Trash & Recycling in Owensboro, KY (2026)
7 verified trash & recycling rules for Owensboro, Kentucky, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Pickup Rules & Schedules
Every mobile garbage cart in Owensboro carries a serial number tied to a street address, stays sanitation department property, and remains with the house even when a resident moves. Trash must go inside the cart with the lid closed, and excess trash needs a purchased blue overflow bag set within four feet of the cart.
Trash Pickup Rules in Owensboro
Some RestrictionsOwensboro Municipal Code § 26-261
Sec. 26-261. - Collection. ... (a)Mobile containers: Each mobile container shall:(1)Bear a serial number which has been assigned to a street address;(2)Remain the property of the sanitation department; and(3)Remain at the assigned property regardless of whether the resident sells or moves. ... (d)All waste must be deposited in the mobile container with the lid closed. Material protruding from c...
Bin Placement Rules
Owensboro requires mobile garbage carts at the curb before 6:00 a.m. on collection day, and residents must pull the empty cart back behind the front wall plane of the house the same day. A cart left at the curb for 24 hours after a warning draws a $50 citation.
Garbage Cart Curb Placement Rules Owensboro
Some RestrictionsOwensboro Municipal Code § 26-263(a)-(c)
Sec. 26-263. - Collection preparation. (a)All mobile containers must be at the curb before 6:00 a.m. on collection day. Mobile containers that have not been placed at the curb when the collection truck passes may not be collected until the following scheduled pickup date. ... (c)The mobile containers shall be removed from the curb on the same day they are serviced and shall be stored behind the...
Bulk Item Disposal
Owensboro treats logs, brush and large bulky items too big for a mobile cart as special loads. Residents must separate logs and brush, keep them off streets and sidewalks, and either pay a collection fee or haul bulky items to the transfer station free if their account is in good standing.
Bulk and Brush Pickup Rules in Owensboro
Some RestrictionsOwensboro Municipal Code § 26-266
Sec. 26-266. - Special loads. Any solid waste not compatible with the mobile container residential collection service (automated side loader trucks) is considered a special load. (a)Logs and brush (residential service customers only): Each resident, owner, or householder shall separate logs and brush. Logs and brush shall not be placed inside mobile containers or bulk containers. Brush shall be...
Illegal Dumping
In the City of Owensboro, dumping solid waste into a bulk container you do not own, or letting waste escape your property into the city, is a prohibited practice under the Municipal Code. Violators face a code official citation and a fine of $100 to $500 per offense, with each day counted separately.
Illegal Dumping Penalties in Owensboro
Heavy RestrictionsOwensboro Municipal Code §§ 26-245, 26-248, 26-249
Sec. 26-245. - Solid waste escaping from premises into city prohibited. No persons engaged in the manufacture, processing or delivery of any materials shall permit any solid waste to escape from their premises to areas within the corporate limits of the city. ... ... Sec. 26-248. - Prohibited practices; bulk containers. ... (d)In addition, any person found guilty of illegally dumping any solid ...
Yard Waste Collection
Owensboro defines yard waste as leaves, small logs, limbs, shrubs and brush, excluding grass, and runs a seasonal loose-leaf pickup from late September through February 15. Outside that window, and for all other yard waste, residents must bag it or use containers no larger than 32 gallons and no heavier than 30 pounds.
Yard Waste Collection Rules in Owensboro
Some RestrictionsOwensboro Municipal Code §§ 26-243, 26-263(g)
Yard Waste: Leaves, logs (under six (6) inches in diameter), limbs, shrubs without root balls, brush, live Christmas trees, and other common yard and garden plants, excluding grass. ... (g)Preparation exceptions:(1)Leaves: Loose leaf collection shall be scheduled by the sanitation manager beginning in late September or early October, and shall run through February 15. Loose leaves to be collect...
Dumpster Rules
Commercial and industrial dumpsters in the City of Owensboro must sit in a location, enclosure and access route approved by the sanitation manager, and roll-off containers need individual authorization plus a city engineering encroachment permit if placed in the right-of-way. Containers must stay in working repair or face a $100 to $500 fine.
Commercial Dumpster Rules in Owensboro
Some RestrictionsOwensboro Municipal Code §§ 26-282, 26-298
Sec. 26-282. - Precollection practices. ... Container storage location, enclosure, and access shall be approved by [the] sanitation manager. It shall be the responsibility of each establishment to furnish the enclosure, ingress/egress route, container pad, apron and maintenance or repairs of such.(b)Services not offered by the sanitation department such as roll-offs shall be authorized on an in...
Collection Schedule
Owensboro services residential mobile garbage carts once a week on a schedule the sanitation manager sets, with commercial and industrial areas serviced more often when needed. Physically impaired residents living alone can get curbside assistance with a doctor's certificate, and apartment complexes of 10 or more units must use bulk containers instead.
Residential Trash Collection Schedule Owensboro
Some RestrictionsOwensboro Municipal Code § 26-262
Sec. 26-262. - Collection schedule and availability of service. (a)Mobile containers will be serviced once a week in accordance with a schedule prepared by the sanitation manager with the exception of commercial or industrial areas that may require more frequent servicing.(b)Special assistance to physically impaired individuals who live alone is available, upon the approval of the sanitation ma...
Looking for Daviess County county-wide rules?
County ordinances apply to unincorporated areas and may supplement Owensboro city rules.
Trash & Recycling in Daviess County →