Trash & Recycling in Olmsted County, MN (2026)
8 county-level rules, plus city-specific rules for 1 city in Olmsted County, Minnesota.
Verified from official government sources
Pickup Rules & Schedules
Every commercial and residential property in Olmsted County, except farms, must either hire a Licensed Hauler for trash pickup or register as a Self-Hauler under Section 3505.03 of the Solid Waste Management Ordinance. Self-haulers must deliver waste to a county-designated disposal point and keep disposal receipts for 180 days, and licensed haulers set fees by volume or weight.
Mandatory Trash Collection Service in Olmsted County
Some RestrictionsOlmsted County Code of Ordinances, Ch. 3500 § 3505.03 (Collection Requirements)
Every Commercial and Residential Site in Olmsted County, excluding Agricultural Sites, shall engage a Licensed Hauler for the Collection of Designated Waste or act as a Self-Hauler. Commercial Sites that are Self-Haulers must be Registered Haulers pursuant to section 3504.05. Persons acting as Self-Haulers must transport Designated Waste to a Designated Point of Delivery and retain the receipts...
Bin Placement Rules
Olmsted County requires trash, recycling, organics and yard-waste containers to stay off the curb until the evening before the scheduled collection day, and empty bins must come back in the same day service happens. Cities running their own organized collection, including Rochester, can set different timing under Section 3505.03 of the Solid Waste Management Ordinance.
Trash Cart Curbside Set-Out Rules in Olmsted County
Some RestrictionsOlmsted County Code of Ordinances, Ch. 3500 § 3505.03 (Collection Frequency)
Generators utilizing the services of a Commercial Hauler may place acceptable containers of Mixed Municipal Solid Waste, Recyclable Materials, Source Separated Organic Materials or Yard Waste at the curb or Collection site no sooner than the evening prior to scheduled Collection and they must remove the empty containers the same day as Collection. Municipalities with organized waste Collection ...
Bulk Item Disposal
Mattresses, major appliances and furniture too large for a standard curbside cart are classified as Bulky Items under Olmsted County's Solid Waste Ordinance. Collecting someone else's bulky waste for a fee requires a County Class D Hauler License; residents can skip a hauler entirely and self-haul items to the Recycling Center Plus in Rochester for a set per-item fee.
Bulky Item Disposal Rules in Olmsted County
Some RestrictionsOlmsted County Code of Ordinances, Ch. 3500 § 3504.02 (Class D Licensed Hauler; License Requirements for All License Types)
“Class D Licensed Hauler” means a Person licensed by Olmsted County to Collect and transport only Solid Waste and Bulky Items as a secondary service to a primary business activity such as providing labor, junk removal, and general site cleanup services... Class D Licensed Haulers shall not leave waste collection equipment at the location of the Customer for the Customer to load... No Person sha...
Recycling Requirements
Olmsted County's Solid Waste Ordinance requires every residential Generator to separate Recyclable Materials from the trash and get them to a Recycling Center, either by self-hauling or through a County-licensed Class A hauler. Multi-unit building owners must set up central recycling collection points, and haulers cannot charge recyclers more than non-recyclers.
Curbside Recycling Rules in Olmsted County
Some RestrictionsOlmsted County Code of Ordinances, Ch. 3500 § 3503.02
Yard Waste and Recyclable Materials, as defined in this Ordinance, shall be excluded from Mixed Municipal Solid Waste. ... Generators at Residential Sites must provide for the segregation and delivery of Recyclable Materials to a Recycling Center, either by Self-Hauling or by contract with a Class A Licensed Hauler. ... Olmsted County requires volume or weight-based pricing for Mixed Municipal ...
Illegal Dumping
Dumping solid waste anywhere other than a permitted disposal site is a violation of Olmsted County's Solid Waste Management Ordinance, punishable as a misdemeanor carrying up to a $1,000 fine and 90 days in jail. A narrow farm-burial exemption exists under state law, but household and construction dumping outside that exemption must go to a licensed facility or hauler.
Illegal Dumping Penalties in Olmsted County
Heavy RestrictionsOlmsted County Code of Ordinances, Ch. 3500 §§ 3508.07 (Non-Permitted Solid Waste Sites) & 3511.01 (Violations, Penalties and Enforcement)
It is a violation of this Ordinance for any Person to dispose of Solid Waste, excluding Compost, Backyard Sites and Agricultural Site disposal exemptions (Minnesota Statutes, Section. 17.135), at locations other than Permitted Sites. The owner of any such Site shall prevent further disposal of Solid Waste at the site and take corrective actions to appropriately close the site, as determined by ...
Yard Waste Collection
Olmsted County requires residents to keep Yard Waste out of the trash under Ch. 3500 § 3503.02: mulch it back into the lawn, compost it on site, or haul it, yourself or through a licensed hauler, to a permitted composting or anaerobic-digestion site.
Yard Waste Disposal Rules in Olmsted County
Some RestrictionsOlmsted County Code of Ordinances, Ch. 3500 § 3503.02
Yard Waste and Recyclable Materials, as defined in this Ordinance, shall be excluded from Mixed Municipal Solid Waste. ... To avoid disposal with Mixed Municipal Solid Waste, Generators must ensure that Yard Waste is managed in one of three ways: 1. by mulching it and returning it to the lawn, 2. by composting it on site (i.e., at a “backyard” Compost site), or 3. by source separating it and tr...
Dumpster Rules
Olmsted County's Solid Waste Management Ordinance requires every dumpster, compactor or roll-off container used to store waste to be reusable, covered, and resistant to rust, impact, vermin and leaks. Recycling and yard-waste containers must be easily distinguishable from regular trash dumpsters. Plastic bags may only serve as temporary storage and cannot be set out for collection until the evening before the scheduled pickup day.
Dumpster and Roll-Off Storage Rules in Olmsted County
Some RestrictionsOlmsted County Code of Ordinances, Ch. 3500 § 3505.02 (Solid Waste Storage Containers)
While being accumulated and stored for Collection and transportation, Solid Waste shall be stored in reusable, covered containers (e.g., cans, dumpsters, compactors, roll-off containers, etc.) that are rust, impact, vermin, and leak resistant. When aggregated for Collection, Yard Waste and Recyclable Materials shall be placed in storage containers that are easily distinguishable from Mixed Muni...
Collection Schedule
Class A Licensed Haulers must collect Mixed Municipal Solid Waste, recyclables, organics and yard waste from Rochester-area residential customers on a set weekly quadrant schedule, running Monday through Friday, under Section 3505.03 of the county's Solid Waste Management Ordinance. Every generator's Putrescible waste must be picked up at least once a week regardless of location.
Rochester-Area Trash Collection Schedule, Olmsted County
Some RestrictionsOlmsted County Code of Ordinances, Ch. 3500 § 3505.03 (Collection Frequency; City of Rochester Sectioning)
Class A Licensed Haulers that provide service to Residential Sites must provide same day curbside services for the Collection and transportation of Mixed Municipal Solid Waste, Source-Separated Organic Materials, Yard Waste and Recyclable Materials to those Generators wishing to contract for such services. ... Collection Containers with Putrescible Materials must be Collected, at a minimum, onc...
Trash & Recycling by City in Olmsted County
1 cities in Olmsted County have their own trash & recycling rules. Each link goes to that city's dedicated page with code citations.
All Olmsted County ordinances
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