Burlington, WI Trash & Recycling: Pickup Rules & Schedules (2026)

Section 265-3A requires every residence in an area served by City or City-approved collection to keep enough container capacity for its normal volume of waste between pickups, with refuse collected from dwellings of four units or fewer at least once a week; residential units inside a commercial development count as commercial for this purpose. Refuse and recyclables go out at the street curb, or behind the residence where a City alley exists. Only plastic bags and standard garbage cans up to 30 gallons are allowed, capped at 60 pounds full, and material bound for the recycling bin under Article III must go into the bins the City or the property owner provides.

Containers must sit somewhere easily accessible, with a clear path free of snow, cars and other obstacles, and a resident is responsible for anything scattered by wind, animals or vandals. to be picked up. Under § 265-3D, only a contractor under contract with the City, or a City employee acting under Common Council direction, may collect curbside refuse; residents may always retrieve their own rubbish before the truck arrives. Ammunition and household hazardous materials such as weed killers, paint thinners and gasoline are barred from the regular refuse stream entirely under §§ 265-3B and 265-3C.