Trash & Recycling in Duluth, MN (2026)
8 verified trash & recycling rules for Duluth, Minnesota, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Pickup Rules & Schedules
In the City of Duluth, licensed haulers run solid waste pickup at least weekly and recycling pickup at least monthly, and they must post a schedule naming the collection day and the exact hours. City code bars any residential collection before 7:00 a.m. on Saturday or before 6:00 a.m. on any other day, protecting sleeping neighborhoods from early truck noise.
Duluth Trash and Recycling Pickup Rules
Some RestrictionsDuluth Legislative Code § 24-20
(a) It shall be the duty of any licensed collector to collect and remove any of the solid waste and recyclables referred to in this Chapter and to establish and maintain a schedule for regular ordinary collection of such solid waste and recyclables providing for collection on at least a weekly basis for solid waste and a monthly basis for recyclables and to make available a schedule setting for...
Bin Placement Rules
Duluth Legislative Code § 24-18 caps residential garbage containers at 32 gallons and 45 pounds for buildings of four units or fewer, requires a tight, watertight, handled container, and requires containers to sit in a spot reachable by the collector during scheduled pickup hours. Overweight or oversized containers are not collected as "ordinary collection."
Duluth Garbage Container Size and Placement Rules
Some RestrictionsDuluth Legislative Code § 24-18
(a) It shall be the duty of the owner of every dwelling or place of business in the city to provide or cause to be provided, and at all times to keep and maintain or cause to be kept and maintained in good condition, sufficient portable watertight containers to hold all the solid waste which accumulates on such premises during the time between collections and removals. In the case of residentia...
Bulk Item Disposal
In the City of Duluth, a single bulky item like an appliance, a piece of furniture or a water heater can go out with regular trash, but only if the resident arranges it with their licensed collector in advance and agrees to pay the hauler's out-of-pocket disposal costs, which the code counts as part of ordinary collection service.
Duluth Bulky Item Pickup Rules
Some RestrictionsDuluth Legislative Code § 24-2
Bulky items. Items of solid waste which do not fit within a 32 gallon solid waste container described in Section 24-18 of this Chapter. ... Ordinary collection. The collection and removal of the following: ... (b) Any single bulky item, such as an appliance, a piece of furniture or a water heater, provided that arrangements are made in advance for the collection of such item, that such item is ...
Recycling Requirements
Duluth Legislative Code §§ 24-17 and 24-19 require every owner of a residential structure with four or fewer units to arrange recyclables collection through a licensed collector, and require every dwelling or business to keep a covered, adequately sized recycling receptacle on site. Mixing other solid waste, manure or dead animals into a recycling container is separately prohibited.
Duluth Recycling Container and Service Rules
Some RestrictionsDuluth Legislative Code §§ 24-17, 24-19
It shall be the duty of the owner of every residential structure containing four or less dwelling units to provide for the disposal of all solid waste and the collection of recyclables generated by such dwelling units through employment of the services of a licensed collector. ... It shall be the duty of the owner of every dwelling or place of business in the city to provide or cause to be prov...
Illegal Dumping
Duluth Legislative Code § 24-5 bans dumping solid waste, manure, household hazardous waste, tires, used motor oil, lead-acid batteries, yard waste or infectious waste on any street, alley, waterway or public or private premises. The solid waste compliance officer enforces the ban, and violators face the city's general penalty of up to $1,000 per day.
Duluth Illegal Dumping of Waste Ban
Heavy RestrictionsDuluth Legislative Code § 24-5
No person shall dump, throw or in any manner deposit or cause to be dumped, thrown or deposited upon or in any street, highway, alley, waterway or public or private premises, except as provided in this Chapter, any solid waste, manure, household hazardous waste, tires, used motor oil, lead acid batteries, yard waste, pathological waste or infectious waste.
Yard Waste Collection
Duluth does not run curbside yard waste pickup: Duluth Legislative Code § 24-29(b) bars dumping yard waste, tree branches or brush anywhere in the city except at a backyard compost site or a licensed yard waste compost facility, and § 24-30 sets the standards those backyard sites must meet.
Duluth Yard Waste Composting Rules
Some RestrictionsDuluth Legislative Code §§ 24-29, 24-30
No yard wastes, tree branches, brush or other vegetative wastes shall be thrown, left or deposited upon any lot, street, alley or tract of land within the city except at a back yard compost site or a yard waste compost facility. ... (a) Any person disposing of yard waste shall do so only at a back yard compost site or a yard waste compost facility; (b) Back yard compost sites shall be located i...
Dumpster Rules
In the City of Duluth, commercial dumpsters, grease tanks, and cardboard compactors serving multi-family, commercial, institutional, or mixed-use properties can't sit in a front yard, a side yard next to a street, a fire lane, or a required parking space, and most must be screened on three sides with a gated fourth side under § 50-26.3.
Duluth Commercial Dumpster Placement Rules
Some RestrictionsDuluth Legislative Code § 50-26.3(B), (C)(1)
50-26.3 Screening and location of commercial containers. ... ... B. Location. Commercial containers shall not be placed in any of the following: 1. Any required front yard area or any side yard area adjacent to a public street right-of-way; 2. Any fire lane; 3. Any required off-street parking space; 4. Any location that blocks vehicular or pedestrian traffic; 5. Any location that obstructs driv...
Recycling Rules
Duluth Legislative Code § 24-17.1 bars mixing yard waste, motor oil, batteries, tires, medical or hazardous waste, and ordinary recyclables into the solid waste containers a licensed collector empties. Recyclables must go in separate containers for monthly pickup, and a collector who finds banned items can refuse the container and, after a warning, bill a penalty.
Duluth Recyclables Segregation Rule
Some RestrictionsDuluth Legislative Code § 24-17.1
(a) No person shall place any yard waste, motor oil, motor vehicle batteries, tires, hospital waste, pathological waste, infectious waste, medical sharps, hazardous substances, household hazardous wastes or unacceptable waste with solid waste that is placed in containers for collection by a licensed collector. These items shall be disposed of by the owner or occupant of the property in accordan...
Looking for St. Louis County county-wide rules?
County ordinances apply to unincorporated areas and may supplement Duluth city rules.
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