Indianapolis, IN Trash & Recycling: Collection Schedule (2026)
Key Facts
- Multifamily cutoff
- 5+ units, no city service since 2/1/1995
- Single-family definition
- Condo or 4 units or fewer
- Set-out duty
- Per DPW rules; waste presumed abandoned
- Unlicensed hauling penalty
- Up to $2,500 per violation
- Name-change notice
- 30 days' advance notice to DPW
Summary
Indianapolis provides curbside solid waste collection only to single-family residences and condominiums (four units or fewer). Since February 1, 1995, structures with five or more residential units get no city pickup and must contract with a private hauler. Residents prepare waste per Department of Public Works rules and set-out is presumed abandoned once collected.
Sec. 601-12. - Services for multifamily residences. Effective February 1, 1995, multifamily residences shall not receive collection service from the city. (Code 1975, § 13-12) ... Sec. 601-1: "Multifamily residence means a structure containing five (5) or more residential units, and does not include condominiums." "Single-family residence means a condominium or a structure containing four (4) or less residential units, unless it is a component of multiple structures that together constitute an apartment complex." Sec. 601-3: "Any person accumulating residential solid waste on any single-family residence owned or controlled by him, and desiring such solid waste to be collected and removed by the city or persons under contract with or licensed by the city, shall prepare and set out such solid waste according to the rules and regulations promulgated by the department of public works. Residential solid waste prepared and set out in this manner is presumed to be abandoned, and the owner's rights in such solid waste are relinquished upon collection and removal by the city, or persons under contract with or licensed by the city."
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 47 Update 2).
Full Breakdown
Code of Indianapolis & Marion County Sec. 601-12 draws a hard line at building size: "Effective February 1, 1995, multifamily residences shall not receive collection service from the city." The chapter's definitions section, Sec. 601-1, fixes what counts: a "single-family residence" is a condominium or a structure of four or fewer residential units (unless it's part of a larger apartment complex), while a "multifamily residence" is any structure with five or more units, excluding condominiums. That split determines who gets city curbside pickup and who must arrange private hauling.
For households the city does serve, Sec. 601-3 imposes the actual duty: anyone accumulating residential solid waste at a single-family residence who wants it collected by the city or a city-contracted/licensed hauler "shall prepare and set out such solid waste according to the rules and regulations promulgated by the department of public works." Once set out this way, the waste "is presumed to be abandoned, and the owner's rights in such solid waste are relinquished upon collection." Sec. 601-4 separately requires that containers and dumpsters meet DPW's specifications and be placed so they are "readily accessible to the city collectors." Multifamily buildings must also give the DPW director thirty days' advance notice of any name change under Sec. 601-11, since city records track collection accounts by property name.
Residential solid waste under Sec. 601-1 covers food waste, paper, cardboard, bottles, metal cans, plastics, cloth, wood, Christmas trees, and yard debris like leaves, grass and shrubbery cuttings, but it excludes building materials, contractor debris, and large-quantity land-clearing waste, which require separate arrangements. Unlicensed haulers who collect or transport solid waste without city authorization violate Sec. 601-6, and the administrator in the division of construction and business services can suspend or revoke a hauling license for repeated violations.
Violations & Fines
Sec. 601-6 makes unlicensed hauling or unauthorized dumping-site delivery unlawful; the city can suspend or revoke a hauler's license, and disobeying a suspension carries a fine of up to $2,500 per violation. Sec. 601-4 violations (noncompliant containers) and other chapter violations without a specific fine default to the general penalty in Sec. 103-3, capped under IC 36-1-3-8, plus possible injunctive abatement.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the city pick up trash at my apartment complex?
What happens to my trash once I set it out?
Can I hire any company to haul my trash?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Indianapolis
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