How to Setup Garbage and Recycling Services in Sioux Falls

Recycling Rules

 

A Guide to Recycling and Garbage Service in Sioux Falls

Are you new to the Sioux Falls area, just moved into a new home, or want to start recycling at your business? Check out our quick guide on how to set up recycling and trash services for your residence or business:

 

Step one: Choose a licensed waste hauler.

First, let’s quickly cover the relationship between the City, the Haulers, and Millennium.

The City licenses waste haulers to collect garbage and recycling for residents and businesses. Haulers bring garbage to the landfill, and bring recyclables to private processors like Millennium. In Sioux Falls, most single-stream materials are brought to Millennium for recycling.

Residents are responsible for contacting haulers and setting up their own services. You can choose from any of the licensed haulers listed here.

Haulers set their own rates, however the City has outlined a few rate requirements including a “pay as you throw” rate to reward waste reduction, at least two levels of service based on volume or weight, and a rate that combines the cost of garbage and recycling collection.

Find a waste hauler: Click HERE for a list of local haulers that provide recycling services. Contact any of these great haulers to start recycling at your location.

 

Step two: Pick out your services.

According to city ordinance, licensed haulers must offer at least two levels of service you can choose from including:

      1. Curbside service, where you as the resident are responsible to move containers to and from the designated pickup location (usually at the end of your driveway).
      2. Valet service, where containers are kept adjacent to the structure (your house) in a reasonably accessible place, and waste haulers retrieve and replace them on collection day.

Most haulers provide carts to collect trash, recycling, and yard waste if needed.

Residential homes use a single-stream methodology for recycling, which means all recyclables are comingled in one container, and nonresidential sites may use either single-stream, dual-stream, or source-separated collection. According to city ordinance, garbage is required to be collected at least once a week and recycling is typically picked up every other week.

Recyclable materials like paper, cardboard, metal containers, and plastic containers (#1 & #2) are banned from the Sioux Falls landfill, so make sure you know what to throw and help your hauler meet their recycling goal, which is 80% of the city’s annual recycling goal (22.1% in 2021).  Haulers are required to monitor what they pickup to ensure trash does not contain visible recyclables, if it does, they can reject your container and must leave a note explaining why it was not collected. At the landfill, the City can also inspect the material to ensure recyclables are not included. If found, the entire load may be rejected and the hauler may be charged for the cost of the inspection.

If you need to throw away bulky items like furniture, mattresses, wood or appliances, most waste haulers will only pick up if you call ahead. Before putting anything out, check with your hauler to make sure they will take it and know what the additional charge may be.

 

Step three: Begin services.

Once you’ve picked out and set up services, your hauler will deliver the carts you’ll need and provide you with a calendar to plan ahead for recycling and holiday schedules.

According to the city, on non-collection days, all containers must be kept somewhere screened from public view, or kept directly adjacent to your home in an inconspicuous place. On collection day, containers can be placed in the agreed upon collection location based on your service level, but must not encroach onto the roadway or sidewalk.

To keep your service running smoothly, follow the recycling yes list for your single stream bin HERE.

 

Q: What if I have too much recycling, or if I don’t need a Waste Hauler?

A: If your recycling bin is overflowing and you don’t have enough space to store it, or if you just want to haul it yourself, Millennium provides a large recycling dumpster open to the public in front of our facility.

We offer this as a free service with a few rules:

  • Only single stream items are accepted- Find the full accepted list here.
  • All single stream recyclables must be placed INSIDE the dumpster using the side doors (not on top of the closed container, not on the ground, or around the facility).
  • Separated cardboard can be placed in the cardboard dumpsters or metal cage.

Security cameras are used to monitor all drop-offs. If these rules are not followed, you may be reported for improper disposal. Please help us keep this service free and open to the public!

Q: What if I have an item to recycle that’s not accepted in the single stream bin?

A: There are many different processors in the area that accept materials for recycling that cannot be included in your bin. Below is a brief list of some “hard-to-recycle” items that we are commonly asked about:

For a more complete list, check out the BINfluencer website. If you still can’t find what you’re looking for, just send us a message and we’ll try to point you in the right direction!