Dakota County Ordinance 110 Solid Waste Management requires commercial property owners, managers and event sponsors to have a visible and legible label on each recycling, organics (if collected) and trash container and that labels must be in accordance with the county standards below. Labels must be replaced if they become damaged, faded, illegible or conflict with county standards.
This requirement goes into effect:
- In 2020, for containers purchased after Dec. 31, 2019
- By 2022, for containers purchased prior to Jan. 1, 2020
Recycling label requirements
1. Label title: Labels must indicate the material collected. Use the following terms on recycle labels.
Title term: Recycle or Recycling
2. Label color: Blue
3. Images that show what to recycle: Images should reflect materials recycled in your program. The county recommends using the example items below. These items are required to be recycled at all residential and commercial organizations and events and are collected by all haulers in Dakota County:
- Newspaper
- Magazine
- Cardboard box (flattened)
- Juice carton with a cap on
- Milk carton with a cap on
- Food can or beverage can
- Beverage bottle
- Food jar with lid on
- Water bottle with cap on
- Milk jug with a cap on
4. Include preparation instructions where applicable, such as:
- Empty and dry
- Caps on
- Flatten boxes
Organics label requirements (only applies if organics are collected)
1. Label title: Labels must indicate the material collected. Use the following terms on organics labels.
Title term: Organics
Subtitle term: Food Scraps
2. Label Color: Green
3. Images that show what goes in organics: The county recommends using the example items below:
- Meat with bone product
- Dairy or egg product
- Coffee grounds
- Fruit peeling/scraps
- Dry good
Trash label requirements
1. Label title
Labels must indicate the material collected. Use the following term on trash labels.
Title term: Trash
2. Label Color: Gray or black.
Label resources
Commercial property owners, managers and event sponsors can produce their own labels or use county labels to meet label requirements.
Order labels: The county provides free recycling, organics and trash labels. Labels are available in a variety of sizes.
Make your own: The county has free images to download to customize your own labels.