Dearborn, MI Trash & Recycling: Pickup Rules & Schedules (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- Code of Ordinances § 16-5(2)
- Required cart size
- 96-gallon or 64-gallon (city-issued)
- Loose bags outside cart
- Not picked up
- Occasional overflow container
- Covered 32-gallon container
- Repeat overflow trigger
- More than once in 2 of 3 months
- First offense fine
- $100.00 civil infraction
- Repeat offense fine
- $300.00 misdemeanor
Summary
Dearborn requires every household on city refuse service to use the city-issued 96- or 64-gallon cart; loose bags left outside the cart are not collected. Overflow trash needs a covered 32-gallon container, and repeated overflow within three months means leasing an extra cart at cost, all enforced with warnings then $100/$300 civil fines.
(2) Domestic refuse carts. Each owner, occupant, tenant or lessee receiving domestic refuse collection service shall utilize the 96-gallon or 64-gallon refuse cart provided by the city. Disposable paper or plastic bags containing refuse placed outside of the carts provided by the city will not be picked up. Occasionally, if necessary, each owner, occupant, tenant or lessee may put additional bagged trash into a covered 32-gallon container for pick-up. Each owner who puts out an additional container more than once for any two of three months will be required to lease an additional 96-gallon refuse cart at cost. No additional collection charge will apply to the additional refuse cart. ... (8) Penalties. An individual who violates this section will be issued one written warning. Thereafter ... a. For the first offense, the individual is responsible for a civil infraction and shall be fined $100.00. b. For a second or subsequent offense committed within one year from the date of a previous conviction, the individual is guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be fined $300.00.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: 2026 S-07: Code: Updated through: July 22, 2026 | Zoning: Updated through: July 22, 2026).
Full Breakdown
" The section builds in a narrow overflow allowance rather than a blanket ban: residents may occasionally put additional bagged trash into a covered 32-gallon container for pickup, but if a household sets out an extra container more than once in any two of three months, § 16-5(2) requires them to lease a second 96-gallon refuse cart at cost, with no added collection charge for that second cart. That domestic cart rule sits inside the broader § 16-5 container framework, which also covers yard waste (32-gallon containers or approved paper compost bags, marked with the city's yard-waste sticker) and bulk item pickup (up to five bulk items per household per week), and requires recyclables to go in the separate 96- or 64-gallon recycle cart under § 16-5(3).
Containers must otherwise stay within private property lines, not in the alley or on public property, under § 16-5(7), and be kept in sanitary condition. 00 fine.
Violations & Fines
The Department of Public Works enforces § 16-5 in the field. A resident who repeatedly sets out loose bags or an extra 32-gallon container without leasing a second cart first receives one written warning; after that, a first offense is a civil infraction fined $100.00, and a second or subsequent offense within a year of a prior conviction becomes a misdemeanor fined $300.00 under § 16-5(8).
Frequently Asked Questions
Will Dearborn pick up trash bags left next to my cart?
What happens if I keep putting out extra trash containers?
What's the fine for violating Dearborn's refuse cart rules?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Dearborn
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