Lehigh Dumpster

Lehigh and Northampton County / population 79,453 (2024 est.)

City of Bethlehem: dumpster on the street

Bethlehem's code says nothing may be left on a street, sidewalk, alley or right-of-way unless the city allows it. The Director of Public Works approves uses of the right-of-way. The city's Engineering Permit Application has tick boxes for a dumpster and for a moving pod.

The rule, as written

  • Article 721.02: no one may place or leave a device or materials on a street, sidewalk, alley or right-of-way, or obstruct one, except as the article allows.
  • Article 1162.07(b)(3): no container for solid waste, ashes, rubbish or garbage may be stored on any street, private alley, public right-of-way or vacant lot.
  • Article 1162.04(i): a hauler-supplied dumpster at a business, institution or apartment building of more than four units needs approval from the Director of Community and Economic Development first, must meet zoning and right-of-way rules, and needs a lid kept shut.
  • Roll-off containers must be tarped or covered whenever they are hauled through the city.
  • Article 1162 fines: $200 first offense, $500 second, $1,000 third and after. Each day counts as a new offense.
  • Fee for the engineering permit: not published on the pages we read.

Order of steps

  1. Use the Engineering Permit Application from Public Works and tick Dumpster (or Moving Pod).
  2. List the dates of use and your insurance carrier, and draw a sketch of where the box will sit.
  3. If the box takes a lane or parking, the Traffic Superintendent must approve that before it happens.
  4. Hire a hauler that holds a Pennsylvania Act 90 waste license and a Bethlehem Business Privilege License.

Where this comes from

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Need the box? Ask for prices from haulers who work in Bethlehem.