Medford, OR Trash & Recycling: Dumpster Rules (2026)

781, Concealment of Trash Receptacles, is a citywide site development standard applying to commercial, industrial, and multi-family development. It requires that trash receptacles, including commercial dumpsters and roll-off containers, be kept in enclosures built of solid wood, metal, brick, or masonry block sufficient to conceal them from view. Access doors into the enclosure must themselves be solid wood or metal rather than open grating or wire. Where feasible, the code favors incorporating the enclosure into the building itself using wing walls or alcoves rather than a freestanding structure; if a freestanding enclosure is used instead, it must be built of materials compatible with the other structures already on the site.

The section draws a hard line against a common shortcut: chain link fencing is prohibited as a concealment method whether or not privacy slats are added, because slatted chain link does not satisfy the concealed-from-view standard the section demands. 781 before a commercial site plan can be approved.