Portsmouth, VA Trash & Recycling: Bin Placement Rules (2026)

City Code Sec. 16-32(a) requires that in areas receiving automated refuse and recycling collection, garbage or trash cannot be set out unless it is in the approved container furnished by the city; subsection (c) leaves the specific container type for each area to the director of general services. Sec. 16-6(b) backs this up for storage generally, requiring residences on automated collection to keep garbage and trash in the 65- or 105-gallon city-furnished container with its cover on at all times except while filling or emptying it, and bars using plastic bags as the sole storage method.

Sec. on collection day, then must be removed and stored beside or behind the dwelling, or at a director-approved location, by the evening of collection day. Sec. 16-37 sets the physical placement standard for everything collected under the article: materials must be placed on the sidewalk as near the curb as possible or between the sidewalk and the curb, unless the city manager authorizes otherwise, and bulk refuse specifically may never be placed in public alleys even where alleys exist, and must stay clear of water meters, TV cable boxes, power lines, utility poles and tree limbs.