Cleveland, OH Trash & Recycling: Recycling Requirements (2026)

041 was adopted to protect Cleveland's automated waste collection and curbside recycling program, in which a mechanical-arm truck empties two City-issued containers per household, one for regular household waste and one for recyclable materials defined as glass, metal cans, plastic bottles, mixed paper and cardboard. The ordinance's findings explain why the limits exist: using the wrong container raises labor and disposal costs, and recyclables contaminated by household waste have to be disposed of as regular solid waste, which costs more and defeats the point of the program.

Division (a) sets three specific prohibitions for any parcel enrolled in the program: setting out the recycling container if its contents exceed 2 percent regular household waste by volume; setting out the regular-waste container if its contents exceed 10 percent recyclable material by volume; and setting out any regular household waste in a container or bag other than the container the City issued for that purpose. 111. 991 civil infraction system, billed by mail to the parcel owner rather than prosecuted criminally.