Evanston, IL Trash & Recycling: Collection Schedule (2026)
Key Facts
- Single-family and 1 to 5 units
- Once per week when practicable
- Condo, co-op, townhouse, 6+ units
- Twice per week via contracted scavenger, if 75% owner occupied
- Curb set-out window
- 6:00 p.m. day before to 7:00 a.m. on collection day
- Cart removal deadline
- 7:00 p.m. on collection day or 12 hours after pickup
- Monthly fee, 65-gallon cart
- $14.00 per dwelling from April 1, 2026
- Fines under § 8-4-8
- $50, then $150, then $250 per violation
- Sunday business pickup invoice
- $350 per occurrence
Summary
Evanston collects municipal solid waste once per week when practicable from every single-family detached home and every multiple dwelling of five or fewer units, under City Code § 8-4-9-1(A). Condominium, cooperative, townhouse and row house complexes with six or more units that are at least 75 percent owner occupied get twice-weekly pickup from a private scavenger under City contract. Curb set-out runs from 6:00 p.m. the evening before to 7:00 a.m. on collection day.
(A) The City shall provide municipal solid waste collection service, not including the collection of construction debris, on a once per week basis when practicable, to the following: 1. All single-family detached homes. For purposes of this Section, a structure commonly called a "coach house" or "carriage house" is considered to be a "single-family detached home" separate from the principal house on the same lot. 2. All multiple dwellings of five (5) or fewer units. ... (B) Condominium, cooperative apartment, townhouse, or row house dwellings with six (6) or more units. 1. For condominium, cooperative apartment, townhouse, or row house dwellings with six (6) or more units, the City shall provide municipal solid waste collection service via private scavenger under contract with the City, not including the collection of construction debris, on a twice per week basis when practicable, to each unit of a condominium, cooperative apartment, townhouse, or row house dwelling which is at least seventy-five percent (75%) owner occupied for the entire housing complex.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 21).
Full Breakdown
Section 8-4-9-1 decides who gets City-arranged trash service in Evanston and how often the truck comes. Subsection (A) puts three groups on once-per-week collection when practicable: every single-family detached home (a coach house or carriage house counts as its own single-family detached home, separate from the principal house on the same lot), every multiple dwelling of five or fewer units, and any townhouse, row house or multiple dwelling that is at least 75 percent owner occupied across the entire complex and that the Director of Public Works or the City Manager, or a designee, decides to include based on accessibility. Complexes left out are serviced by the franchise service the section points to in subsection (B). The sanitation service charge is billed under Section 8-4-11.
Subsection (B) covers condominium, cooperative apartment, townhouse and row house dwellings with six or more units. Where the complex is at least 75 percent owner occupied, the City provides collection through a private scavenger under contract, twice per week when practicable, to each unit. If a condominium or cooperative has limited storage capacity and needs removal more than twice per week, as determined by the Director of Public Works or the City Manager or a designee, the extra service is bought at the expense of the occupants or owners.
Subsection (C) sends all other residences, businesses and institutions to the City franchise waste service unless they are exempt, already served by a City-contracted scavenger or another governmental agency, or are a university, hospital or governmental agency. Under subsections (E) and (F), a building with six or more units on the franchise contractor receives one 95-gallon recycling cart at no cost, and the owner supplies storage space and access for it.
Pickup timing sits next door in Section 8-4-8(D). Where a property does not abut an alley, containers go at the curb no earlier than 6:00 p.m. the day before collection and no later than 7:00 a.m. on collection day, and come in by 7:00 p.m. that day or twelve hours after actual collection, whichever is later. Properties that abut an alley designate a collection site at the property edge by the alley with any gate unlocked. When public health, welfare or safety requires a Sunday pickup at a business, subsection (I) has the City Manager order it and invoice the operator $350.
Violations & Fines
A first violation of the Section 8-4-8 set-out and collection-site rules costs $50, a second $150 and a third or later $250, and each day is a separate violation (§ 8-4-14). Other chapter provisions outside the carve-outs in § 8-4-14(B), including § 8-4-9-1, carry a $250 fine. A sanitation bill unpaid 20 days after the statement adds a 10 percent penalty, water service is terminated after 30 days, and the charge becomes a lien filed with the Cook County Recorder of Deeds. A Sunday-pickup invoice unpaid after 30 days is itself a violation.
Frequently Asked Questions
How often does Evanston collect trash from a house?
When can I put my trash cart out and when must it come in?
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Sources & Official References
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