Salt Lake County, UT Trash & Recycling: Collection Schedule (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- Salt Lake County Code §9.56.040
- Scope
- Unincorporated Salt Lake County residents only
- Schedule set by
- Special Service District No. 1, not county code
- Commercial removal minimum
- At least once a week (§9.56.050)
- New building requirement
- Public works approval before building permit
- Default penalty
- Infraction under general penalty §1.12.010
Summary
Salt Lake County Code section 9.56.040 requires every resident of the unincorporated county to comply with the rules and regulations of Salt Lake County Special Service District No. 1 for containerizing and removing household solid waste. The county doesn't set pickup days itself; District No. 1 sets and enforces the actual collection schedule and container standards residents must follow.
All residents located in the unincorporated areas of the county shall comply with the rules and regulations of Salt Lake County Special Service District No. 1 in all matters pertaining to containerization and removal of solid wastes.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 49).
Full Breakdown
56, Litter Control, which lays out the broader duty to keep property free of debris around that mandatory-service rule. 020 makes owners, agents, occupants and lessees responsible for keeping exterior private property free of litter, including material trapped at fence bases, planted areas and embankments, and it separately makes properties facing municipal sidewalks responsible for those sidewalks and the strip between the sidewalk and the street; sweeping litter from a sidewalk into the street is its own violation, and sweepings have to go into household or commercial solid waste containers instead.
030 requires plans for solid waste containerization and storage to be approved by the department of public works before a building permit issues for commercial buildings or multiple-dwelling units, and no certificate of occupancy can be issued until that approval is on file. 050 requires commercial establishments, institutions, apartment houses and multiple-dwelling units to keep solid waste containerized and covered at all times and removed at least once a week, and bars dumping that commercial waste into a sidewalk litter receptacle meant for pedestrians. 080 backs the containerization duty with a general litter rule: throwing, discarding or depositing litter anywhere in the unincorporated county other than in a lawfully provided container or area is unlawful. 52.
Violations & Fines
Chapter 9.56 has no penalty section of its own, so a violation of the household solid waste rule or its litter-control neighbors is punished under the county's general penalty, section 1.12.010, as an infraction under state statute unless another ordinance specifically labels the conduct a class B or C misdemeanor. Failing to keep a commercial container covered under section 9.56.050 or dumping litter outside a provided receptacle under section 9.56.080 are charged the same way.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who decides my trash pickup day in unincorporated Salt Lake County?
Do apartment complexes and businesses have different trash rules than single-family homes?
Can I sweep leaves or litter from my sidewalk into the street?
What happens before a new apartment building can get its certificate of occupancy?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Salt Lake County
Compare Salt Lake County to another location·View the Utah trash & recycling overview
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