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Rubbish and Garbage

V.S.A. tit. 24, ch. 61, subch. 8
in effect

24 V.S.A. § 2201 Throwing, depositing, burning, and dumping refuse; penalty; summons and complaint

2201. Throwing, depositing, burning, and dumping refuse; penalty; summons and complaint (a)(1) Prohibition. Every person shall be responsible for proper disposal of his or her own solid waste. A person shall not throw, dump, deposit, or cause or permit to be thrown, dumped, or deposited any solid waste as defined in 10 V.S.A. § 6602, refuse of whatever nature, or any noxious thing in or on lands or waters of the State outside a solid waste management facility certified by the Agency of Natural Resources. (2) There shall be a rebuttable presumption that a person who is identifiable from an examination of illegally disposed solid waste is the person who violated a provision of this section. (3) No person shall burn or cause to be burned in the open or incinerate in any container, furnace, or other device any solid waste without: (A) first having obtained all necessary permits from the Agency of Natural Resources, the District Environmental Commission, and the municipality where the burning is to take place; and (B) complying with all relevant State and local regulations and ordinances. (b) Prosecution of violations. A person who violates a provision of this section commits a civil violation and shall be subject to a civil penalty of not more than $800.00. (1) This violation shall be enforceable in the Judicial Bureau pursuant to the provisions of 4 V.S.A. chapter 29 in an action that may be brought by a municipal attorney, a solid waste management district attorney, an environmental enforcement officer employed by the Agency of Natural Resources, a designee of the legislative body of the municipality, or any duly authorized law enforcement officer. (2) If the throwing, placing, or depositing was done from a snowmobile, vessel, or motor vehicle, except a motor bus, there shall be a rebuttable presumption that the throwing, placing, or depositing was done by the operator of the snowmobile, vessel, or motor vehicle. (3) Nothing in this section shall be construed as affecting the operation of an automobile graveyard or salvage yard as defined in section 2241 of this title, nor shall anything in this section be construed as prohibiting the installation and use of appropriate receptacles for solid waste provided by the State or towns. (c) Roadside cleanup. A person found in violation of this section may be assigned to spend up to 80 hours collecting trash or litter from a specified segment of roadside or from a specified area of public property. (d) [Repealed.] (e) Revocation of hunting, fishing, or trapping license. The Commissioner of Fish and Wildlife shall revoke the privilege of a person found in violation of this section from holding a hunting, fishing, or trapping license for a period of one year from the date of the conviction, if the person fails to pay the penalty set forth in subsection (b) of this section. The Bureau shall immediately notify the Commissioner of Fish and Wildlife of the entry of judgment. (f) [Repealed.] (g) Amendment of complaint. A person authorized to enforce this section may amend or dismiss a complaint issued by that person by marking the complaint and returning it to the Judicial Bureau. At the hearing, a person authorized to enforce this section may amend or dismiss a complaint issued by that person, subject to the approval of the hearing judge. (h) [Repealed.] (i) Applicability. Enforcement actions taken under this section shall in no way preclude the Agency of Natural Resources, the Attorney General, or an appropriate State prosecutor from initiating other or further enforcement actions under the civil, administrative, or criminal enforcement provisions of 10 V.S.A. chapter 23, 47, 159, 201, or 211. To the extent that enforcement under this section is by an environmental enforcement officer employed by the Agency of Natural Resources, enforcement under this section shall preclude other enforcement by the Agency for the same offence. (j) Definitions. As used in this section: (1) “Motor vehicle” shall have the same meaning as in 23 V.S.A. § 4(21). (2) “Snowmobile” shall have the same meaning as in 23 V.S.A. § 3801. (3) “Vessel” means motor boats, boats, kayaks, canoes, sailboats, and all other types of watercraft. (4) “Waters” shall have the same meaning as in 10 V.S.A. § 1251(13). Amended 1961, No. 164, eff. June 14, 1961; 1965, No. 62, eff. May 19, 1965; 1967, No. 90, § 1, eff. July 1, 1969; 1969, No. 287 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1970; 1971, No. 245 (Adj. Sess.), §§ 1, 2, eff. April 6, 1972; 1989, No. 286 (Adj. Sess.), § 4; 1999, No. 63, § 3; 1999, No. 160 (Adj. Sess.), § 29; 2005, No. 23, § 1; 2009, No. 56, § 3; 2013, No. 117 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; 2017, No. 93 (Adj. Sess.), § 22; 2017, No. 130 (Adj. Sess.), § 15.

24 V.S.A. § 2201a Depositing household and commercial trash in roadside and park litter barrels

2201a. Depositing household and commercial trash in roadside and park litter barrels (a) A person shall not use trash containers which are provided for travel trash at State parks, public picnic and rest areas, and roadside turnouts as dumping places for household garbage, household trash, farm waste, or commercial waste materials or deposit such garbage, trash, or waste material on or near any spot commonly used for picnic purposes. (b) A person who violates a provision of this section shall be fined not more than $200.00 or may work a total of not more than 40 hours collecting trash or litter from roadsides or other public property under such supervision as the court may direct. Added 1983, No. 210 (Adj. Sess.).

24 V.S.A. § 2202a Municipalities—Responsibilities for solid waste

2202a. Municipalities—Responsibilities for solid waste (a) Municipalities are responsible for the management and regulation of the storage, collection, processing, and disposal of solid wastes within their jurisdiction in conformance with the State Solid Waste Management Plan authorized under 10 V.S.A. chapter 159. Municipalities may issue exclusive local franchises and may make, amend, or repeal rules necessary to manage the storage, collection, processing, and disposal of solid waste materials within their limits and impose penalties for violations thereof, provided that the rules are consistent with the State Plan and rules adopted by the Secretary of Natural Resources under 10 V.S.A. chapter 159. A fine may not exceed $1,000.00 for each violation. This section shall not be construed to permit the existence of a nuisance. (b) Municipalities may satisfy the requirements of the State Solid Waste Management Plan and the rules of the Secretary of Natural Resources through agreement between any other unit of government or any operator having a permit from the Secretary, as the case may be. (c)(1) On or before July 1, 1988, each municipality, as defined in subdivision 4303(12) of this title, shall join or participate in a solid waste management district organized pursuant to chapter 121 of this title on or before January 1, 1988 or participate in a regional planning commission’s planning effort for purposes of solid waste implementation planning, as implementation planning is defined in 10 V.S.A. § 6602. (2) On or before July 1, 1990, each regional planning commission shall work on a cooperative basis with municipalities within the region to prepare a solid waste implementation plan for adoption by all of the municipalities within the region that are not members of a solid waste district, that conforms to the State Waste Management Plan and describes in detail how the region will achieve the priorities established by 10 V.S.A. § 6604(a)(1). A solid waste implementation plan adopted by a municipality that is not a member of a district shall not in any way require the approval of a district. On or before July 1, 1990, each solid waste district shall adopt a solid waste implementation plan that conforms to the State Waste Management Plan, describes in detail how the district will achieve the priorities established by 10 V.S.A. § 6604(a), and is in conformance with any regional plan adopted pursuant to chapter 117 of this title. Municipalities or solid waste management districts that have contracts in existence as of January 1, 1987, which contracts are inconsistent with the State Solid Waste Plan and the priorities established in 10 V.S.A. § 6604(a), shall not be required to breach those contracts, provided they make good faith efforts to renegotiate those contracts in order to comply. The Secretary may extend the deadline for completion of a plan upon finding that despite good faith efforts to comply, a regional planning commission or solid waste management district has been unable to comply, due to delays in completion of a landfill evaluation under 10 V.S.A. § 6605a. (3) A municipality that does not join or participate as provided in this subsection shall not be eligible for State funds to plan and construct solid waste facilities, nor can it use facilities certified for use by the region or by the solid waste management district. (4) A regional plan or a solid waste implementation plan shall include a component for the management of nonregulated hazardous wastes. (A) At the outset of the planning process for the management of nonregulated hazardous wastes and throughout the process, solid waste management districts or regional planning commissions, with respect to areas not served by solid waste management districts, shall solicit the participation of owners of solid waste management facilities that receive mixed solid wastes, local citizens, businesses, and organizations by holding informal working sessions that suit the needs of local people. At a minimum, an advisory committee composed of citizens and business persons shall be established to provide guidance on both the development and implementation of the nonregulated hazardous waste management plan component. (B) The regional planning commission or solid waste management district shall hold at least two public hearings within the region or district after public notice on the proposed plan component or amendment. (C) The plan component shall be based upon the following priorities, in descending order: (i) the elimination or reduction, whenever feasible, in the use of hazardous, particularly toxic, substances; (ii) reduction in the generation of hazardous waste; (iii) proper management of household and exempt small quantity generator hazardous waste; and (iv) reduction in the toxicity of the solid waste stream, to the maximum extent feasible in accordance with the priorities of 10 V.S.A. § 6604(a)(1). (D) At a minimum, this plan component shall include the following: (i) an analysis of preferred management strategies that identifies advantages and disadvantages of each option; (ii) an ongoing educational program for schools and households, promoting the priorities of this subsection; (iii) an educational and technical assistance program for exempt small quantity generators that provides information on the following: use and waste reduction; preferred management strategies for specific waste streams; and collection, management, and disposal options currently or potentially available; (iv) a management program for household hazardous waste; (v) a priority management program for unregulated hazardous waste streams that present the greatest risks; (vi) a waste diversion program element that is coordinated with any owners of solid waste management facilities and is designed to remove unregulated hazardous waste from the waste stream entering solid waste facilities and otherwise to properly manage unregulated hazardous waste; and (vii) a waste management system established for all the waste streams banned from landfills under 10 V.S.A. § 6621a. (E) For the purposes of this subsection, nonregulated hazardous wastes include hazardous wastes generated by households and exempt small quantity generators as defined in the hazardous waste management regulations adopted under 10 V.S.A. chapter 159. (d) By no later than July 1, 2015, a municipality shall implement a variable rate pricing system that charges for the collection of municipal solid waste from a residential customer for disposal based on the volume or weight of the waste collected. (e) The education and outreach requirements of this section need not be met through direct mailings, but may be met through other methods such as television and radio advertising; use of the internet, social media, or electronic mail; or the publication of informational pamphlets or materials. Added 1977, No. 106, § 3; amended 1987, No. 76, § 18; 1987, No. 78, § 3; 1989, No. 281 (Adj. Sess.), § 6, eff. June 22, 1990; 1989, No. 282 (Adj. Sess.), § 5, eff. June 22, 1990; 1989, No. 286 (Adj. Sess.), § 12, eff. June 22, 1990; 1991, No. 100, § 12; 1993, No. 81, § 5; 2011, No. 148 (Adj. Sess.), § 11; 2017, No. 74, § 96.

24 V.S.A. § 2203a Municipal disposal

2203a. Municipal disposal Each town and city shall provide for the operation and maintenance of any of the following: sanitary landfills, incinerators, recycling centers, intermediate processing facilities, composting plants, or resource recovery facilities or a combination thereof as the exclusive means for disposal of solid waste, as defined in 10 V.S.A. § 6602, subject to the rules and guidelines promulgated by the Secretary of the Agency of Natural Resources. Added 1977, No. 106, § 3; amended 1985, No. 231 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; 1987, No. 76, § 18.

24 V.S.A. § 2203b Recycling centers

2203b. Recycling centers (a) Whether or not a municipality provides for the operation and maintenance of a recycling center or intermediate processing facility pursuant to section 2203a of this title, the municipality may establish requirements for the management of such a center or facility. (b) [Repealed.] (c) For the purposes of Titles 10, 24, and 32, recycling means the process of utilizing waste for the production of raw materials or products, but shall not include processing solid waste to produce energy or fuel products. (d) The provisions of this section shall not apply to hazardous waste. Added 1985, No. 231 (Adj. Sess.), § 2; 1999, No. 63, § 6.

24 V.S.A. § 2206 Recycling centers

2206. Recycling centers (a) The Secretary of Natural Resources shall develop a State plan for the establishment and operation of solid waste recycling centers sufficient to meet the need for solid waste recycling throughout the State. In developing a State plan, the Secretary may establish pilot or demonstration projects for the purpose of determining equitable regions or methods for solid waste recycling. Pursuant to such plan, the Secretary shall establish and operate or contract for the establishment and operation of a solid waste recycling center within each town, or within each administrative district created pursuant to 3 V.S.A. § 4001, or within such other regions as he or she deems reasonable to efficiently utilize solid waste recycling facilities at locations determined by him or her with the approval of the legislative body of the town in which the facility is to be located. Each recycling center shall be used for the storage, processing, and sale or disposal of solid waste. The Secretary may purchase, lease, or rent land or designate land owned by the State or any agency or department thereof for use as recycling centers. (b) The Secretary is authorized to contract in the name of the State for the service of independent contractors under bond or with an agency or department of the State or a town to operate the recycling centers or to collect solid waste and deliver it to a recycling center. (c) The Secretary shall adopt rules pursuant to 3 V.S.A. chapter 25 to implement the provisions of this section. (d) [Omitted.] Added 1971, No. 252 (Adj. Sess.), § 2; amended 2015, No. 23, § 124.
Source: Vermont General Assembly (legislature.vermont.gov)URL: https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/chapter/24/061Fetched: 10/21/2026

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