Pocatello, ID Trash & Recycling: Dumpster Rules (2026)

Commercial dumpsters and roll-off boxes in Pocatello are not something a business can simply order and place; they run through the sanitation department's permission process under City Code § 13.28.230. The section states that use of compactors, roll-off boxes or other special containers may be permitted by the sanitation director or manager, meaning the director decides whether a given property gets a compactor or roll-off rather than standard cart or bin service. Once permitted, those special containers are not billed at the ordinary refuse rate: § 13.28.230 requires that rates for collection, rental, and cleaning of such special containers shall also be set by resolution, the same mechanism the city council uses to set every other refuse fee, and copies of each fee resolution must be kept on file and made available at the office of the city clerk so a business can verify its rate.

This dumpster permission sits alongside § 13.28.090(B), which lets the sanitation director designate the location and size of storage areas for commercial, industrial or multi-unit refuse containers and decide whether off-street collection is required; units within a single complex under the same ownership may share a three-yard or larger container only if the sanitation director agrees the service can be billed to one account. Billing adjustments for these commercial accounts, including corrections tied to special-container service, are handled directly by the sanitation director or manager under current department policy, per § 13.28.230, rather than through a separate hearing process.