Trash & Recycling in Saint Paul, MN (2026)
9 verified trash & recycling rules for Saint Paul, Minnesota, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Pickup Rules & Schedules
Saint Paul spells out what a household must do before the designated hauler will collect trash: choose a cart size, keep the lid fully closed, and keep out any 'unacceptable materials' such as hazardous or biomedical waste. Sec. 220.04 makes these owner duties enforceable, and haulers are told not to knowingly pick up anything that violates them.
Saint Paul Trash Set-Out Requirements
Some RestrictionsSaint Paul Legislative Code Sec. 220.04(a), (b), (g)
a. Choose a trash cart size (and frequency if choosing a small cart) and utilize the base level solid waste services from the designated hauler as contracted by the city. An RDU who fails to choose a trash cart size will be assigned a medium trash cart. b. Follow the city's guidelines and instructions for storing and setting out residential solid waste materials, including placement of their re...
Bin Placement Rules
Saint Paul limits how early and how long trash and yard waste carts can sit at the curb: carts go out no more than 18 hours before pickup and no later than 6:00 a.m. on collection day, and must come back in the same day. Sec. 220.04(c) also caps the collection location at four feet from the curb or alley line.
Saint Paul Cart Set-Out Time Limits
Some RestrictionsSaint Paul Legislative Code Sec. 220.04(c)
Place the trash, bulky waste, yard waste cart and any overflow bags, compostable bags, and yard waste bundles at the collection location no more than eighteen (18) hours before, but no later than 6:00 a.m. on the day of collection and remove the cart(s) the same day as the scheduled collection day unless the RDU receives walk-up collection.
Bulk Item Disposal
Saint Paul's base trash service already includes free bulky-item pickup, two items a year for small-cart households, three for medium or large carts, plus one holiday tree, under Sec. 220.05(a). Large discards like stoves, mattresses, and furniture beyond that allowance cost an additional fee, and every bulky item must be empty of food and liquids before it goes to the curb.
Saint Paul Bulky Waste Pickup Rules
Some RestrictionsSaint Paul Legislative Code Sec. 220.05(a), (b)(4)
Base level service includes pickup of trash in one (1) of the service levels listed below and one (1) free cart change per calendar year. The base level service includes pickup of two (2) bulky waste items and one (1) holiday tree for RDUs who choose a small trash cart, and three (3) bulky waste items and one (1) holiday tree for RDUs who choose a medium or large trash cart. ... An RDU shall pa...
Recycling Requirements
Sec. 357.09(a)(1) has required every Saint Paul residential owner, lessee or occupant to separate recyclable materials from trash and set them out for collection since July 1, 1991, and subsection (b) specifies the wheeled-cart standards buildings of 11 units or fewer must use.
Saint Paul Curbside Recycling Requirements
Some RestrictionsSaint Paul Legislative Code Sec. 357.09(a)(1), (b)
(1)Recyclable materials—Residential property. Effective July 1, 1991, every owner, lessee or occupant of residential property shall separate recyclable materials from other mixed municipal solid waste and shall set recyclable materials out for collection in the manner and at such frequency as shall be prescribed by the city's director of public works, or shall deliver the recyclable materials t...
Mandatory Organics Recycling
Since July 1, 1993, Sec. 357.09(a)(3) has required every Saint Paul owner, lessee or occupant of residential, commercial and industrial property to separate compostable materials from mixed municipal solid waste and set them out for collection or haul them to an approved composting facility, with fines for noncompliance.
Saint Paul Mandatory Compostable-Waste Separation
Some RestrictionsSaint Paul Legislative Code Sec. 357.09(a)(3), (f)
(3)Compostable materials. Effective July 1, 1993, to the extent permitted by Ramsey County solid waste ordinances, every owner, lessee or occupant of residential, commercial and industrial property shall separate separated compostable materials from other mixed municipal solid waste and shall set separated compostable materials out for collection in the manner and at such frequency as shall be ...
Illegal Dumping
Saint Paul bars contractors from tracking or dumping construction debris onto streets, alleys, and sidewalks. Sec. 221.01 makes it unlawful for a contractor's vehicles to deposit dirt, gravel, construction waste, or similar material on a public way, and requires cleaned tires and secured tailgates before a truck leaves a construction or demolition site.
Saint Paul Illegal Dumping By Contractors
Significant RestrictionsSaint Paul Legislative Code Sec. 221.01
No contractor or other person shall operate or permit or cause his agents, employees or subcontractors to operate any vehicle from construction or demolition sites or from property adjacent to a street, alley or other public place onto and upon any street, alley, sidewalk or other public place: (1) In such a wire, earth, sand, gravel, ash, cinders, sawdust, hay, glass, manure, filth, paper, sno...
Yard Waste Collection
Saint Paul requires yard waste to be kept separate from trash and set out only in a yard waste cart, compostable bag, or bundle: never mixed with the regular trash cart. Under Sec. 220.02(d), residents who keep yard waste on-site instead of setting it out must compost it, and Sec. 220.05 governs the optional paid yard-waste subscription season.
Saint Paul Yard Waste Separation Rules
Some RestrictionsSaint Paul Legislative Code Sec. 220.02(d)
Yard waste shall be kept separate from other solid waste until put out for collection in a yard waste cart, compostable bag, or yard waste bundle. Yard waste may be removed by the designated hauler when placed at the collection location, self-hauled by an RDU, or removed by a lawn or landscape business. If yard waste is kept on the site, it is to be composted.
Dumpster Rules
Commercial dumpsters and roll-off containers in Saint Paul must carry a DSI-preapproved advisory label spelling out what can and can't go inside, per § 357.05(f)(4), and § 357.05(f)(5) bars parking them beyond the alley line, in front of the building line, or on boulevards except on actual collection day.
Saint Paul Dumpster and Roll-Off Placement Rules
Some RestrictionsSaint Paul Legislative Code § 357.05(f)(4)-(5)
(4)Dumpsters and roll-offs—Advisory to be affixed: Dumpsters and roll-off containers intended for storage of mixed municipal solid waste or separate waste streams must have an advisory statement prominently affixed, describing the nature of the materials intended to be stored in the dumpster or roll-off, as well as common categories of materials that may not be placed in the dumpster or roll-of...
Collection Schedule
Saint Paul requires every residential dwelling unit to use the city's contracted hauler for trash collection: private hauling contracts are void. Under City Code Sec. 220.03, no person may collect residential solid waste in the city except under contract with the city, and all prior private contracts ended October 1, 2018.
Saint Paul Mandatory Trash Collection Service
Some RestrictionsSaint Paul Legislative Code Sec. 220.03
All trash collected, conveyed and disposed of by residential solid waste haulers for RDUs shall be pursuant to a written contract with the city that will specify the residential hauling districts, base level services, collection hours, additional service options, extended leave policies, and other details relating to services. No person or entity shall engage in the business of residential soli...
Looking for Ramsey County county-wide rules?
County ordinances apply to unincorporated areas and may supplement Saint Paul city rules.
Trash & Recycling in Ramsey County →