Boulder, CO Trash & Recycling: Collection Schedule (2026)

Section 6-12-4, "Hauler Requirements," sets the citywide minimum collection schedule every licensed hauler providing residential trash service must meet. Subsection (b) requires that hauler to collect, no less frequently than every other week, unlimited recyclables, a minimum of thirty-two gallons of compostables, three paper or compostable bags of leaves, and three bundles of branches no larger than three feet by six feet. Subsection (c) requires compostables and recyclables bags and bundles to be set out adjacent to the compost container on collection day, using whichever collection point, curbside or alley, the hauler already uses for trash.

Subsection (d) defines the base unit of service every residential customer must receive: up to thirty-two gallons of trash collection plus the recyclables and compostables service described above. Haulers may charge any amount for that base unit, plus a flat periodic fee that cannot exceed the base charge and must be itemized separately on the bill, but they cannot charge less than a prorated share of the base charge for any additional trash volume collected in a period. Multifamily customers get recycling at no added charge beyond their trash service under Subsection (e), and the city manager may require haulers serving multifamily buildings to add compostables collection as well.

Haulers report their annual collected tonnage by commodity to the city manager by January 31 of the following year under Subsection (a), and the city may audit hauler invoices under Section 6-12-8 to confirm the required schedule and pricing rules are being followed.