Littleton, CO Trash & Recycling: Recycling Requirements (2026)

Section 7-2-4 of the Littleton City Code sets the operating rules for every container used to collect garbage, refuse, rubbish and recyclable material in the City. Subsection (D) specifically requires that trash and recycling containers always be kept in a manner that precludes scattering of trash and recyclable materials, whether that means keeping lids secured, storing containers away from wind exposure, or otherwise preventing wildlife and weather from spreading the contents. If spilling or scattering does happen, whether from an animal, wind or a collector's handling, the ordinance places the responsibility squarely on the owner or occupant of the premises to remove and properly dispose of the spillage immediately, not on the hauler.

This requirement works together with Section 7-2-5, which declares a storage area a public nuisance if it is offensive to sight, fosters rats, vermin, flies or other insects, or is otherwise unsanitary or hazardous, and with the general container rule in Section 7-2-4(A) that all garbage, refuse and rubbish must go into a proper trash container in the first place. A recycling bin left open with cans and paper blown across a yard or alley is a straightforward violation of subsection (D), independent of whether the trash itself was properly bagged.