Olmsted County, MN Trash & Recycling: Collection Schedule (2026)

03's Collection Frequency provisions require Class A Licensed Haulers serving Residential Sites to provide same-day curbside pickup of Mixed Municipal Solid Waste, Source-Separated Organic Materials, Yard Waste and Recyclable Materials together, so a customer's trash, recycling and organics all go out on one collection day rather than staggered days. For the City of Rochester specifically, the ordinance sets a quadrant-based weekly schedule unless the county's contract with a Class A Hauler specifies otherwise: Monday and Tuesday for the southeast and northeast quadrants, Wednesday for the southwest quadrant, and Thursday and Friday for the northwest quadrant.

The ordinance defines those quadrants by a detailed set of street and river boundaries, including Broadway Avenue/Highway 63, the South Fork of the Zumbro River, County Road 9, County Road 22 and the railroad tracks through the city, mapped in Addendum D to the ordinance, and the boundary automatically extends outward as Rochester annexes new territory. Outside the Rochester schedule, the baseline frequency floor applies countywide: any Generator producing solid waste must arrange for regular collection to prevent odor, vector and public-health nuisance problems, and containers holding Putrescible Materials must be collected at least once a week no matter where the customer sits in the county.

Title to ordinary Mixed Municipal Solid Waste stays with the generator until it is released to a County Licensed Hauler or delivered to an authorized facility, which is why a generator, not just the hauler, can be held responsible if waste is diverted improperly before an official pickup. The Environmental Resources Department administers the schedule and can enforce noncompliance through the county's Chapter 4000 civil process.