Rapid City, SD Trash & Recycling: Recycling Requirements (2026)

030(A)(1)(a) requires the city to issue every existing single-family resident an automated garbage container, sized small, medium or large, plus 1 automated container for recyclables; new single-family residents get the same two-container setup once they become subject to the ordinance. Each family unit from single-family through fourplex gets its own automated garbage container and its own automated recycling container, with charges for garbage service based on the garbage container's size, not the recycling container. Subsection (e) then sets the handling rule: while garbage must be bagged and tied inside its cart, recyclables shall be placed loose in the automated recycling container provided, not bagged.

Subsection (2) reinforces the program's mandatory character, tying the local container system directly to South Dakota's waste reduction requirements: each family resident must be cognizant of the state mandated solid waste reduction laws and comply with the recycling program to reduce volume. Residents who want a different recycling or garbage container size can exchange it at the Solid Waste office at no charge, or pay $15 to have a different size delivered. If the automated container is damaged by the collection truck itself, the city replaces it free; damage from any other cause makes the resident responsible for buying a replacement.