The Buffalo user fee is the annual charge the City of Buffalo bills every residential property for curbside garbage and recycling collection. It’s separate from your property taxes, comes from the Division of Sanitation, and runs roughly $163 to $238 per year for most homeowners depending on which trash tote your property uses, under the schedule in Buffalo City Code Chapter 175.
How Much You Pay
The fee has two parts. Every residential property pays a fixed $118.86 per year. On top of that, you pay a variable amount tied to the tote assigned to your address:
- 35-gallon tote: $43.75 per year, for a total of about $162.61
- 65-gallon tote: $81.25 per year, for a total of about $200.11
- 95-gallon tote: $118.75 per year, for a total of about $237.61
Residential vacant lots pay $12.75 per year.1City of Buffalo, NY. City of Buffalo Code Chapter 175 – Fees The city provides the totes; you don’t buy your own. Buildings with more than three units and commercial properties often fall outside this schedule and may need private haulers.
These rates were last amended in 2018. Buffalo can change them by amending Chapter 175, so check your actual bill against the figures above to confirm you’re reading the current schedule.
What the Fee Covers
Paying the fee gets you weekly curbside pickup of garbage in your city tote and recycling in the green tote. Overflow recycling can go out in clear plastic bags. Cardboard needs to be flattened.2Buffalo, NY. Streets / Sanitation
You can also set out two pieces of bulk trash per collection day at no extra charge: furniture, appliances, mattresses, bundled wood and brush, carpet cut into four-foot sections, and similar items. TVs, computers, tires, construction debris, and hazardous waste are not accepted at the curb.2Buffalo, NY. Streets / Sanitation For larger clean-outs, the city’s Pick and Pay service starts at $105 for the first four cubic yards and $25 for each additional cubic yard.1City of Buffalo, NY. City of Buffalo Code Chapter 175 – Fees Collection runs year-round, with delays only around Christmas Day and New Year’s Day.
When and How to Pay
The city bills the fee quarterly, and payment is due within 30 days of the billing date.3eCode360. Buffalo Code Chapter 216 – Garbage, Rubbish and Refuse You have three options:
- Online at buffalo-ny-payments.mobilgov.com, by credit card or electronic check, as a one-time payment or on a recurring schedule.4BuffaloNYBillPay. BuffaloNYBillPay
- In person at Room 114 in City Hall during regular business hours.5Buffalo, NY. Online Payments
- By mail, using the address printed on your bill. The U.S. postmark date determines whether you paid on time, so allow for mail processing.3eCode360. Buffalo Code Chapter 216 – Garbage, Rubbish and Refuse
If you never received a bill or lost yours, contact the Division of Treasury or the Department of Public Works for a duplicate. Going paperless on the city’s website also enables email reminders.
What Happens If You Pay Late
Miss the 30-day window and the city adds a late charge of $7.45 per quarter, plus interest on the outstanding balance.1City of Buffalo, NY. City of Buffalo Code Chapter 175 – Fees The late charge itself is small. The consequence that follows is not.
Under New York General Municipal Law ยง 120-cc, municipalities can add unpaid solid waste fees to the annual property tax levy, and Buffalo uses that authority. The city compiles delinquent refuse accounts and rolls the amounts into the property tax bill.6Office of the New York State Comptroller. Opinion 94-17 Once re-levied, the balance behaves like unpaid property tax, which in New York can eventually lead to tax lien foreclosure. Losing a home over trash fees is uncommon, but the legal pathway exists, and interest and late charges let a small balance grow quickly.
Senior Discount That Can Reduce the Bite
Because unpaid user fees eventually land on the property tax bill, Buffalo’s senior property tax exemption is worth knowing about. To qualify, every owner on the deed must be at least 65 (for married couples or siblings, at least one owner must be 65). The property must be your primary residence, you must have owned it for at least 12 consecutive months, and your annual income must be less than $37,399. The discount runs on a sliding scale from 5% to 50%.7Buffalo Water. Low Income Seniors
You reapply every year through the Tax Exemption Office at (716) 851-4374. Investment properties and second homes don’t qualify.
Owner Responsibility, Sales, and Disputes
The fee is assessed per property, not per household. A two-family home gets one bill for the parcel, not one per unit.2Buffalo, NY. Streets / Sanitation The property owner is responsible regardless of who produces the waste. Landlords can build the cost into rent, but the city collects from the owner when a bill goes unpaid.
When a property changes hands, any delinquent user fee balance can follow the parcel through the re-levy process. Buyers should check user fee status at closing the same way they would check for unpaid taxes or water bills.
If your bill looks wrong, say because the tote size on file is incorrect or the property was billed after a demolition, the billing is subject to service review by the Commissioner of Public Works under the city’s sanitation regulations.3eCode360. Buffalo Code Chapter 216 – Garbage, Rubbish and Refuse Contact the Department of Public Works to open a review rather than withholding payment, because the late-charge clock runs whether or not the amount is disputed.