The Buffalo user fee is the annual charge every residential property owner in the city pays for curbside garbage and recycling collection. It’s billed by the city’s Division of Sanitation, not folded into your property taxes, and most homeowners pay somewhere between about $163 and $238 a year depending on the size of the trash tote assigned to their address.
How Much You Pay
The fee has two parts. Every residential property pays a fixed charge of $118.86 per year. On top of that sits a variable charge tied to your tote:
- 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 are billed at $12.75 per year.1City of Buffalo, NY. City of Buffalo Code Chapter 175 – Fees The city issues the tote; you don’t buy your own. These rates were last amended in 2018 under Chapter 175 of the Buffalo City Code, so check your current bill against them in case the schedule has been updated.
Buildings with more than three units and commercial properties often fall outside city residential collection and may need a private hauler instead.
What the Fee Covers
Paying the user fee gets you weekly curbside pickup of both garbage and recycling, plus up to two pieces of bulk trash per collection day at no extra cost. Bulk covers furniture, appliances, mattresses, bundled wood and brush, and carpet cut into four-foot sections. TVs, computers, tires, construction debris, and hazardous waste are not accepted at the curb.2Buffalo, NY. Streets / Sanitation
If you need more than two bulk items collected at once, the city runs a “Pick and Pay” service starting at $105 for the first four cubic yards and $25 per additional cubic yard.1City of Buffalo, NY. City of Buffalo Code Chapter 175 – Fees Collection runs year-round on the regular schedule, with delays only around Christmas Day and New Year’s Day.
How and When to Pay
The city bills the user fee quarterly. 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 or recurring payment.4BuffaloNYBillPay. BuffaloNYBillPay
- In person at Room 114 in City Hall during business hours.5Buffalo, NY. Online Payments
- By mail to the address printed on the bill. The U.S. postmark date is what the city uses to decide whether you paid on time, so allow extra days.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 through the city’s site also enables email reminders before quarterly deadlines.
Senior Citizen Discount
Buffalo offers a property tax discount for senior homeowners, and because unpaid user fees eventually roll into property taxes, this exemption is worth knowing about. All owners on the deed must be at least 65 (for married couples or siblings, at least one must be 65). The property has to 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%.6Buffalo Water. Low Income Seniors
You reapply every year through the Tax Exemption Office at (716) 851-4374. Approval also automatically qualifies you for the Enhanced STAR exemption. Second homes and investment properties don’t qualify.
What Happens If You Don’t Pay
Missing the 30-day window triggers a $7.45 late charge per quarter plus interest on the outstanding balance.1City of Buffalo, NY. City of Buffalo Code Chapter 175 – Fees The larger risk is what comes after.
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 a statement of delinquent refuse accounts, identifies the properties, and rolls the amounts into the property tax bill.7Office of the New York State Comptroller. Opinion 94-17 Once the debt is on your tax bill, it carries the same consequences as any other unpaid property tax in New York, including the potential for tax lien foreclosure. Losing a home over an unpaid sanitation bill is rare in practice, but the pathway exists, and the compounding late charges make a small balance grow faster than people expect.
Owner Responsibility, Disputes, and Property Sales
The user fee is assessed per property, not per household. A two-family home gets one bill, not two.2Buffalo, NY. Streets / Sanitation The property owner is on the hook regardless of who actually produces the trash. Landlords can build the cost into rent, but the city looks to the owner when payment is missed.
When a property changes hands, any delinquent user fee balance can follow the parcel through the re-levy process. Buyers should confirm the user fee status at closing the same way they’d check for unpaid taxes or water bills.
If you think your bill is wrong, say the tote size is misclassified or you were billed after a demolition, the charge 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 Ask the Department of Public Works for a review rather than withholding payment; the late-charge clock keeps running whether or not the amount is disputed.