Fort Collins, CO Trash & Recycling: Dumpster Rules (2026)

5 of the Transitional Land Use Code, Fort Collins's development standards for applications and building permits filed before May 17, 2024, requires an enclosed trash and recycling area for new commercial structures, new residential structures on a common collection system, commercial structures enlarged by more than 25 percent, residential structures on a common collection system enlarged by more than 25 percent, commercial structures undergoing a change of use, and any newly built enclosure. The enclosure itself must be built of durable materials such as masonry, compatible with the associated structure, and screened from public view.

Development plans must show labeled drawings of every proposed dumpster, container, bin, and roll-off, and recycling capacity must equal at least half of the proposed trash capacity. Enclosures need a pedestrian walk-in access at least 32 inches wide, separate from the service opening, and a service opening at least 10 feet wide so front-load, rear-load, side-load, and roll-off trucks can maneuver; service gates must be metal or comparable durable material and able to lock open and closed. Enclosures require bollards, angle-iron, curbing, or metal framing to protect interior walls from the dumpsters themselves, and the enclosure and any service route must sit on cement concrete, sized at least the width of the widest container plus 2 feet beyond the gate's fully open position.

' Because Fort Collins adopted a new Land Use Code effective May 17, 2024, projects submitted on or after that date are reviewed under the current code rather than this transitional standard, so applicants should confirm which code version applies to their submittal date before designing an enclosure.