Somerville, MA Trash & Recycling: Bin Placement Rules (2026)
Key Facts
- Set-out window
- 4:00 p.m. day before to 7:00 a.m. collection day
- Barrels off sidewalk by
- 7:00 p.m. on collection day
- Max container size
- 50 lbs or 64-gallon barrel
- Collection frequency
- one day weekly per address
- Bundled paper limit
- 50 lbs, securely tied
- Enforcing department
- Department of Public Works
Summary
Somerville residents must hold refuse at the curb until 4:00 p.m. the day before pickup and have it out by 7:00 a.m. on collection day under Code of Ordinances Sec. 11-31(g). Containers can't top 50 pounds or 64 gallons, and empty barrels must leave the sidewalk by 7:00 p.m. on pickup day.
(g) Time of placement. All refuse shall be placed upon the sidewalk not earlier than 4:00 p.m. of the day prior to collection and no later than 7:00 a.m. on collection day. Additionally, all empty cans and lids will be removed from the sidewalk by 7:00 p.m. the day of collection. There will be one collection day weekly. If refuse is placed out for collection after 7:00 a.m. and the collector has already driven by the residence, the refuse will not be collected and the owner or occupant shall be responsible for removing the refuse from the sidewalk. (h) Use of receptacle. (1) Any person desiring the removal of refuse from private residential property of six units or less shall cause the refuse to be placed in authorized refuse receptacles. No receptacle shall exceed 50 pounds per container or a 64-gallon volume.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Zoning Ordinances: Revision - CodeBank PDF Post).
Full Breakdown
The Department of Public Works, under the commissioner of public works, runs weekly curbside collection citywide (Sec. 11-30, Sec. 11-31(f)). that same day. There is one collection day per week per address. and the truck has already passed, the crew will not come back for it, and the owner or occupant has to bring the barrel back in themselves. Section 11-31(h) caps every household barrel at 50 pounds or 64 gallons for properties of six units or fewer, and the code separately defines an 'authorized rubbish receptacle' as heavy plastic or metal with a tight-fitting, flytight, rodent-resistant, waterproof cover, ideally labeled with the resident's address.
Cardboard boxes and other nonregulation containers don't qualify, and if one falls apart mid-collection the leftover mess is the resident's problem, not the city's. Newspapers, magazines and flattened cardboard can go out separately in tied bundles up to 50 pounds under Sec. 11-31(i). c. 40, § 21D).
Violations & Fines
Violating the trash placement rules is punishable by a fine under Code of Ordinances Section 1-11, enforceable through the noncriminal disposition procedure of Chapter 401 of the Acts of 1977 (General Laws Chapter 40, Section 21D). Nonregulation barrels, including cardboard containers, are treated as bulk items and left uncollected rather than fined on the spot.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Sources & Official References
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