Yellowstone County, MT Trash & Recycling: Dumpster Rules (2026)
Key Facts
- Required location
- Rear yard or county-approved alley
- Screening
- Must be screened from the front street
- Shallow-lot exception
- Rear yard under 10 ft: use side yard
- Indoor option
- Access doors must be 80% opaque
- Applies to
- All commercial and mixed-use districts
- Enforcing officer
- Zoning coordinator, Sec. 27-1701
Summary
In unincorporated Yellowstone County's commercial and mixed-use zoning districts, dumpsters and other refuse containers have to sit in the rear yard or an approved alley, screened from the front street by the building. Zoning Code Section 27-403(I) sets that rule, with a fallback to the interior side yard when the rear yard is too shallow.
I. TRASH, RECYCLING, REFUSE LOCATIONS Unless otherwise defined by the site and structure regulations, all trash, recycling, and other refuse areas must be located and treated as follows:
1. Trash, recycling, and other refuse areas must be located in the rear yard of the lot or in an alley with approval, screened from the front street by the building, where practicable.
2. When no rear yard exists or when the rear yard is less than 10 feet in depth, trash, recycling, and other refuse areas may be located in the rear portion of an interior side yard.
3. Trash, recycling, and other refuse areas may be located inside the building with access doors off the rear or interior side facade. Access doors must be opaque, screening a minimum of 80% of the opening.
4. See Article 27-1200 for required screening of trash, recycling, and other refuse areas.
Full Breakdown
Section 27-403(I), part of Article 27-400's regulations for every commercial and mixed-use district (NMU, CMU1, CMU2, C3, CX and the rest), governs where a business keeps its dumpster or roll-off container. The default location is the rear yard, or an alley if the county approves it, screened from the front street by the building itself where practicable. When a lot has no rear yard, or the rear yard runs less than 10 feet deep, the container can instead go in the rear portion of an interior side yard.
A business can also bring the dumpster inside the building, provided the access doors open off the rear or interior side facade and are opaque enough to screen at least 80 percent of the doorway opening. Beyond that siting rule, Article 27-1200, Landscaping, sets the specific screening materials, wall height, and buffer requirements the county's landscape plan review checks before it signs off on a site plan. The rule reaches every commercial or mixed-use building regardless of size, unlike the parallel residential standard in Section 27-303(G), which only applies once a residential building reaches five units.
The zoning coordinator administers and enforces Section 27-403(I) as part of site plan review under Section 27-1701, and can require relocation or additional screening as a condition of any building or site plan permit before construction proceeds.
Violations & Fines
Placing a dumpster in violation of Section 27-403(I) is a zoning violation under Section 27-1702; the county allows at least 30 days for voluntary compliance before filing a court complaint, per MCA 76-2-210(2). The zoning coordinator can withhold permits, revoke a site plan approval, or issue a stop work order under Section 27-1704. Conviction is a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine up to the state statutory limit or up to six months in jail, and each day the violation continues is a separate offense.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a business keep its dumpster in the front parking lot?
What if the property has no rear yard?
Is extra screening required beyond the yard location?
What happens if a business ignores this rule?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Yellowstone County
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