Allentown, PA Trash & Recycling: Bin Placement Rules (2026)

B of the municipal waste code sets container and placement standards for every property in the City Curbside Collection Program. Containers must be durable, watertight, made of metal or rigid plastic, fitted with tight covers, kept clean, and weigh no more than 70 pounds when filled; plastic bags may substitute for containers only at curbside, must be sealed and free of rips, and cannot weigh more than 40 pounds. Cardboard boxes are barred as containers outright. Storage rules prohibit keeping a container, including on the front porch, anywhere in front of the main structure except when it is out for collection, and bar storing loose plastic bags anywhere outside except inside an approved container; multifamily owners must designate an on-property storage spot between collections.

only on the designated collection night, and must come back off the street within 12 hours after collection, as soon as practicable. Material must be set out so it cannot spill or scatter, and no one may set waste at the curb for a privately contracted collector without written Bureau of Recycling and Solid Waste approval. The Bureau of Recycling and Solid Waste and City police officers enforce these rules.