Olmsted County, MN Trash & Recycling: Recycling Requirements (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- Ch. 3500 § 3503.02
- Recyclables destination
- Recycling Center, self-haul or Class A hauler
- Multi-unit buildings
- must provide central recycling collection
- Curbside scavenging
- unlawful for anyone but generator or hauler
- Criminal penalty
- up to $1,000 fine, 90 days jail
- Hauler duty
- Class A haulers must collect recycling with trash
Summary
Olmsted County's Solid Waste Ordinance requires every residential Generator to separate Recyclable Materials from the trash and get them to a Recycling Center, either by self-hauling or through a County-licensed Class A hauler. Multi-unit building owners must set up central recycling collection points, and haulers cannot charge recyclers more than non-recyclers.
Yard Waste and Recyclable Materials, as defined in this Ordinance, shall be excluded from Mixed Municipal Solid Waste. ... Generators at Residential Sites must provide for the segregation and delivery of Recyclable Materials to a Recycling Center, either by Self-Hauling or by contract with a Class A Licensed Hauler. ... Olmsted County requires volume or weight-based pricing for Mixed Municipal Solid Waste Collection in this Ordinance to promote Recycling. Commercial Haulers may not impose a greater charge on residents or businesses that recycle than on residents or businesses that do not recycle. ... It shall be unlawful and an offense for any Person, other than the Generator or the contracted Commercial Hauler, to take said materials aggregated for Collection for their own use.
Full Breakdown
02 of the Solid Waste Management Ordinance (Ch. 3500) pulls Recyclable Materials out of the Mixed Municipal Solid Waste (MMSW) stream countywide. Once a Generator separates Recyclables into a container that is 'easily distinguishable' from the trash can, the material cannot be recombined with MMSW for any reason. Residential Sites must deliver Recyclables to a Recycling Center, either by self-hauling or under contract with a Class A Licensed Hauler; owners and managers of multi-unit residential buildings that provide trash pickup must also arrange central recycling-collection points for tenants, covering everything except items a curbside program will not take.
Commercial property owners face the same central-location and delivery duty. The County backs the mandate with pricing pressure: haulers must bill Mixed Municipal Solid Waste on a volume or weight basis, and a Commercial Hauler may not charge a customer who recycles more than one who does not. 02, Subd. 11, any Class A Licensed Hauler that collects MMSW for a Residential Site must also collect Recyclable Materials for that Generator, and haulers serving Rochester run recycling on the same day as trash by quadrant: Monday and Tuesday for the southeast and northeast quadrants, Wednesday for the southwest quadrant, and Thursday and Friday for the northwest quadrant.
02 makes it 'unlawful and an offense for any Person, other than the Generator or the contracted Commercial Hauler' to take set-out recyclables for their own use, so curbside scavenging is banned outright.
Violations & Fines
Violating the recycling-separation and central-collection duties in Section 3503.02 is enforced under Section 3511.01. Olmsted County Environmental Resources and the County Attorney can pursue a criminal charge (a misdemeanor punishable by up to $1,000 and 90 days in jail), a civil Notice of Violation under the Chapter 4000 Administrative Enforcement and Appeals Ordinance, or a civil claim in court; each day a violation continues counts as a separate offense.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to recycle in Olmsted County?
Can my trash hauler charge extra for recycling pickup?
Is it illegal to take recyclables someone set at the curb?
What happens if I don't separate recyclables?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Olmsted County
Compare Olmsted County to another location·View the Minnesota trash & recycling overview
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