Do You Need a Permit for a Dumpster in Erie, PA?

Published 2026-09-30 by Lake Erie Dumpsters Co

The short answer

Inside the City of Erie, every temporary dumpster needs the City’s prior approval, whether it sits on your driveway, in the street or anywhere else. That is unusual; most places we serve only care about the street. Outside the city it depends on the township or borough, and several publish no rule at all.

The rule: Erie’s quality-of-life code

City Code Article 1129 is Erie’s Quality of Life Ticketing Program. Item QOL-10 in § 1129.03, headed “Temporary Dumpster Permit Required”, says each temporary dumpster, whether placed on private property, in a public right-of-way or on any other property of the City, shall obtain prior approval by the City of Erie. The ticket is $100. QOL-35 carries another $100 ticket for anything that obstructs passage in the right-of-way, including streets, driveways, alleys and sidewalks. If a ticket is not paid within ten days the City files a citation with the Magisterial District Judge, and on conviction § 1129.10 sets a fine of $300 to $1,000 per offence. The code was added in October 2018 (Ordinance 39-2018).

Who approves it

This is the awkward part: the code does not say which office gives the approval, and the City publishes no form, fee, time limit or insurance requirement for it. Code Enforcement (City Hall Room 407, 626 State Street, (814) 870-1473) enforces the quality-of-life tickets, and the Bureau of Engineering (Room 400, (814) 870-1371, Engineering@erie.pa.us) handles work in the right-of-way, so those are the two calls. If a construction job has to close a sidewalk, that is a separate sidewalk closure permit from Engineering under § 719.11: it must be critical to the project, not for contractor parking, and it runs up to 90 days with one 90-day extension. Metered spaces need the Erie Parking Authority (25 East 10th Street, (814) 456-7588). Lake Erie Dumpsters Co makes those calls as part of your booking.

What it costs to skip it

$100 on the spot, $300 to $1,000 if it goes to the District Judge, and a second $100 if the container blocks a sidewalk or street. Given the price of a rental, the maths is simple: let us get the approval first.

Demolition jobs have their own permits

The dumpster approval is not a demolition permit. Demolition in the City of Erie goes through the Bureau of Building Standards and Safety in Room 407 (permits@erie.pa.us, (814) 870-1313), with photographs of the building and the street, $1 million of liability cover naming the City as additional insured, three working days’ notice to the Demolition Coordinator ((814) 870-1509), sewer lines capped, rubble to an approved landfill designated by the Erie County Department of Health, and 30 working days to finish (City Code Article 353). Buildings 50 years old or more can face a 90-day delay if the Historic Review Commission finds them significant. Pennsylvania DEP needs an asbestos notification at least ten working days before a regulated demolition, with a $400 fee.

The townships and boroughs are different

Harborcreek treats dumpsters as a temporary use (no more than two consecutive months a year unless a permit is open) and says a dumpster shall not be placed in the road or right-of-way. North East Borough requires a 30-day zoning permit for temporary containers for trash or construction debris, renewable once, and wants construction refuse in a dumpster from the Borough or an approved contractor. Waterford Borough permits temporary storage containers on a lot for 30 days a year. Edinboro bars garbage receptacles from its streets and limits who may haul garbage in the borough. Summit Township expressly exempts a construction or demolition dumpster from its screening and setback rules. Fairview licenses the hauler and wants the container on the property, clear of traffic. Millcreek, Girard, McKean and Lawrence Park publish no dumpster rule at all, and for Corry and North East Township we could not read the code, so we ask before we deliver rather than guess. Our service-area pages give the details and the phone number for each one.

What we do for you

When you book, we ask where the container will sit and for how long. In the City of Erie we get the City’s approval before we deliver, and in North East we file the zoning permit. In the townships that publish nothing, we deliver to your driveway and check first if it has to go anywhere else. Call (814) 679-3372 and we will sort it out in one conversation.

Lake Erie Dumpsters Co · Erie, PA · (814) 679-3372, answered 24/7.