Bethlehem, PA Trash & Recycling: Collection Schedule (2026)
Key Facts
- Residential days
- Mon-Sat, 6 days/week
- South side hours
- 5:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.
- North side hours
- 6:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.
- Commercial Sunday hours
- 8:00 a.m.-noon only
- Service mandate
- owner must retain a hauler
- Regulating official
- Dir. of Community & Economic Dev.
Summary
Bethlehem collects residential solid waste six days a week, Monday through Saturday, 5 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the south side and 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the north side. Every owner must maintain hauler service; commercial sites can get up to seven-day pickup, with Sunday limited to 8 a.m. to noon.
(a) Solid waste collection shall be on a six (6) day per week basis (Monday through Saturday) and shall take place between the hours of 5:00 AM and 4:00 PM on south side of the City, and between the hours of 6:00 AM and 4:00 PM on the north side of the City. (b) Solid waste collection from commercial, municipal, industrial and institutional establishments may be on a seven (7) day per week basis and shall take place between the hours of 6:00 AM and 4:00 PM, except that Sunday collection shall only take place between the hours of 8:00 AM and 12:00 Noon.
Full Breakdown
Article 1162, Solid Waste Collection and Enforcement (adopted by Ordinance 2016-14, June 7, 2016), assigns the Director of Community and Economic Development authority to regulate collection citywide. on the north side, a split tied to the Lehigh River dividing Bethlehem's Lehigh and Northampton County sections. to noon. 05(a) states that owners 'shall be responsible for preventing accumulation of solid waste on their premises' and that 'all owners shall provide for solid waste collection services by a hauler,' a duty that cannot be delegated to a tenant or lessee. 05(c) gives the owner 72 hours to produce written confirmation a hauler has been retained. 09(c).
Violations & Fines
Violations of Article 1162, including failure to maintain hauler service, run on the Article's tiered penalty in Section 1162.99: $200 for a first offense, $500 for a second, and $1,000 for a third or later offense, with imprisonment up to 30, 60 or 90 days as an alternative; each continuing day of violation counts as a separate offense.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Sources & Official References
Other rules in Bethlehem
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