Lexington, KY Trash & Recycling: Bin Placement Rules (2026)
Key Facts
- Earliest curb time
- 4:00 p.m. evening before collection
- Latest curb time
- 5:00 a.m. day of collection
- Removal deadline
- 7:00 p.m. collection day
- Storage between pickups
- Rear yard or side yard
- Enforcing agency
- Division of Waste Management
- Repeat-violation trigger
- 2+ notices in 12 months = civil fine
Summary
Lexington-Fayette households must not put roll carts at the curb before 4:00 p.m. the evening before collection, and containers must be out no later than 5:00 a.m. on collection day. Carts have to come back off the curb by 7:00 p.m. that same evening and be stored in the side or rear yard the rest of the week, per Code of Ordinances § 16-10(b).
Urban county government containers, other receptacles for trash and ashes and any other waste subject to collection by LFUCG shall be placed at the curb no sooner than 4:00 p.m. on the evening prior to collection and no later than 5:00 a.m. on the day of collection. Urban county government containers and other receptacles shall be removed from the curb no later than 7:00 p.m. in the evening on the day of collection. When not at the curb for collection, roll carts and other approved receptacles shall be kept in the rear yard or side yard.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Republication | Zoning Ordinance: Republication).
Full Breakdown
Section 16-10 of the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government Code of Ordinances sets the exact clock for curbside containers. on collection day itself. that evening, they cannot sit out overnight or linger through the following day. When not staged for pickup, carts and other approved receptacles belong in the rear yard or side yard, not the front yard or on the street. The Division of Waste Management enforces the window: if a violation of the placement rule occurs, the director or a designee affixes a notice of violation to the front door or the cart itself and mails or personally serves a copy on the property owner, describing the violation and the date and time it was observed.
A first notice is a warning, but a civil fine under Article XII of Chapter 16 may follow if the same problem repeats or if two or more notices have already gone to that owner at that property within a twelve-month period. Occupants are primarily responsible for compliance when they pay the solid waste fee or are the person the owner has designated in writing; otherwise responsibility falls to the property owner.
Violations & Fines
A notice of violation is posted on the door or roll cart describing the date, time, and defect observed. A civil fine under Article XII applies if the violation continues after notice or if the same owner at the same property has already received two or more notices within a twelve-month period; an additional citation issues for each further repeat within that window, subject to appeal through the environmental hearing board process in Chapter 2B.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Sources & Official References
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