Minnehaha County, SD Trash & Recycling: Recycling Requirements (2026)
Key Facts
- Ordinance
- MC17-91 §§ 2.03-2.04
- Residential duty
- Separate recyclables before collection
- Commercial duty
- Businesses/apartments must also separate recyclables
- Landfill
- Recyclables barred from sanitary landfill
- Penalty
- Class 2 misdemeanor, SDCL 7-18A-2
Summary
Minnehaha County's solid waste ordinance requires unincorporated households and every commercial, business, or apartment operation to pull recyclable materials out of the trash stream before collection. Separated recyclables can never be dumped at the sanitary landfill, keeping the county's recycling mandate distinct from the ordinary weekly garbage-pickup requirement.
Section 2.03 ... Recyclable materials shall be separated from the waste stream prior to collection. Recyclable materials shall not be deposited at the sanitary landfill. ... Section 2.04. COMMERCIAL, BUSINESS AND APARTMENT RECYCLABLES AND WASTE DISPOSAL: ... Commercial and business establishments, including apartments, shall separate recyclable materials generated by or accruing to such establishment prior to collection. Commercial and business recyclable materials shall not be deposited at the sanitary landfill.
Full Breakdown
03 of MC17-91, the Regulation of Solid Waste ordinance, tells every residential property in the unincorporated county that recyclable materials shall be separated from the waste stream prior to collection, and that those materials shall not be deposited at the sanitary landfill. The rule sits alongside the weekly-collection requirement but functions as its own mandate: a resident can meet the collection schedule and still violate the ordinance by letting recyclables go to the landfill mixed in with garbage. 04 extends the identical separation duty to commercial, business, and apartment establishments, requiring them to separate recyclable materials generated by or accruing to the establishment prior to collection and likewise barring those materials from the sanitary landfill.
02 directs every county office to participate in its own recycling program, avoid bid specifications that would shut out recycled products, and weigh life-cycle costs when purchasing. 06.
Violations & Fines
Recycling separation is enforced the same way as the rest of MC17-91: a violation is a Class 2 misdemeanor under Article 11, punishable per SDCL 7-18A-2, with each day recyclables are dumped at the landfill instead of separated counted as its own offense. Civil penalties under SDCL 34A-1, 34A-2, 34A-6, 34A-11, or 34A-12 can be layered on top of the criminal charge.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does unincorporated Minnehaha County require households to recycle?
Do apartment complexes and businesses have the same recycling duty as homes?
What happens if recyclables end up at the landfill anyway?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Minnehaha County
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