Queen Anne's County, MD Trash & Recycling: Dumpster Rules (2026)

The Queen Anne's County zoning rule that speaks directly to dumpster-style refuse facilities is in the landscaping requirements of the Neighborhood and Village Center (NVC) District, § 18:1-27.1 O(9). It says landscaping shall be provided to screen facilities for refuse disposal, that those facilities shall be enclosed by solid fence or walls, and that landscaping shall be installed around the perimeter. That is three separate duties: screening plantings, a solid enclosure, and a planted perimeter. The district was added by Ord. No. 09-11 on 10-27-2009 for lands designated as the Chester Village Expansion Area in the Chester/Stevensville Community Plan, so the enclosure mandate in this section reaches projects there and does not by itself reach every commercial lot in the County.

County-wide, the commercial hauling side is set by Chapter 25. Section 25-24 states the intent that industries, commercial establishments, hospitals, schools, churches, and other institutions shall have their refuse collected by a privately contracted collector. The County's own contractor serves households in solid waste subdistricts under § 25-10, so a business arranges its own service. Under § 25-5 A, a person may not collect and haul refuse as a service to others in the County unless the person obtains a solid waste collection permit from the Director of Public Works, and under § 25-5 B a person can haul refuse generated solely on the person's own premises without a permit.

Site plan review also asks about refuse areas. Under § 18:1-149 D(13), the plat for a site plan must show the location of outside refuse collection areas and the type of enclosure proposed to screen all refuse containers from public view. A commercial applicant therefore has to put the dumpster location and its screening on the drawing before approval.

Because § 25-18 A(2)(a) bars placing refuse in a street, alley, or other public place unless it is in proper receptacles for collection or under an express approval granted by the Director, a dumpster belongs on the private site and not in the right-of-way. The Department of Public Works administers Chapter 25, and the Department of Planning and Zoning handles site plans. These rules apply in unincorporated Queen Anne's County, including Kent Island; Centreville, Queenstown, and the other incorporated towns follow their own codes.