Albuquerque closes recycling loopholes for apartment renters

By: Sam Taylor Date: September 14, 2026

Albuquerque City Council on Wednesday closed two recycling loopholes that for years left thousands of apartment renters without on-site collection. The ordinance eliminates exemptions that had allowed many multi-family properties to skip recycling service entirely and let larger complexes pay a fee in place of providing bins.

Under the prior Municipal Solid Waste Ordinance, multiple-family dwellings with fewer than 25 units were exempt from providing recycling services. The ordinance also allowed managers of complexes with 25 or more units to pay a recycling collection fee without making recycling containers physically accessible to residents. The new ordinance amends Section 9-10-1-10 to close those gaps.

“For too long, thousands of Albuquerque renters have been denied the basic opportunity to recycle at home, while some larger complexes paid a fee without ever providing physical bins to their tenants,” said Councilor Tammy Fiebelkorn, who sponsored the ordinance. “With the passage of O-26-46, we are closing the gap between basic legal compliance and meaningful environmental access. Just as importantly, we are requiring the City to walk the walk by mandating recycling at all municipal buildings.”

The ordinance requires property managers of dwellings with fewer than 25 units to establish a recycling collection program.

It mandates that complexes of 25 units or more ensure recycling containers are physically accessible to all residents.

It creates a strict hardship exemption for older properties where on-site container placement is structurally infeasible, with exemptions barred solely on the basis of cost.

It adopts a new section, 9-10-1-13, requiring the mayor to establish and maintain recycling collection services at all city-owned and city-operated buildings, with containers accessible to both employees and the public.

Implementation of the new requirements for city-owned buildings will begin within 180 days. The changes affecting multiple-family dwellings take effect by Jan. 1, 2027.