Boulder, CO Trash & Recycling: Pickup Rules & Schedules (2026)

Section 6-3-3(b) of the Boulder Revised Code requires every property owner to maintain a current, valid contract with one or more haulers that provides enough trash, recyclables, and compostables hauling to handle the property's regular accumulation. For any property with one or more rental dwelling units, the contract must provide for trash collection no less often than biweekly. A tighter set of pickup rules applies within the city's 'special trash service zone,' the area bounded by Ninth Street, Baseline Road, Broadway, and Arapahoe Avenue, plus the blocks bounded by Fifteenth Street, Folsom Avenue, Arapahoe Avenue, and Canyon Boulevard, under Section 6-3-9.

During a period the city manager designates each year, up to sixteen consecutive days in the second quarter and up to thirty-five consecutive days in the third quarter, licensed rental properties in that zone must have their hauler check regular trash containers every day except Sundays and holidays, empty any container that is full Monday through Friday, empty containers that are more than half full on Saturdays, pick up any trash near the container, and check recycling containers at least twice a week during the manager's designated period and empty any that are more than half full.

Compliance with Section 6-3-9 during the designated period is itself an affirmative defense to a charge of violating the accumulation and storage rules in Sections 6-3-3(a) and 6-3-5(a).