Middleton, WI Trash & Recycling: Bin Placement Rules (2026)
Key Facts
- Set-out window
- No more than 12 hours before pickup
- Removal window
- Within 12 hours after collection
- Governing section
- § 6.04(7)(d)
- Cart ownership
- Set-out materials become city property
- Penalty
- $25-$500 forfeiture per offense
Summary
Middleton limits how long residents can leave collection carts at the curb: no more than twelve hours before pickup and no more than twelve hours after, under Municipal Code § 6.04(7)(d). Leaving carts out longer violates the chapter's prohibited-practices list and can draw a forfeiture.
No person shall: ... (d)Place collection carts at the curb more than twelve (12) hours prior to the scheduled collection day. Carts must be removed from the public right-of-way within twelve (12) hours after collection.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Municipal Code: Supplement 3 Update 1).
Full Breakdown
04(7) opens with a blanket 'No person shall' before listing thirteen specific prohibited practices for solid waste and recycling collection, and subsection (d) sets the curbside timing rule: carts cannot be placed at the curb more than twelve hours before the scheduled collection day, and must be removed from the public right-of-way within twelve hours after collection. 04(7)(m) prohibits pilfering or disturbing trash or recyclables once they are set out for collection, except by the property's own owner or occupant. Carts remain city property once materials are placed for collection under that same subsection.
04(1) and (8)(b), can adjust collection-point locations for a property, but the twelve-hour placement and twelve-hour removal windows are fixed in the ordinance itself, not left to administrative discretion. The Common Council last amended the chapter by Ordinance No. O1666 on November 18, 2025.
Violations & Fines
Setting a cart at the curb earlier than twelve hours before pickup, or leaving it out longer than twelve hours after the truck has come, is a violation of § 6.04(7)(d), enforced through § 6.04(9)(a)'s forfeiture of not less than $25 nor more than $500 for each separate offense, with every day the cart sits out past the window counted as its own violation.
Frequently Asked Questions
How early can I put my trash cart out in Middleton?
How soon do I have to bring my cart back in after pickup?
Can someone else take recyclables out of my cart once I set it out?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Middleton
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