Cicero, IL Trash & Recycling: Bin Placement Rules (2026)

Chapter 78, Article I of the Cicero Code of Ordinances sets the town's rules for where and how garbage carts sit on residential property. Section 78-4(a) makes every owner, agent, or occupant of a house, flat, or apartment responsible for keeping a garbage vessel in good repair and depositing garbage in it as soon as it is produced; the duty does not apply to hotels, boardinghouses or restaurants feeding more than 20 people a day, which fall under the separate commercial-garbage rule in Section 78-7.

Section 78-4(b) sets the container itself: a watertight vessel of at least 110 gallons, made of metal or plastic at least 3/16 inch thick, with a closefitting cover and handles, emptied by a town-licensed scavenger at least once every calendar week. Section 78-4(c) governs set-out location: residents must present the vessel at the edge of the sidewalk in front of the property or on the rear of the lot, on whatever schedule and in whatever manner the board of trustees directs. Placing a garbage vessel in any alley is flatly illegal, and if the can sits at the rear of the lot it must stay entirely within the lot line.

Section 78-4(d) bars putting anything but garbage in the garbage vessel, and Section 78-4(e) makes it unlawful for anyone other than the licensed scavenger or the property's own occupant to remove, uncover, or disturb the can or its contents. Residents who also set out bundled newspapers for recycling under Section 78-11 must place the tied bundle on top of their garbage can in the alley for collection. 00, with each day the violation continues counted as a separate offense.