The City of Sioux Falls tracks the tonnages of garbage and recycling collected and delivered to facilities by each licensed waste hauler operating in the five-county region of Lake, Lincoln, McCook, Minnehaha & Turner Counties.
Most material (garbage and trash) brought by waste haulers to a landfill is classified as Municipal Solid Waste (MSW). Exemptions can be granted for material that is not considered to be MSW as specified in the EPA’s Measuring Recycling: A Guide for State and Local Governments-Table. It is the responsibility of the individual waste hauler to request an exemption for this material by submitting a claim form.
From this information and claims reports submitted by individual haulers, the City of Sioux Falls Environmental Services produces monthly recycling reports.
The recycling rate for each waste hauler is calculated by dividing the total amount of material recycled by the total amount of material generated (recycled plus garbage), then multiplying by 100 to express it as a percentage.
[City of Sioux Falls Code of Ordinances 57.081]
If, after the first year, a specified waste hauler fails to meet the minimum established mandatory recycling standards, the waste hauler will receive a notice of violation. Within 30 days of receipt, the City must receive a corrective action plan, along with a surcharge payment of $1.00 per ton of municipal solid waste hauled to the Sioux Falls Regional Sanitary Landfill (SFRSL) for the previous calendar year.
If, after the second consecutive year, the same waste hauler again fails to meet the minimum established mandatory recycling standards, the waste hauler will receive a notice of violation. Within 60 days of receipt, the City must receive a corrective action plan developed by a qualified environmental engineering consultant that attests there is a reasonable expectation that this plan will bring the waste hauler into compliance. A surcharge payment of $2.00 per ton of municipal solid waste hauled to the SFRSL for the previous calendar year.
If, after the third consecutive year, the same waste hauler fails to meet the minimum established mandatory recycling standards, the waste hauler’s license to provide services will be revoked for a period of five years.
Licensed garbage haulers that exceed the recycling goal by 50% shall receive a $1.00 per ton of municipal solid waste hauled to the SFRSL rebate. The tonnage of approved exempt industrial waste is not used to calculate the goal or rebate. Garbage haulers that receive this rebate are strongly encouraged to use this rebate to enhance their recycling efforts or reward their customers.
[City of Sioux Falls Code of Ordinances 57.105.h.1-4 & 57.047.n-p]
For residential customers, waste haulers must provide garbage collection at least once a week and single-stream recycling collection at least twice per month.
All licensed waste haulers must use a rate system that:
- Financially rewards customers who reduce their level of solid waste collection service based on volume or weight;
- Provides customer incentives to reduce weekly solid waste collection; and
- Includes the cost of solid waste and recycling collection services.
[City of Sioux Falls Code of Ordinances 57.078]
Required recyclable materials include paper, cardboard, chipboard (paperboard), plastics, metal containers, newspaper, and electronics. A waste hauler is not to collect solid waste for disposal that contains visible amounts of the required recyclable materials. The waste hauler is to notify the resident or business explaining why the material was not collected.
[City of Sioux Falls Code of Ordinances 57.001 & 57.032]
The City of Sioux Falls determines recyclable material claims from waste haulers using the guidelines established by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) for measuring recycling.
Waste haulers providing both garbage and recycling services to a business may claim recyclable materials that the business self-hauled (self-shipped) to a recycling processing facility. The waste hauler must provide a verifiable weight ticket when submitting a claim form. {link to pdf of claim form, upload first} The material and process must be on the approved list of recyclables as provided in the EPA’s Measuring Recycling: A Guide for State and Local Governments-Table.
[City of Sioux Falls Code of Ordinances 57.031]
Dumpster Screening
Per the City’s Landscaping Ordinance § 160.485 LANDSCAPE STANDARDS. (c), dumpsters should be screened from public view. To find out more about dumpster enclosures, review the Solid Waste & Dumpster Enclosure Planning Guide.
- § 160.485 LANDSCAPE STANDARDS. (c) - Screening of dumpsters and outdoor storage. All outside garbage or recycling dumpsters or any outdoor storage which requires screening on the site shall be screened from view of the street right-of-way by an opaque durable fence or wall with a minimum height of 6 feet in height.
Waste Collection Hours
Per the City’s Nuisance Ordinance § 93.002 NOISES PROHIBITED. (b)(5), collections are not prohibited between the hours of 10:30 PM and 6:00 AM.
- § 93.002 NOISES PROHIBITED. (b)(5) - Loading operation. Loading, unloading, opening or otherwise handling boxes, crates, containers, garbage containers or other objects between the hours of 10:30 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. the following day in a manner as to violate § 93.003 or cause a noise disturbance.
Driveway Vision Clearance
Per the City’s Zoning Ordinance § 160.518 DRIVEWAY VISION CLEARANCE AREA. (a), waste containers near or within 10 feet of the curbline cannot exceed 3 feet in height.
- § 160.518 DRIVEWAY VISION CLEARANCE AREA. (a) - No monument style sign or other sign with its face less eight feet above grade in all DD forms and than ten feet above grade for all other forms or any fence, wall, shrub, evergreen or coniferous tree or other obstruction to vision exceeding three feet in height above the established street grade shall be erected, planted or maintained within the area from the curb line to ten feet behind the curb line.