Saint Paul, MN Trash & Recycling: Recycling Requirements (2026)

Saint Paul's mandatory recycling rule predates its organics mandate: Sec. 09(a)(1) has required every residential owner, lessee or occupant to separate recyclable materials from mixed municipal solid waste since July 1, 1991, either setting recyclables out for collection at the frequency the director of public works prescribes or delivering them to an approved recycling facility. Commercial and industrial properties came under the same duty a year later, effective July 1, 1992, under subsection (a)(2). For buildings of 11 or fewer dwelling units, subsection (b) dictates the container itself: it must be a city-owned or city-approved wheeled cart that is durable, rust-resistant, nonabsorbent, watertight, rodent-proof and easily cleanable, with a close-fitting, fly-tight cover.

Buildings of 12 or more units may instead use city- or hauler-owned dumpsters meeting the same durability and pest-proofing standard. Containers can't be left where they'll be overturned or block pedestrian or vehicle traffic, and must stay in an enclosed area except the evening before and the day of scheduled curbside or alley pickup. The city, through the public works department, supervises collection timing, methods and routes, and must publish notice of collection dates, times, and drop-off site hours. Nothing in the chapter blocks a resident from giving or selling recyclables to any other lawfully operating recycling program.

Enforcement and the $25/$100 penalty structure in subsection (f) apply to recycling separation the same way they apply to the compostables mandate in the same section.