Apple Valley, MN Trash & Recycling: Bin Placement Rules (2026)

Chapter 50 of the Apple Valley Code of Ordinances, adopted by the Apple Valley City Council in Dakota County, Minnesota, splits cart rules into two parts: where containers live between pickups and when they go out. Section 50.02(A) requires every residential and commercial or industrial owner and occupant to keep sufficient containers on the premises for all waste accumulated between collections. Each container has to be watertight and impervious to insects, rodents, vermin and absorption of moisture, and no waste can be stored outdoors unless it is inside a container.

Storage between pickups is set by § 50.02(B)(1). For single-family dwellings, containers can stay in the rear of the premises, inside any structure on the lot, or in the side yard setback, but the side yard location works only if it is screened from the street and adjoining properties. Anything stored outside must be maintained so that animals, insects or other vermin cannot enter or find harborage.

Set-out is governed by § 50.02(C). On days when collection is scheduled, containers have to be accessible to the collector, which for homes and multiple dwellings with individual residential collection service means at the curb or another location on the property agreed to by the customer and the licensed hauler. All waste placed at the curb, expressly including garbage, recycling and yard waste, is permitted there no earlier than 6:00 p.m. of the night preceding collection day. At all other times the containers go back to the storage locations in division (B).

Haulers carry a matching duty. Under § 50.04(B)(1)(k) each licensed collector must notify its account customers every year, and every new customer, of the proper placement rules, and it is unlawful for a collector to suggest that containers can be placed anywhere that breaks § 50.02(C). Under § 50.04(B)(1)(j) a collector attaches a written notice to a defective or corroded container. If the defect is still there at the next collection, the collector notifies the City Clerk, who has the container inspected and condemned if it is deficient. A condemned container is not emptied.