Littleton, CO Trash & Recycling: Bin Placement Rules (2026)

Section 7-2-4(E) of the Littleton City Code governs where trash and recycling containers can sit once they are set out. Containers and recyclable materials may not, at any time, be placed in a manner that impairs or obstructs pedestrian, bicycle, or vehicular traffic, which reaches everything from a cart left blocking a sidewalk ramp to bins stacked in a bike lane or alley travel path. The subsection adds a separate, absolute rule: no container may be permanently stored in the public right-of-way, meaning a resident cannot simply leave a cart at the curb between collection days as its regular home.

Read together with the placement rule in subsection (D) requiring containers to be kept so they do not scatter trash or recyclables, and the general nuisance declaration in Section 7-2-5 for container storage areas that are unsanitary or offensive to sight, the ordinance effectively requires residents to store bins on their own property between collection days and bring them to the curb or alley only for pickup, then return them. Property managers and landlords for multi-unit buildings are held to the same placement standard for shared dumpster and cart enclosures serving their tenants.