How2Day: Business Recycling Laws

Businesses are required to recycle in many parts of the United States. Jupiterimages/Polka Dot/Getty Images
Business recycling laws exist on the state and local level in the United States. On the national level, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulates the facilities that collect and actually recycle materials, which affects the way businesses manage their recycling programs.

While each state, city or county has different rules on what and how businesses should recycle, most laws contain a few common provisions. Find out information on your local laws through your city, county or state Bureau of Environmental Services, or your local waste management office.

Most laws on business recycling require that you have a contract with a local recycling company. The City of New York, for example, requires businesses to keep a written agreement for recycling services, which must be presented when requested by compliance officers. Federal laws further require that waste be collected on a regular basis. For example, if there are foodstuffs in the waste, federal laws require a weekly pickup.

If your city or state has a recycling law, then you can bet it won't be hard to find a hauler willing to work with you. Check with your local garbage hauler, or city or county waste management office, to find a recycling contractor.

In some areas, it is illegal to dispose of certain materials in a landfill. This typically applies to both residential and business customers. The state of Wisconsin, for example, has a long list of materials banned from landfills, including office paper, batteries, aluminum, and many more items. Other places have more lenient laws. In Miami, Florida, businesses are only required to recycle three of the 10 most recycled products, including paper, cardboard, glass, aluminum and plastics. The EPA also has national regulations on the mandatory disposal of solid waste. If your business handles hazardous waste, be sure to keep up on the EPA's Hazardous Waste Regulations (see Resources).

Business recycling laws typically include provisions stating that businesses must provide the proper containers for their recycling. These can typically be bought from the hauler providing recycling service at your place of business. The EPA uses the standards of the American National Standards Institute to regulate waste containers. The standards state that waste containers must be free of leaks and not create a fire, health or safety hazard to employees.

Businesses are often required by law to provide written notices to employees, tenants, or other users of their facilities that there is a recycling program in place, and where to recycle. This often includes rules about providing proper signage near recycling containers.

Fines are the typical method of compliance enforcement for business recycling laws. In 2010 in Miami, Florida, for example, fines ranged from $350 to $990 for noncompliance. Fines there can be assessed every day, so noncompliance can get expensive.

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