Methuen, MA Trash & Recycling: Dumpster Rules (2026)

The Methuen Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance names trash facilities directly in one place: the design criteria for a residential golf course development (RGCD) in § 11.14. Facilities for trash removal serving the nonresidential uses of the RGCD must be screened from view of the primary street and all residential dwelling units, and all utilities must be underground. The same design list requires parking areas to be screened from the primary street public way by mounding and landscaping.

An RGCD is a special permit use in the RR District. The Community Development Board acts as the special permit granting authority (SPGA) and can grant the permit for a planned golf course and residential development on a minimum 150 acres of contiguous land, with a total of no more than 0.51 residential unit per gross acre. Section 11.14(D)(6) lets the SPGA waive these requirements if the waiver is in harmony with the purpose and intent of the ordinance, does not derogate from that purpose and intent, and the resulting development is not substantially more detrimental to the neighborhood.

Outside an RGCD, the ordinance reaches waste storage through site plan review under Article XII. Section 12.3(C)(4) directs the Community Development Board to minimize visual intrusion by controlling the visibility of parking, storage or other outdoor service areas viewed from public ways or premises residentially used or zoned. After approval, a change in the location of waste/refuse storage facilities is one of the revision categories the Community Development Department Director can review, provided the change conforms with City ordinances and Board of Health regulations and three copies of the revised plan are submitted. The Ashford School re-use overlay in § 11.18 says trash removal shall be the responsibility of the property owner, and it lists the location, size and number of waste storage facilities, including recycling, among its restrictions.