Jefferson County, MO Trash & Recycling: Collection Schedule (2026)
Key Facts
- Minimum frequency
- Once per week
- Applies to
- Unincorporated Jefferson County only
- Recognized exceptions
- Severe weather, holidays, low-density areas
- Mandatory service
- Permitted hauler required, § 250.030(A)
- Unserved residents
- Director assigns a hauler, § 250.030(G)
Summary
Every residence in unincorporated Jefferson County must have its solid waste picked up at least once a week under Section 250.030(E). The only excuses for missing that weekly minimum are severe weather, a national holiday landing on the regular pickup day, or a low-density area the Director has specifically designated as an exception.
Residential Collection Frequency. All owners and/or occupants of residential structures shall arrange for the removal of solid waste at least once per week. Exceptions to the minimum collection service required would be: 1. In case of weather so severe as to make collection on a particular day impossible, or 2. In the event of a national holiday falling on a regularly scheduled collection day, or 3. In low population density areas to be determined by the Director.
Full Breakdown
030(A) makes weekly collection mandatory in the first place: every owner or occupant of a dwelling, and every institutional, commercial, industrial or agricultural establishment producing solid waste in the County, must contract with a hauler who holds a valid Jefferson County hauling permit, at a cost negotiated between the hauler and the property owner or occupant. 030(E) then sets the frequency floor for residential customers specifically: at least once a week, with only three recognized exceptions, weather severe enough to make a scheduled pickup impossible, a national holiday falling on the regular collection day, or a low-population-density area the Director has designated as exempt from the weekly standard.
010 defines 'County' for purposes of the Solid Waste Management Code as 'the unincorporated areas of Jefferson County,' so incorporated cities such as Arnold, Festus and De Soto run their own separate collection ordinances. 030(G) requires whichever hauler already collects in that area to make service available, and if more than one hauler operates there and none volunteers, the Director assigns the resident to a hauler based on economic feasibility.
Violations & Fines
Going without the required once-a-week collection, once any recognized exception has passed, exposes the resident and any non-compliant hauler to the prohibited-practices list in Section 250.100 and the penalty in Section 250.130: a fine of up to $1,000, up to a year in the County Jail, or both, plus costs, with each day of a continuing violation a separate offense prosecuted in Jefferson County Municipal Court.
Frequently Asked Questions
How often does Jefferson County require trash pickup?
Does this collection requirement apply inside Arnold, Festus or De Soto?
What if no hauler will collect my trash?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Jefferson County
Compare Jefferson County to another location·View the Missouri trash & recycling overview
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