Coon Rapids, MN Trash & Recycling: Recycling Rules (2026)

Coon Rapids builds recycling into the same licensing structure that governs trash collection rather than treating it as a separate program. Section 8-204(1) requires every residential household, and every multi-unit residential use with centralized collection, to engage a licensed hauler for the collection of both mixed municipal solid waste and recyclable materials, unless the City grants a written exemption under Section 8-204(3) for an environmentally sound alternative. On the hauler side, Section 8-215(1) requires each licensed hauler to offer its residential customers recycling service, at a minimum, alongside solid-waste removal, and Section 8-216(1) sets the pickup frequency floor: recyclable materials must be collected at least every other week, on the same day of the week as the household's regular trash pickup.

Recyclable materials, defined in Section 8-202 to include paper, glass, plastics, metals, automobile oil, and batteries, must be stored in Director-approved containers supplied and collected by the licensed hauler under Section 8-205(3). Multi-unit buildings with centralized collection face an added capacity floor of 0.05 cubic yards of weekly recycling service per dwelling unit under Section 8-216(2)(b), and their recycling and solid-waste containers must sit close together and be clearly labeled under Section 8-215(7). Scavenging materials that residents have already set out for recycling is a separate offense: Section 8-222(3) makes unauthorized removal a petty misdemeanor on a first offense and a misdemeanor on any repeat. Ordinance No. 2313, adopted September 17, 2024, put the current recycling framework in place.