Arvada, CO Trash & Recycling: Dumpster Rules (2026)

A states that "trash collection dumpsters shall not be allowed on individual single-family or duplex lots, unless on a temporary basis associated with construction projects for which a building permit has been issued," while nonresidential, mixed-use, multifamily, and clustered small housing developments must include a designated trash collection or compaction area sized for collection-vehicle maneuvering. Subsection B sets the siting priorities and distances: each trash, recycling, or compaction area must sit "not less than 20 feet away from lots used for single-family detached, duplex, multiplex, or townhome uses, and at least 20 feet away from streets, sidewalks, and internal pedestrian circulation systems," and it cannot sit more than 200 feet from the entrance it serves.

The Code ranks acceptable locations in order: a screened enclosure attached to the rear of the building first, the rear yard second, and the interior side yard third. Subsection C requires the enclosure to be screened "from view from all property lines by a non-combustible screen or wall between six feet and eight feet in height," with an opaque gate at the access point, materials and color matched to the principal building, and chain-link gates with metal cladding prohibited outright. The general waste-removal chapter of the Municipal Code, Section 90-3(b), separately requires nonresidential premises to keep waste in enclosures that are either inside a building or screened by masonry or solid fencing at least six feet high, reinforcing the same screening standard citywide.