Olmsted County, MN Trash & Recycling: Bin Placement Rules (2026)

03's curbside placement rule applies to Generators served by a Licensed Hauler or a Commercial Hauler alike: acceptable Solid Waste Containers, whether holding Mixed Municipal Solid Waste, Recyclable Materials, Source-Separated Organic Materials or Yard Waste, cannot go out at the curb or collection site any earlier than the evening prior to the scheduled collection day. Once collection happens, the empty containers have to come back off the curb the same day; they cannot sit out overnight or for extra days waiting to be brought in.

02, which requires the containers themselves to be covered, reusable and resistant to rust, impact, vermin and leaks, and which limits plastic bags to temporary use only, also barred from outdoor placement earlier than the evening before pickup. The ordinance carves out one flexibility: municipalities that run their own organized waste collection system are allowed to deviate from the same-day removal requirement, so a city like Rochester with an organized collection program can set its own local timing rather than following the county default. Outside an organized municipal system, the county's evening-before/same-day-removal rule is the operative standard for every generator, residential or commercial, that contracts with a hauler.

03, which the county can address through the Chapter 4000 civil enforcement process or, for repeat or serious noncompliance, referral toward the ordinance's criminal misdemeanor penalty.