Dearborn Heights, MI Trash & Recycling: Recycling Requirements (2026)
Key Facts
- Bin requirement
- City-approved recycling bin, Sec. 17-35(b)(2)
- Recyclables ownership
- Property of the city once curbside
- Unauthorized collection
- Barred by Sec. 17-39
- Accepted materials
- Paper, glass, metal, plastic, aluminum
- Set-out window
- 6 p.m. before to 8 p.m. after
- First offense fine
- $200 Class C infraction
Summary
In the City of Dearborn Heights, Section 17-35(b)(2) requires items to be recycled that are stored outdoors to be kept in recycling bins of a type the city deems acceptable. Section 17-39 makes recyclable materials placed at the curb or in a city recycling receptacle the property of the city or its authorized collection agent, and bars anyone else from picking them up.
(2)Items to be recycled. All items that are to be recycled when stored outdoors shall be kept in recycling bins of a type deemed acceptable to the city. ... ... Sec. 17-39. - Unauthorized collection of recyclable materials. Recyclable materials placed at the curbside for collection or in any recycling receptacle placed by the city are the property of the city or its authorized collection agent. It is a violation of this chapter for any person not authorized by the city to collect or pick up, or cause to have collected or picked up, any recyclable materials placed at the curbside for collection or any recycling receptacle provided by the city.
Full Breakdown
Section 17-35(b)(2) of the Dearborn Heights City Code requires that all items to be recycled, when stored outdoors, be kept in recycling bins of a type deemed acceptable to the city, defined at subsection (b)(6) as whatever the city's official website lists as acceptable for its waste hauling program. Recyclable materials are defined at Section 17-27 as commingled or presorted high-grade paper, glass, metal, plastic, aluminum, newspaper, corrugated paper and yard clippings separated from solid waste before collection and left at the site of generation or a dropoff center.
Section 17-39, "Unauthorized collection of recyclable materials," declares that recyclables placed at the curbside for collection or in any city recycling receptacle are the property of the city or its authorized collection agent, and makes it a violation of the chapter for anyone not authorized by the city to collect or pick up, or cause to be collected or picked up, such materials. Placement and retrieval of recycling bins follow the same curbside timing as other waste under Section 17-35(d): out no earlier than 6:00 p.m. the day before collection and retrieved by 8:00 p.m. the day of collection, then stored back out of public view under subsection (c).
A resident with a documented allergy to a recycling bin's material may seek a written deviation from the department of public works under Section 17-35(f).
Violations & Fines
Scavenging curbside recyclables violates Section 17-39 and Chapter 17 as a whole, a Class C municipal civil infraction under Sec. 1-11(e): $200 for a first offense, $400 for a second within a year and $800 for a third or later offense, plus costs. Storing recyclables outdoors without a city-approved bin is enforced the same way under Section 17-35, and both the police department and the department of ordinance enforcement may issue citations for either offense.
Frequently Asked Questions
What kind of bin does my recycling need to be in?
Can someone else take my recycling before the truck comes?
What materials count as recyclable under the code?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Dearborn Heights
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Recycling Requirements in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Wayne County handle recycling requirements.