St. Martin Parish, LA Trash & Recycling: Collection Schedule (2026)

Residential trash service in unincorporated St. Martin Parish is not optional. Sec. 36-4 of the Code of Ordinances says all residential households within the unincorporated areas of the parish shall be compelled to receive and pay for waste disposal collection services under the terms and conditions contracted by the parish council with a refuse collector, and that each household is billed under the policies, practices and procedures developed by the parish president. Sec. 36-6 made the requirement effective at the earlier of January 1, 2013, or the effective date of any contract the parish council executed for the service. The ordinance behind it is Ord. No. 12-05-0985, dated 5-1-2012.

Who counts as a household matters. Sec. 36-3 defines household solid waste as waste from a place of residence with one or two dwelling units. Waste from a residence with three or more dwelling units, such as apartment buildings and mobile home courts, is defined as commercial solid waste. Article I does not print collection days or pickup times; those come from the contract the parish council signs, and Sec. 36-13 makes it unlawful to collect solid waste in the parish without a written agreement with the parish.

Sec. 36-17 puts a duty on the resident: containers and carts must be removed by the resident to whom they are registered from the curbside or roadside location within 24 hours after collection. Sec. 36-16 protects recycling set-outs: only the current resident or the waste disposal entity authorized by the parish can remove recyclables left at the roadside or curbside, and materials in specially marked recovery containers go to a parish designated carrier.

Article II, the older Stephensville-Belle River Area article (Sec. 36-36 and following), prints a schedule for that area: Sec. 36-41(b)(4) requires a minimum of one collection per week on a regular recurring schedule, and Sec. 36-41(b)(5) bars setting containers out more than 24 hours before the usual collection day and time and normally before 4:00 p.m. on the preceding day. Sec. 36-4 itself does not carve that area out.