Grand Forks, ND Trash & Recycling: Bin Placement Rules (2026)

Grand Forks assigns garbage placement to the property owner or occupant under City Code § 13-0404: containers must sit no more than fifteen feet from the alley on proper stands, hold twenty to thirty gallons, and keep tight-fitting covers on at all times. A household with more than five people needs an extra can for every five additional adults. Cans generally cannot sit under a garage or building eave unless a permanent roof or shelter covers them, and in buildings with three or more apartments the building owner, not each tenant, must supply the containers.

The department of sanitation created under § 13-0401 runs the collection system that services these cans, and § 13-0405 sets disposal rules for what goes in them: kitchen garbage must be drained and wrapped, and bottles, broken glass, and chinaware are barred from garbage cans and instead set out separately at the alley. Failing to meet the placement, size, or cover requirements is enforced as an Article 4 violation, and § 13-0416 makes the head of the household, or the responsible officer of a business, club, or corporation, accountable for compliance regardless of who actually set out the can.