Blue Earth County, MN Trash & Recycling: Dumpster Rules (2026)

Blue Earth County Code Chapter 16, the county's solid waste management ordinance, sets the container and storage standards that apply to every unincorporated property, business and industrial site in the county, including the placement of dumpsters and roll-off boxes used to collect solid waste for hauling. Section 16-11 puts the storage duty directly on the property owner, lessee and occupant: solid waste must be kept in durable, rust-resistant, watertight, rodentproof, fly-tight covered containers, or in another container type the environmental services department and the hauler accept, and toxic or hazardous waste must go in leakproof labeled containers.

The section's hard limit is two weeks: no solid waste, including material staged in a dumpster or roll-off, may sit on public or private property longer than that without the environmental services department's written approval. Containers themselves must be maintained free of nuisance or unsanitary conditions, and oversized debris unsuited to a standard container must be stored in a pollution-free, nuisance-free manner satisfactory to the department. Commercial haulers who deliver and service roll-off containers must separately hold a county commercial haulers license and vehicle permit under section 16-12, and their applications must state the capacity and number of roll-off containers they operate.

Transfer stations for temporary bulk storage may be licensed annually and must still meet section 16-11's storage standards. The environmental services department administers and enforces chapter 16; violating the storage or container requirements is a misdemeanor under section 16-9, and the county can also seek an injunction or other court action to compel compliance in addition to criminal prosecution.