Dearborn County, IN Trash & Recycling: Pickup Rules & Schedules (2026)

Section 50.15 of the Dearborn County Code governs who may collect and carry refuse. Under § 50.15(A) it is unlawful for any person in the county who does not possess an unrevoked permit from the Health Officer to engage in the removal and/or the transportation of refuse from premises to a location other than the place of origin for disposal. The permit requirement does not apply to a person disposing of only their own refuse if it is transported to an approved disposal site in a sanitary manner.

The Health Officer approves the equipment first. Before a permit is issued for the collection and transportation of refuse, all equipment and vehicles to be used must be approved. Vehicles used to transport refuse to an approved disposal site must have suitably constructed, sanitary type, all enclosed bodies and must be cleaned as necessary to prevent nuisances and health hazards. A permit carries the name of the person to whom it is granted and other information the Health Officer requires, and a separate permit is required for each vehicle used to transport refuse.

The permit term is one year on a calendar year basis, renewable annually, and no permit or renewal can be denied on arbitrary or capricious grounds. Before any operator permit is issued, the applicant must deposit with the Health Officer a certificate of insurance showing public liability and property damage coverage of at least $15,000 for the injury or death of any one person in any one accident, $30,000 in the aggregate for two or more persons in one accident, and $30,000 for property damage, written by a company authorized to do business in Indiana.

Section 50.17(A) sets the operator permit fee at $1 per truck per year beginning January 1; a permit issued after July 1 costs one half the yearly sum. Permits are not transferable and must be carried on the vehicle at all times. An operator who already pays a similar fee to another governmental agency is exempt from the fee, and state, county, and municipal governments are exempt from all fees under the chapter. Fees go to the County Health Fund. Anyone who operates a refuse disposal site separately needs a public disposal site permit under § 50.16, at $10 per site per year under § 50.17(B).