Pocatello, ID Trash & Recycling: Recycling Rules (2026)

Recycling in Pocatello is not left to whoever wants to collect it. City Code § 13.28.080, titled Regulations For Garbage/Refuse Hauling, Hauling Of Other Items, And Recycling Operations, puts the sanitation director or manager in charge of reviewing any recycling collection system before it operates. Anyone who wants to establish one must have a plan of operation spelling out, at a minimum, the type of material collected, the location of collection points, the frequency and method of collection, the vehicles and equipment used, and the facilities the material is hauled to.

That plan has to be in writing and available to the sanitation director or manager, or to any member of the public who asks to see it, so the requirement is an ongoing public record, not a one-time filing. Section 13.28.080(B) separately requires that anyone hauling refuse or recyclables over public rights of way keep the load covered or otherwise secured so nothing falls onto streets, alleys or private property. Subsection D adds that recycling collectors must guard against unsightly accumulation of materials in locations visible to the public and make sure the storage of their vehicles, equipment and any temporary destination site does not violate any city, county, state or federal rule.

Enforcement runs through the sanitation director or manager directly: § 13.28.080(E) makes any violation of the section a misdemeanor, and treats each day the violation continues as its own separate misdemeanor, so an unresolved stockpile or unsecured route keeps generating new charges rather than a single citation.