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Accepted Materials

We accept most items in your garbage cart. All garbage must be:

  • Placed in garbage bags. Do not place loose items in your garbage cart.
  • Fit inside your cart with the lid closed. Extra garbage can be bagged and placed next to your cart. We'll collect extra bags for a small fee.

There are some items that cannot go in your garbage cart. Most often, this is because they are too large or potentially hazardous. On this page, we've outlined special items that either cannot go in your garbage cart or that can be recycled.

What Can't Go in My Cart?

While you can put most materials in your garbage cart, there are certain things that can't go in your cart because they are too large or potentially hazardous. We offer separate collection and drop-off services for these items. 

Bulky Items

Bulky items are anything that is too large to fit in your garbage cart or that isn't allowed in your cart. These include:

  • Mattresses
  • Furniture
  • Appliances (Examples: Ovens, washers, refrigerators, and more)
  • Electronics (Examples: Computes, televisions, light fixtures, and more)

Properties which are enrolled in the city's coordinated collection program are allowed 12 bulky items per garbage cart to be collected per year as part of your collection service.

Bulky Item Collection Mattress Recycling

Electronics

Electronics cannot go in your garbage or recycling cart because they often contain hazardous materials. Batteries also cannot go in your cart due to fire risk.

We offer many ways to safely dispose of or recycle your electronics.

Electronic Disposal & Recycling

Hazardous Waste

Many common household products can harm human health and the environment if disposed of improperly. We consider materials that are flammable, oxidizers, corrosive, toxic, reactive, or contain oxidizers or polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) as hazardous waste. 

A good rule is: If a container has the words POISON, DANGER, WARNING or CAUTION on the label, it cannot go in the trash.

Hazardous Waste Examples & Disposal

Yard Waste

Yard waste cannot be put in your garbage cart! Yard waste can be turned into compost and reused. You have three options for easily getting rid of yard waste: collection, drop-off, or backyard compost.

Yard Waste & Backyard Composting

Stale bread, vegetable, and fruit peels that should be composted

Compost vs Garbage

"38.2% of Saint Paul's residential garbage is compostable," concluded a 2025 waste audit performed by the City of Saint Paul and HDR. We found that:

  • 21% of Saint Pauls' trash consists of food scraps, like coffee grounds, eggshells, bones, and produce skins
  • 9.2% of our trash is edible food as in food that could have been eaten but was not
  • 8% of our trash is made up of compostable paper, such as napkins, paper towels, newspaper, and paper bags

Based on these numbers, Saint Paul has a lot of material that does not belong in the trash. Instead, it should be composted. You can either:

  • Take food scraps, uneaten food, and compostable paper to a compost drop-off site
  • Compost food scraps and compostable paper in your backyard
  • Coming Soon: Participate in the Curbside Compost Pickup Program!

Learn more by visiting the link below. 

Food Scraps (Organics) Recycling