Lincoln County, SD Trash & Recycling: Recycling Requirements (2026)

Lincoln County, South Dakota regulates residential recycling through Chapter 52 of the county code, not through a county-run curbside truck. Rather than operating its own collection fleet, the Board of County Commissioners licenses private garbage haulers and recyclable collectors, and Code § 52.10 requires every licensed garbage hauler to also be a licensed recyclable collector. That section obligates haulers to offer residential customers a minimum of once a month recyclable collection and at least once a week garbage pick up in order to promote waste reduction and recycling.

A hauler cannot legally operate in unincorporated Lincoln County without first securing a license from the county under § 52.07, filed at the County Auditor's office per § 52.12, and that license expires every December 31 unless renewed. Vehicles used for collection must meet the design standards in § 52.08: watertight, permanently covered containers with metal doors kept closed in transit, and any loosely loaded open box must be tarped. Separately, anyone wanting to operate a recycling collection or processing facility, as opposed to simply hauling curbside material, needs the distinct facility license required by § 52.11.

Materials the county treats as recyclable, per the § 52.01 definitions, include aluminum, glass, paper, plastic, tin, and steel, and paper, cardboard, plastic containers, and metal containers are excluded from the transfer station under § 52.03 but accepted instead at the recycling center. The Board of County Commissioners also sets the transfer station's rates and license fees annually under § 52.02. Chapter 52's requirements are enforced through the uniform penalty in § 52.99: a hauler is first warned, and if the violation is not corrected within 30 days, the hauler faces a fine of up to $200 and up to 30 days in jail per violation.