Sanitation
Services
NOTICE: Clay County now handles resident waste drop-offs at the Resource Recovery Center. Hours of operation and details can be found at the Resource Recovery Center's website.
The Highway 10 location is permanently closed.
Sanitation provides garbage collection and disposal services to businesses and residents within the City of Moorhead. Select from the links below to learn further information.
- Residential Garbage Collection
- Holiday Collection Schedule
- Commercial Garbage Collection
- Illegal Dumping
- Large Item Collection
- Household Hazardous Waste
- Cleanup Days
- Building / Demolition Materials
- Televisions and Computer Equipment
- Recycling
- Yard Waste
- Residential Garbage Collection Sign-Up/Tote Size Change
Contact Us
Email Sanitation or call 218.299.5347 (Main Office) or 218.299.5465 (Resource Recovery Center).
To receive the latest updates on events and changes in service, please sign up for email notifications. Choose "Service Alerts" to get updates related to sanitation and other City of Moorhead updates.
Residential Garbage Collection
Moorhead uses an automated garbage collection system and each household is allowed one automated garbage tote. Three tote sizes are available. The standard size is 48-gallon, but 64-gallon and 96-gallon totes are available at an additional cost. See Service Charges for Residential Garbage Collection for tote rates or change your tote size. Houses with separate metered apartments may have one automated garbage tote for each unit that pays a garbage disposal fee.
Refuse Bags:
If a household has more garbage than will fit within the automated tote, it must be placed in a City of Moorhead prepaid yellow refuse bag that is imprinted with the City of Moorhead logo. These bags are available at many local grocery and retail stores. The expense of purchasing the bags includes the cost of collection and disposal.
Please place the yellow bags with your City of Moorhead bins for collection.
Curbside Collection:
Garbage totes and recycling containers should be placed at the curb (not in the street) the night before or by 5 am on your collection day to ensure pickup. Garbage totes should be placed within 4 feet of the curb line, and at least 2 feet from any obstacle to include snow banks. Do not place garbage totes or bags on top of snow banks or in the street.
Storage of Garbage Totes/ Recycling totes:
Store your garbage and recycling totes in an enclosed building, or for exterior storage, place neatly against either the back or side of the structure with lids fully closed. Your garbage and recycling tote should be moved off the boulevard as soon as possible after collection has been completed.
Find your garbage collection day.
Find your garbage and recycling day with our new interactive map! Click on the link below and look in the upper right-hand corner to enter your address and choose either sanitation or recycling.
Holiday Garbage Collection Schedule - 2025
To receive the latest updates on events and changes in service, please sign up for email notifications. Choose "Service Alerts" for updates related to sanitation and other City of Moorhead updates. Click here for the full calendar.
The holidays listed below will not have garbage collection, and the Clay County Resource Recovery Center will be closed. To collect the route that lands on the holiday, there will be double routes, as indicated below. Reminder: On days when multiple garbage/recycling routes are picked up, collection will begin at 4 a.m. Please place your garbage out the night before to ensure collection. Please be aware the shift in route schedules may cause early or delayed collection this week; set your trash out by 4 am to ensure it is collected.
- Martin Luther King Day (Monday January 20, 2025). Both Monday and Tuesday’s routes will be collected Tuesday, January 21, 2025.
- Presidents Day (Monday, February 17, 2025). Both Monday and Tuesday’s routes will be collected Tuesday, February 18, 2025.
- Memorial Day (Monday, May 26, 2025). Both Monday and Tuesday’s routes will be collected Tuesday, May 27, 2025.
- Juneteenth (Thursday, June 19, 2025). Both Thursday and Friday's routes will be collected Friday, June 20, 2025.
- Independence Day (Friday, July 4, 2025). Both Thursday and Friday's routes will be collected Thursday, July 3, 2025.
- Labor Day (Monday, September 1, 2025). Both Monday and Tuesday’s routes will be collected Tuesday, September 2, 2025.
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Veterans Day (Tuesday, November 11, 2025). Both Tuesday and Wednesday's routes will be collected Wednesday, November 12, 2025.
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Thanksgiving Day (Thursday, November 27, 2025). Both Thursday and Friday's routes will be collected on Friday, November 28, 2025.
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Christmas Eve (Wednesday, December 24, 2025). Wednesday's route will be collected ONE DAY EARLY on Tuesday, December 23, 2025.
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Christmas Day (Thursday, December 25, 2025). Both Thursday and Friday’s routes will be collected Friday, December 26, 2025.
- New Year’s Day (Thursday, January 1, 2026). Both Thursday and Friday’s routes will be collected Friday, January 2, 2026.
Holiday-Related Waste
The Forestry Division will chip Christmas trees on your boulevard from January 6-17, 2025, on your garbage day.
Note: The Forestry Division will not pick up Christmas trees after January 17, 2025.
• Please place trees 5 feet away from other objects.
• Please do not deposit on snowbanks.
• Remove plastic bags, lights, wood and metal stands.
Clay County offers holiday lights, electrical cords, phone cords, and appliance cords recycling year-round at the following locations:
Moorhead Ace Hardware Resource Recovery Center
20 6th St S, Moorhead, MN 56560 3322 15 Ave N, Moorhead, MN 56560
These locations are seasonally available:
Barnesville Recycling Center Glyndon Recycling Center
205 Front St. N, Barnesville, MN 56514 22 3rd St SE, Glyndon, MN 56547
Hawley Recycling Center Hitterdal Recycling Center
716 Front Street, Hawley, MN 56549 NP Avenue, Hitterdal, MN 56552
To receive the latest updates on events and changes in service, please sign up for email notifications. Choose "Service Alerts" for updates related to sanitation and other City of Moorhead related updates.
The City has a volume-based collection fee. Our customers pay a monthly fee for service comprised of:
- Trip fee per number of containers and collections each week
- Cubic yard fee based on the size of container
- Container rental fee
- Minnesota Department of Revenue Solid Waste Management tax of 17%
- See Commercial Garbage Collection rates for price information.
View the City of Moorhead Container Enclosure Guidelines.
If you would like to request additional collection for your commercial property, please email Sanitation or call 218.299.5465.
It is against City Ordinance to store or dispose of trash, rubbish, appliances, machinery or motor vehicles, junk, building and demolition materials on any private property located within the city. It is also against City Ordinance to dispose of residential garbage and waste in any recycling dumpsters at recycling drop sites or in dumpsters at businesses. Violators of illegal dumping ordinances will be prosecuted. Surveillance cameras have been installed at the recycling drop sites.
Except during Clean Up Week, household items such as furniture and appliances are considered special pickups and the household will be charged accordingly for collection and disposal of these items. Disposal fees will apply. To arrange a special pickup of large items email Sanitation or call 218.299.5465.
Alternatively, you may bring these items to the Clay County Resource Recovery Center for disposal. Disposal fees will apply.
Location:
Resource Recovery Center
3322 15 Ave N
Open year round (except holidays):
Monday – Friday 8:00 am to 4:00 pm
Examples of hazardous waste include:
- Building and paint chemicals
- Garden pesticides and weed killers
- Household cleaning chemicals
- Automotive supplies
- Hobby and craft materials
- Oil and oil filters
- Fluorescent bulbs
Visit Clay County Household Hazardous Waste for details of where to dispose of these items.
Building / Demolition Materials
Items such as wood, sheet rock, old fencing material, concrete, windows, and doors are not collected by sanitation crews and must be disposed of in a special landfill. These materials should be brought to the Resource Recovery Center for disposal. Disposal fees will apply.
The City of Moorhead also provides roll-off services. To arrange this service, contact the Sanitation Department at 218.299.5465.
Roll-Off Charges Calculation (Excel)
Location:
Resource Recovery Center
3322 15 Ave N
Open year round (except holidays)
Monday-Friday, 8 am-4 pm
Televisions and Computer Equipment
Residential televisions and computer equipment are accepted by Clay County. Information on recycling residential electronics is available at Clay County Special Waste Recycling or call 218.299.5016.