Scranton, PA Trash & Recycling: Dumpster Rules (2026)

Section 400-17 of Chapter 400, Solid Waste, Article III, Sanitation Haulers, governs any roll-off container or portable box placed on a City street or highway for collecting waste to be hauled to a disposal site. The hauler or property owner must first obtain a permit from the Department of Permits, Licensing and Inspections. The application must identify the applicant, the precise location and purpose of the container, and the anticipated parking time, and the applicant must sign an indemnification clause holding the City harmless for damage or injury while the container sits or is moved on a City street.

The permit fee is $5 per day, per roll-off container or portable box. While parked in the right-of-way, the container must display a flashing light and proper reflectors in working condition to warn approaching traffic. Absent an off-duty police officer hired to manage traffic around it, a roll-off container or portable box may occupy the right-of-way for only one day. Separately, Section 360-5(6) of the Property Maintenance chapter requires a temporary dumpster permit for any dumpster placed on private property or in a right-of-way, cited as code QOL-006 with a $100 fine and a 48-hour compliance window under Section 360-11.

1 backs the street-placement rule with its own civil penalty: a fine of not more than $600 for each violation, plus costs, and every day the violation continues counts as a separate offense, so an unpermitted roll-off left in the street can accumulate substantial daily exposure quickly.