Bellevue, NE Trash & Recycling: Pickup Rules & Schedules (2026)

Bellevue Code of Ordinances § 13-22 reserves unto the city the exclusive right to collect garbage from residences within the City of Bellevue, Nebraska, and lets the city council contract with an outside hauler as an independent contractor, fixing that contractor's rates and the term of the contract, whenever the council judges it to be in the city's best interest. Because that right is exclusive, § 13-61 makes it unlawful for anyone else to engage in the business of collecting, hauling or transporting refuse, garbage, trash or rubbish in the city without first obtaining a permit from the city council. § 13-62 requires the permit application to go to the city clerk, who notifies the city administrator so the applicant's collection equipment can be inspected, and § 13-63 requires the applicant to file a schedule of the rates it plans to charge. § 13-64 attaches a license fee, set in the Master Fee Schedule, to each vehicle covered by the permit.

On the resident's side, § 13-36 requires garbage to be thoroughly drained and wrapped in paper before it is deposited in the container, so the hauler is not moving loose, leaking waste. § 13-23 separately requires that any vehicle used to haul garbage, trash or rubbish through the city's streets, avenues or alleys have a totally enclosed, watertight metal body kept clean and odor free, so a resident whose garbage is picked up by a permitted private hauler is still covered by the same equipment standard the city's own contractor must meet.