Salem, OR Trash & Recycling: Collection Schedule (2026)
Key Facts
- Minimum service frequency
- At least once every 7 days
- Standard collection hours
- 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
- Commercial zone hours
- 5:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon
- Franchisee office hours
- 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. weekdays
- Civil penalty for noncompliance
- Up to $2,000 per violation, per day
Summary
Salem's franchised haulers must offer solid-waste pickup at least once every seven days to every residence, business, motel, and hotel. SRC 47.120(b) sets standard collection hours from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., with an earlier 5 a.m. to noon window in Director-designated commercial zones, and lets the Director order more frequent pickup when waste threatens public health.
Solid waste collection service shall be offered at least once every seven days to each place of business, motel or hotel and residential area. Except under emergency conditions, collection shall be made between the hours of 6:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m., provided that in commercial zones designated by the Director, collection shall be between the hours of 5:00 a.m. and 12:00 noon. The Director may impose reasonable modifications to the collection periods established under this subsection. The Director may order more frequent collection than required by this subsection if the accumulation of waste constitutes a threat to public health, safety, or welfare.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 26 Update 1).
Full Breakdown
Sec. 120, the chapter's core service-standard section, requires a franchisee to offer solid-waste collection at least once every seven days to each place of business, motel or hotel and residential area, so weekly pickup is the citywide floor, not a suggestion. and must finish by noon, a schedule meant to keep collection out of downtown daytime traffic. The Director may impose reasonable modifications to those hours, and separately can order more frequent than weekly collection wherever accumulating waste is becoming a public-health, safety, or welfare problem.
The same section requires franchisees to keep the collection process clean: haulers cannot litter a premises while collecting, must repair or replace receptacles they damage beyond fair wear and tear, and must replace lids immediately after emptying a cart. on business days, for billing, service requests, and complaints, with only a temporary answering device allowed for short absences. On request, the Director can require a franchisee to hand over collection and disposal route schedules along with copies of complaint reports.
Violations & Fines
A franchisee that misses the seven-day service standard or the collection-hour window under SRC 47.120 is subject to a civil penalty of up to $2,000 per violation under Sec. 47.240(a), with each day of noncompliance a separate violation; the Director can also use that leverage to order more frequent pickup. Sec. 47.235 additionally lets a franchisee sue anyone hauling trash in its service area without the required franchise.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Sources & Official References
Other rules in Salem
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