush to implement the two-tiered system since it wouldn’t take effect until early next year.  The current moratorium on the sticker program expires on June 14.

“I think we need to just slow it down a little, if we’re not even thinking about implementing it until 2027, get the number right once and for all,” she added. “We want to do it right, and we’re on a very clear path, I believe.”