Dearborn, MI Trash & Recycling: Recycling Requirements (2026)
Key Facts
- Who must comply
- Every owner, lessee, occupant
- What's separated
- Recyclables from solid waste
- Yard waste
- Excluded, sorted separately
- Curb recyclables
- Become city property
- Who may collect
- City or licensed hauler only
Summary
Dearborn requires every owner, lessee or occupant to separate recyclables from trash and use the city recycle cart, and once materials are set at the curb they become city property that only the city or its licensed hauler may collect.
Mandatory recycling. All persons who are owners, lessees or occupants of any site of generation shall separate recyclable materials, excluding yard waste, from solid waste and place them in the recycle cart.
(b) Mandatory composting. All persons who are owners, lessees, or occupants of any site of generation shall separate yard waste from solid waste and place the yard waste for pickup on the scheduled collection day. This provision shall become effective 30 days after notice to persons who are owners, lessees or occupants of any site of generation of the city's contractor assuming such pickup responsibilities.
(c) Antiscavenging. Recyclable materials shall become the property of the city at the time the recyclable materials are placed on the easement or edge of the alley, as the case may be. It shall be a violation of this section for any person other than the city or its licensed waste hauler to collect, remove, or pick up, or cause to be collected, removed, or picked up any such recyclable materials. (Ord. No. 90-495, § 6, 6-19-90; Ord. No. 10-1288, 8-16-10)
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
Section 16-7(a) makes recycling mandatory citywide: every owner, lessee or occupant of a 'site of generation' must separate recyclable materials, plastics, glass, cans, newspapers, from solid waste and place them in the recycle cart, apart from yard waste. Subsection (c) adds an antiscavenging rule: once recyclables hit the easement or alley edge for collection, they legally become city property, and it's a violation for anyone other than the city or its licensed hauler to pick through or remove them.
Violations & Fines
Setting recyclables out but skipping the sort isn't separately fined under § 16-7, but taking curbside recyclables that aren't yours violates the antiscavenging clause in § 16-7(c).
Frequently Asked Questions
Is recycling required in Dearborn?
Can someone else take recyclables from my curb in Dearborn?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Dearborn
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Recycling Requirements in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Wayne County handle recycling requirements.