Greenwood, IN Trash & Recycling: Recycling Requirements (2026)

Article 9 of Chapter 6, the City's trash collection and curbside recycling program, sets three linked rules for how residents recycle. Section 6-314 requires recyclable materials to be kept separate from trash and placed in an appropriate container at curbside, not in the street, for pickup at the same time as trash or the day before or after the scheduled trash collection. Section 6-315 governs timing for both trash and recyclables: containers supplied by the City's contractor cannot go out at curbside any earlier than 24 hours before the scheduled pick-up, and the contractor may refuse to collect recyclables that are improperly prepared once it has given the resident notice.

Section 6-316 addresses what happens once material reaches the curb: it becomes the property of the contractor, and nobody except the contractor or the residential user may take it, closing off informal scavenging of cans, bottles or metal for resale. A violator faces a $25.00 civil penalty per incident under that section, and § 6-317 separately lets the contractor bring its own civil action against anyone who removes curbside recyclables, on top of that penalty. The Board of Public Works and Safety administers the program under § 6-306, including the contract that sets what materials qualify as recyclable, such as aluminum, bimetal cans and glass containers, and can adjust that list as markets for recyclables change.