Cowlitz County, WA Trash & Recycling: Bin Placement Rules (2026)

260, the general requirements section of the county's Solid Waste Management chapter adopted by Ordinance 04-061, sets baseline rules for how solid waste must be kept on residential and commercial property in unincorporated Cowlitz County. Subsection A makes it unlawful to store solid waste in a manner that lets it be carried away, deposited, or exposed by wind, rain, animals, or vectors such as rodents and insects. The section specifically calls out storing waste in plastic bags or other unapproved receptacles on the ground, on exposed decks or patios, on carports, or inside the bed of a pickup truck or in a trailer, meaning household trash left loose in these spots, rather than in a proper closed container, violates the rule even before collection day.

280. The general requirements section also addresses related storage concerns, including a ban on piling or depositing agricultural waste near ditches, streams, or drinking water sources, and a requirement that infectious waste be disposed of consistent with state sanitation rules, showing the storage restriction in subsection A sits alongside a broader set of on-property waste handling standards rather than standing alone.