Auburn, WA Trash & Recycling: Pickup Rules & Schedules (2026)

100(A) sets the timing: containers must be set out for collection by the service provider's scheduled start time on collection day, then removed and returned to their storage location within a reasonable time afterward; if the scheduled day falls on a holiday, collection shifts to the next workday and containers must be back in storage by the following morning. Subsection (B) addresses ownership and scavenging directly: once recyclables or compostables are set out at curbside, or at another location agreed to under the city's service contract, ownership of those materials passes to the service provider, and it is unlawful for anyone other than the city-contracted provider to remove or collect them once set out, with a narrow exception for materials delivered directly to another person at a location where accepting them is legal.

100, and containers must otherwise sit in their zoning-approved storage location under ACC Title 18 except on pickup day. 110 separately requires containers to be kept clean, odor-free and free of surrounding nuisance debris, with the city's service provider required to give written notice of any cleanliness violation to both the administrator and the customer before a penalty attaches.