St. Louis County, MO Trash & Recycling: Bin Placement Rules (2026)

Section 607.120 of the St. Louis County Waste Management Code (Chapter 607) sets three rules for residential containers: where they are kept, when they go out, and when they come back. Subsection 1 begins with storage. Residential waste containers, recovered material (recycling) containers and bulky or non-containerized waste must be stored on the premises where the waste was generated, unless a person with authority to grant permission has given written permission for storage on other premises. The containers and bulky items must also sit at least three (3) feet behind the front of the main residential structure, so a bin cannot be kept flush with the front wall of the house or forward of it.

The collection hauler, not the homeowner, picks the set-out spot. Containers for residential waste and bulky waste, other than waste from multifamily premises with four (4) or more units, go to the curb, the mailbox, the backyard or the side yard as required by the person responsible for collection. When that collection point is in front of the premises or on a street, waste and recovered material containers and bulky items can be placed there not earlier than dusk of the day before the regularly scheduled collection day. After pickup, the waste and recovered material containers must go back to their appropriate storage places on the same day as collection.

Subsection 2 covers business property. Nonresidential waste and recovered material containers, bulk source separated material and bulky waste generated on nonresidential premises must be stored on the nonresidential premises where the waste or material was generated, again unless written permission for storage on other premises is obtained from a person with authority to grant it. The three-foot setback and the dusk-before set-out limit are written for residential containers only.

Responsibility is spread wide. Under § 607.050, on residential premises every person age seventeen (17) or older who lives there must see that §§ 607.050 through 607.145 are satisfied, regardless of whether the violation came from that person's own action or failure to act. On nonresidential premises the person in possession and each manager, agent or employee carries the same duty. Related sections apply to the same bins: § 607.145 requires collection of municipal waste and residential recovered materials not less often than once per week, and § 607.070 sets the container standard for single-family waste (20 to 35 gallons for bags, leak-proof, fly-tight and covered).