Cook County, IL Trash & Recycling: Bin Placement Rules (2026)

Cook County Code § 38-54, part of the Public Health and Private Nuisance Ordinance (Cook County Code of Ordinances, Chapter 38, Article III), governs how residents in unincorporated Cook County store and set out garbage between collections. Section 38-54(6) bans using a plastic bag for the outside storage of garbage entirely, with one narrow exception: a bag may be placed outside only when it is out for regular scavenger pickup by a State of Illinois licensed waste hauler, and only during the daylight hours of the day of pickup.

The same subsection separately requires that any garbage or waste container be built of nonabsorbent, durable, metal or hard plastic material and be fitted with a tight cover -- flimsy or uncovered containers are a nuisance violation on their own. Section 38-54(10) extends the same daylight-hours-of-pickup-day rule to container lids: leaving the lid off a garbage container is a nuisance violation except when the container has been set out for scavenger pickup during those daylight hours. Section 38-54(9) backs this with a minimum service standard: garbage and litter must be removed from the premises at least once a week by a State of Illinois licensed hauler, and residential and commercial occupants in the unincorporated area must keep removal records for at least one year, producing them to CCDPH on request -- failure to produce a current bill or record at inspection is treated as prima facie evidence that no hauler service exists.

The Article's jurisdiction section, § 38-51(c), confines this entire nuisance scheme to the unincorporated area of Cook County and any other area the County Board designates by agreement, so incorporated suburbs and Chicago set their own municipal rules. The Cook County Department of Public Health (CCDPH) enforces the article, including on vacant lots, and may inspect any covered property during reasonable hours under § 38-53.