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

Rochester Code of Ordinances Sec. 12-10-3 fixes where a garbage cart lives day to day: in or adjacent to the garage, or adjacent to the residence if the property has no garage, and every container must bear the name of the licensed commercial hauler that supplies it. During collection week the cart can move to the curb, but only adjacent to, not inside, the traveled portion of the right-of-way, and it cannot sit there more than 24 hours. Sec. 12-10-2 layers on a maintenance duty: the property owner or tenant must keep the container neat, clean and sanitary enough to prevent insect breeding, nuisances and unsightly conditions, and keep it in good repair, free of defects that could injure the person using it or the crew emptying it.

The property maintenance code adds the set-out window: under Sec. 7-4-56, a resident using a commercial hauler may place solid waste, recyclables or yard waste containers at the curb or collection site no sooner than the evening before scheduled collection, and must pull the empty containers back off the curb the same day service happens. That same section requires covered, rust-, impact-, vermin- and leak-resistant containers, and caps how long waste can sit out for collection at one week or the length of the scheduled cycle, whichever is shorter.

Read together, the three sections set a single standard: store it out of sight near the garage or house, put it out the night before pickup at the earliest, and bring the empty cart in by the end of collection day.