East Baton Rouge Parish, LA Trash & Recycling: Pickup Rules & Schedules (2026)

Sec. 6:388 of the Baton Rouge City-Parish Code puts the director of public works in charge of setting the routes and schedules for garbage and trash pickup within the city, subject to metropolitan council approval. Until the council directs otherwise, residential garbage pickup within the city can run no more than two times a week, while trash collection, meaning bulky, non-putrescible items like cut brush and cartons, runs on a one-day-a-week schedule. Commercial establishments get more frequent service: collectors must pick up garbage from businesses at least twice a week, or more often if needed to protect sanitation and public health in commercial areas.

The director has to give the public notice of whatever routes and schedule are established so residents know when to expect pickup. Private commercial collectors working directly for a business set their own frequency by agreement with that business, but the code still requires it be often enough to maintain sanitation. In the unincorporated parish, the parallel provision, Sec. 6:413, gives the director of the department of public works the same rule-making authority but does not fix a specific number of pickups per week in the code text itself; parish routes and frequency instead run under regulations the director publishes and, where the city-parish contracts with a private hauler under Sec.

6:414, whatever schedule that contract sets controls. Any violation of the collection provisions in this part, including a hauler ignoring the published schedule, is a misdemeanor under Sec. 00 and 180 days in jail.