St. Martin Parish, LA Trash & Recycling: Recycling Requirements (2026)

Section 36-16 of the St. Martin Parish Code, titled Unlawful removal of recyclable materials, was adopted by Ord. No. 19-02-1254-OR on 2-5-2019. It protects recyclables once they are set out. No person other than the current resident of the property on which the recyclables are placed, or the waste disposal entity authorized by the parish, shall remove, pick-up, or transfer recyclable materials left at the roadside or curbside. Anyone else who takes set-out recyclables is in violation.

The section also says where the material goes. Items left at curbside or roadside in specially marked recovery containers are to be picked up by a parish designated carrier for the purpose of the removal of recyclable materials. The section itself lists no accepted materials, collection days or container colors.

The rule sits beside the parish's mandatory service. Section 36-4 compels all residential households within the unincorporated areas of the parish to receive and pay for waste disposal collection services under the terms contracted by the parish council with a refuse collector, billed under policies developed by the parish president. Section 36-5 adds a penalty of ten percent of the amount due for late payment and a $300.00 fine for failing to pay or to participate in the program. Section 36-14 makes it unlawful to willfully damage or destroy a garbage container or trash receptacle belonging to another person, and section 36-17 requires registered carts to be taken in within 24 hours after collection. In the Stephensville-Belle River Area, section 36-48 makes salvaging unlawful without the specific permission of the owner of the premises, and section 36-49(c) makes scavenging of solid waste unlawful.