Stearns County, MN Trash & Recycling: Recycling Rules (2026)

Ordinance No. 431, the Stearns County Solid Waste Ordinance, licenses everyone who collects or transports solid waste for hire in the county (Section 7.4) and attaches operating rules to that license. Section 7.9, Source Separated Recyclables Collection and Transportation, is the rule that governs how recyclables must actually be handled once a resident has sorted them out: a licensed hauler "shall not mix recyclable materials sorted at the source of the recyclables generation with solid waste or handle recyclable materials in any way that reduces the reusability or marketability of the recyclable materials." This backs up the licensing conditions in Section 7.5, which require an applicant to certify that recycling is offered to customers (7.5.2) and to certify that billing is volume-based (7.5.1), and the ongoing duty in Section 7.4 to report monthly to the county on the weight and type of recyclables collected versus solid waste.

Section 7.2 and 7.3 set companion equipment standards, requiring collection vehicles and containers to be covered, leak-proof and cleanable, and loaded so contents cannot spill in transit. Together these sections mean the substantive "rule" for recyclables in Stearns County is a hauler-facing anti-comingling duty, not a household sorting code; residents rely on their hauler's compliance with Section 7.9 to keep separated material out of the landfill stream.