Dumpster Permits in Saginaw, MI and Nearby Towns

The short version

Driveway or private lot in Saginaw: the simple case. We found no City dumpster permit for a bin on your own property; keep it off the sidewalk and the street. Saginaw street, alley or right-of-way: a written permit from the City Engineer first (City Code § 96.004), with barricades as the City Engineer directs and to the state traffic-control manual, and a doubled fee if work starts without one. No City page names a "dumpster permit", so Engineering confirms which permit applies. State highways such as M-46, M-13, M-47, M-52, M-57, M-81, M-15, I-75 and I-675: MDOT has no permit for a container, so never there. Who may haul: Michigan requires no state hauler licence, but some towns license or restrict haulers, and in Frankenmuth, Reese, Vassar, Zilwaukee and Carrollton Township we check the local rules before booking. We're licensed & insured.

Saginaw streets, alleys and right-of-way

Saginaw puts street placement under the City Engineer. City Code § 96.004 makes it unlawful to use or obstruct a street, alley, right-of-way or public easement without a written permit from the City Engineer, and it covers the temporary storage of materials and the obstructions that come with construction, demolition, alteration or repair, or otherwise. The obstruction has to be barricaded as the section requires and as the City Engineer directs, with barriers, fences or railings that follow the Michigan Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices. The fee is set by City Council and available from the Engineering Office, and it doubles if work starts without a permit. We found no lighting rule and no time limit in that section, so the permit conditions control.

The City's permit page lists a Work Within Right of Way permit, "required for any type of work that is done in the public right-of-way", including work by "general contractors, and citizens", and a Barricade permit to block any part of a sidewalk or street, which needs a detailed diagram, the 2012 state traffic-control standards and 48 hours of advance notice so the City can coordinate press releases and 911 dispatch notices. Both are valid for 60 days. The City describes the right-of-way as roughly the area from the centre of the road to about three feet behind the sidewalk, and most residential streets have a 60 to 66-foot right-of-way. None of these pages names a dumpster, roll-off or container permit, so the Engineering Division at the Public Services Building, 1435 S Washington Ave (989-759-1410), confirms which one applies. And if trash or building materials are left in the right-of-way, the City can post a 72-hour notice, remove them and charge the cost to the property (§ 94.068).

Your driveway in Saginaw

A driveway keeps the box out of the street, which is where Saginaw's permit and parking rules bite. No vehicle may park on any City street between 3 and 6 a.m. (§ 72.15), the City's parking page adds no blocking sidewalks, and no trailer may stay on a City street for more than one hour at a time (§ 72.18). The code does not say whether a container counts as a vehicle, so a street spot lives by its permit and the driveway is the plan. A flat, accessible surface works best; our drivers use boards and careful placement to protect concrete and asphalt, and we keep containers off sidewalks and drainage areas. If your home is in an HOA, just let us know.

Two more things to know. If you are storing building materials outside, Saginaw's code ties that to an active building permit for work on the property (§ 94.065). And in winter, we found no declared snow-emergency parking ban in Saginaw, only the nightly 3 to 6 a.m. rule; local streets are plowed last, with the City aiming to clear them within 72 hours after the snow stops, and snow from a driveway may not be pushed into the street (§ 96.002). One more reason for the driveway. Our yard on S Wheeler St is a few hundred metres from the Saginaw Township line, and township rules are different, so give us the exact address when you call.

State highways and county roads

Some of the busiest roads in the area are state trunklines, not city streets. The City's Engineering page says the City controls all public right-of-way in Saginaw "except for dedicated State of Michigan rights-of-way such as M-13, M-46, M-58, M-81 and M-84". MDOT manages the state highway right-of-way and issues its permits through its Permit Gateway, and we found no MDOT permit type for placing a private dumpster on a trunkline. So we never place a container on M-46, M-13, M-47, M-52, M-57, M-81, M-15, I-75 or I-675 right-of-way, or on M-58 and M-84 in Saginaw.

In the townships, roads are county roads. The Saginaw County Road Commission processes its right-of-way permits through an online system, and the permit types listed (new construction, driveways, ditch enclosures, storm sewer taps, miscellaneous right-of-way, utilities) include no dumpster or container permit. So in Freeland, Hemlock, Bridgeport and Carrollton the box goes on the driveway or the lot, not the road. If you are not sure who maintains your street, give us the address and we will help you work it out before delivery day.

Who may haul: Saginaw and Michigan

EGLE says the state's solid waste regulations "do not require a license, permit, or registration from EGLE to haul solid waste", but haulers still have rules to meet. Every load has to go to a licensed disposal area or a licensed or registered transfer facility (MCL 324.11527(1)), the truck and container must be designed and operated to prevent littering (MCL 324.11528), and loads must not drop, sift, leak or blow off on the road (MCL 257.720). A hauler that takes waste to a landfill must also tell its customers once a year what Michigan bans from landfills (MCL 324.11527a); our what-goes-in guide does that.

In Saginaw, City trash for homes runs through the City and the Mid Michigan Waste Authority, and owners of buildings with four or fewer homes subscribe to City collection (§ 50.02). City pickup leaves out construction and demolition debris and material from contract work (§ 50.06), which is the roll-off job. We found no City or Saginaw County hauler licence. We're licensed & insured. Near homes we plan drop-offs and pickups for the daytime and do not promise night or Sunday service; the phone is answered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Bay City, Essexville, Auburn and Midland

Bay City bars any obstruction on a sidewalk, street or other public area without a written permit from the city engineer or another designated department (§ 94-1), and its Encroachment Permit page says the permit "includes placing a dumpster"; the Engineering Division is at 1645 Marquette Ave. Bay City also requires a yearly, non-exclusive City franchise for anyone collecting or transporting garbage, refuse or construction or demolition debris for clients in the city (§ 86-29), requires dumpsters to have "a working, full-coverage, secure cover" (§ 86-28), and allows refuse pickups only between 6 a.m. and 7 p.m. (§ 86-30). When the City Manager declares a major weather event, vehicles must come off local streets within eight hours (§ 102-88), and unattached trailers may not park on any city street except while loading or unloading (§ 102-89).

Essexville requires a City licence, approved by City Council, to collect, transport or dispose of refuse in or from the city (§ 2.710). It also keeps the outlawn clear: the strip from the curb to the far edge of the sidewalk plus 15 inches, or 16 feet 3 inches from the curb where there is no sidewalk, including the driveway approach (§ 4.401). Objects placed there are treated as abandoned and removed without notice (§ 4.404), so in Essexville the bin sits further up the driveway. Auburn requires a City Engineer permit, a cash deposit and an insurance policy to occupy a street with construction materials or for any other purpose (§§ 95.035, 95.003), and bans street parking from 2 to 6 a.m., November 1 to April 1 (§ 70.04). Midland requires City permission for any use of the public right-of-way (§ 48-1), and its permits page says all work in the street right-of-way, including sidewalks and the out lawn, needs a permit; the City lists a General Right of Way permit. Midland bans street parking from 3 to 6 a.m. without a special police permit (UTC § 8.28).

Frankenmuth, St. Charles, Freeland and the villages

Frankenmuth requires a permit from the Superintendent of Public Works, a cash deposit and an insurance policy to occupy any street, including lawn extensions and sidewalks, with construction materials or for any other purpose (City Code §§ 4.26, 4.3), keeps at least five feet of sidewalk clear (§ 4.27), and wants obstructions barricaded with warning lights at night (§ 4.31); from November 1 to April 30, no vehicle may park on any street from 2 to 6 a.m. (§ 4.39). St. Charles requires a Village Manager permit, a cash deposit and liability insurance to occupy a street (§ 32-28), with obstructions "properly and substantially barricaded and railed off" and warning lights at night (§ 32-29), and no one may run a garbage collection business there without Village Council authorization or licence (§ 28-33).

Freeland is in Tittabawassee Township, which requires a township hauling licence to operate a solid waste hauler or transporting unit in the township (§ 54-88). The same chapter tells property owners to arrange private removal of the excess refuse from foreclosure, moving, eviction, remodeling or construction, "confined to an onsite dumpster or similar container until removal" (§ 54-27(c)). Chesaning's zoning code lists roll-off containers among commercial vehicles, and on a residential lot a commercial vehicle must be in a garage or a side or rear yard (§ 5.02(P)), so we check placement with you before delivery. Bridgeport Township puts the removal of construction refuse on the owner or contractor (§ 24-27(b)), and on a demolition it may ask for dump tickets or other evidence of proper disposal. Birch Run bans parking on all Village streets from 3 to 7 a.m., Reese from 2 to 7 a.m. (§ 32-44), Zilwaukee bars any vehicle or trailer from its streets from 2 to 6 a.m. (§ 24-1), and Vassar's fine schedule lists overnight parking from 2 to 6 a.m. (§ 74-92). We found no posted street codes for Hemlock or Merrill, where M-46 is the main street and state right-of-way. Everywhere, the driveway is the plan.

Where we check the local rules first

Five places have collection rules that reach the company doing the hauling, so we check the City's, Village's or Township's rules before booking there. Frankenmuth's solid waste chapter reserves to the City its authority as the "sole and exclusive hauler" of solid waste from residential and commercial locations (Ch. 21 § 2.1), with exceptions only by City Council approval (§ 2.6), and the City requires all non-residential dumpsters to take part in its commercial collection. Reese says all solid waste in the village is collected by the Village's contract hauler and no other hauler may collect it (§ 26-22). Vassar sends household refuse, and refuse from the downtown blocks, to the City or its contract hauler (§ 58-32), while its trash service will not pick up construction, remodeling or demolition debris (§ 58-39).

Zilwaukee (§ 22-19) and Carrollton Township (§ 42-20) both say refuse there is collected by the city or township or its contract hauler, and that no one else may collect it, convey it over the streets or dispose of it. None of that means we can or cannot serve those places; it means we check first. Tell us the address when you call, and we confirm the local rules before we book the box.

What this means when you book

Tell us the address and where you want the box. A driveway or private lot is the simplest case. A Saginaw street spot needs the City Engineer's permit before the box arrives, with barricades as the City directs. A state highway means the driveway. Bay City has an Encroachment Permit that covers a dumpster in the right-of-way; Frankenmuth, Auburn and St. Charles want a permit with a deposit and insurance; in Essexville the bin sits past the outlawn; in Chesaning we check placement with you; and in Frankenmuth, Reese, Vassar, Zilwaukee and Carrollton Township we check the local rules before booking. In winter, plan around the overnight parking bans. Call (989) 930-1786 — the phone is answered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.