Scottsdale's Trash & Recycling: The Rules That Matter

Every city handles trash & recycling a little differently. In Scottsdale, Arizona, there are 8 distinct rules that residents and property owners should be aware of. Some are stricter than what neighboring cities enforce, and others are more relaxed. Here is what you need to know.

Dumpster Rules

Scottsdale's commercial roll-off program bills a flat $651.05 fee covering three tons per pull on 20, 30 or 40 cubic-yard containers, with $49.23 per extra ton and a $57.20 compactor surcharge. Containers held over 15 work days without a requested pull draw a daily holding fee.

Key details: Container sizes: 20, 30, 40 cubic yards. Base refuse fee (incl. 3 tons): $651.05. Overage tonnage rate: $49.23 per ton. Compactor surcharge: $57.20. High-demand holding fee: Up to $23/day, capped $345/month.

Nonpayment on a roll-off account can lead to termination of solid waste service after ten days' written notice for accounts not tied to city water or sewer service (§ 24-35(b)), and unpaid charges become a lien on the real property served (§ 24-35(c)). The city may also pursue delinquent roll-off accounts through civil suit or assign them to a collection agency (§ 24-36). General chapter 24 violations, including construction-waste removal delays under § 24-45, carry a civil fine of up to $500 for a first offense and up to $700 for a repeat within two years (§ 24-52(c)).

Bin Placement Rules

Scottsdale requires residential refuse and recycling carts at the curbline only within a tight window: never before 6:00 p.m. the evening before pickup, and pulled back off the curb the same day the truck empties them. Blocking access to a set-out container is a separate offense, and violations carry escalating civil fines.

Key details: Earliest set-out time: 6:00 p.m. day before pickup. Cart pickup deadline: Removed from curb same day. Weight limit, 90-gal cart: 200 pounds. Weight limit, 300-gal cart: 500 pounds. New-subdivision container cost: $108.00 per container.

Under Sec. 24-52, violating any provision of the solid waste chapter, including the curbline timing and container-obstruction rules, is a civil fine of up to $500 for a first violation and up to $700 for a second or later violation within two years of the first. A second violation of most provisions within one year can be charged as a class one misdemeanor, and burning refuse or illegal disposal of prohibited substances (Secs. 24-46, 24-49) are misdemeanors outright.

Pickup Rules & Schedules

Scottsdale residents with 90-gallon containers must place them at the curb on scheduled collection days under Sec. 24-17, not before 6:00 p.m. the night before, and remove them the same day they are emptied. Container weight limits and a prohibited-materials list govern the recycling program, with noncompliance risking discontinued service.

Key details: Curb setout window: After 6 p.m. day before, off curb same day. Weight limits: 60/200/500 lbs by container size. No-collection hours citywide: 9:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m., Sec. 24-14(b). Prohibited recycling items: 7 listed wastes, e.g. food, hazardous. Recycling re-entry wait: 6 months minimum, Sec. 24-17(h).

Placing prohibited waste in a recycling container triggers immediate discontinuation of recycling service and removal of the container under Sec. 24-17(g). For non-prohibited but unacceptable recyclables, the city must give at least two written notices before discontinuing service. A nonparticipant reverts to once-per-week refuse collection under Sec. 24-14 and applicable fees, and may not re-enter the recycling program for six months absent a director waiver.

Collection Schedule

Scottsdale residents with ninety-gallon carts must hold containers off the curb until 6:00 p.m. the evening before pickup and pull them back in the same day they're emptied. Citywide, no refuse or recycling truck may run a route between 9:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m. under the Solid Waste Services chapter of the city code.

Key details: Curb set-out time: Not before 6:00 p.m. day before pickup. Cart removal: Same day, after emptied. No-collection hours: 9:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. citywide. 90-gallon cart weight cap: 200 lbs. Shared-alley cart spacing: Max 100 ft from property line.

Chapter 24 violations carry a civil fine of up to $500 for a first offense and up to $700 for a second violation within two years (§ 24-52(c)). The city manager, a designee, or any peace officer can issue a civil citation (§ 24-56), and the defendant must appear in city court within ten days or face a default judgment of up to $250 (§ 24-57). A second violation of most chapter 24 provisions within one year can be charged as a class one misdemeanor (§ 24-52(d)), and the city may physically remove city-owned containers from a noncompliant address (§ 24-55).

Recycling Rules

Scottsdale's curbside recycling program bans seven categories of material from the blue cart, from animal and human waste to construction debris and general refuse. Repeat noncompliance costs a household its recycling service and its container, though the code sets out a written-notice and reinstatement path first.

Key details: Prohibited categories: 7 (e.g., hazardous, food, green waste, C&D debris). Notices before service cut: Minimum 2 written notices. Nonparticipant re-entry wait: 6 months minimum. Appeal to director: Within 10 calendar days. Appeal to city manager: Within 7 days of director's decision.

Placing prohibited waste in a recycling cart draws the same chapter-wide civil fine schedule as other solid-waste offenses: up to $500 for a first violation and up to $700 for a second within two years (§ 24-52(c)), with repeat violations within a year potentially charged as a class one misdemeanor (§ 24-52(d)). Beyond the fine, the city can immediately pull the recycling container and drop the address to once-weekly refuse-only service under § 24-17(g), and § 24-55 authorizes removing city-owned containers from any noncompliant user regardless of citation.

Yard Waste Collection

Scottsdale requires yard trimmings to go out as containable rubbish, in closed boxes, or bagged, with tree branches and trunks cut to six-foot maximum lengths and no bag or box over sixty pounds. Cacti and century plants need lidded boxes so they don't injure collection crews.

Key details: Max branch/trunk length: 6 feet. Max bag or box weight: 60 lbs. Cacti/century plants: Closed boxes with lids required. Palm skins: Bagged, boxed, or bundled. Mixed loads: Brush may not mix with wire, dirt, rocks.

Yard-waste placement violations draw the standard chapter 24 civil fine: up to $500 for a first offense and up to $700 for a repeat within two years (§ 24-52(c)), escalating to a possible class one misdemeanor for a second violation of any provision within one year (§ 24-52(d)). Material that violates the size, weight or mixing rules can be deemed uncollectible under § 24-16(d), leaving the property owner responsible for lawful disposal within 48 hours.

Illegal Dumping

Scottsdale bans dumping outright: Sec. 18-6 makes it unlawful for anyone to throw, deposit or dump litter or debris on any land, public or private, and allows storage only in a lidded receptacle or inside a building. A property turned into a dumping ground for litter, debris or three or more junked vehicles is separately declared a public nuisance under Sec. 18-5(3).

Key details: Dumping ban: No throwing/depositing litter on land, Sec. 18-6(a). First residential fine: $250 civil citation, Sec. 18-65(a). First non-residential fine: $750 civil citation, Sec. 18-65(b). Nuisance dumping ground: 3+ junked vehicles/machinery, Sec. 18-5(3). Criminal minimum fine: $500 residential, class one misdemeanor, Sec. 18-66.

A single dumping incident on ordinary land is pursued as a civil citation: $250 for a first violation on residential property and $750 on non-residential property under Sec. 18-65, rising to $750 and $2,000 for a third violation within two years. Because a dumping ground under Sec. 18-5(3) is a public nuisance, Sec. 18-18 lets the city charge it directly as a class one misdemeanor, carrying a minimum $500 criminal fine under Sec. 18-66, plus restitution for the city's cleanup costs under Sec. 18-67.

This is one of the stricter rules in Scottsdale's municipal code. If you are unsure whether your situation complies, it is worth checking with the city before proceeding.

Bulk Item Disposal

Scottsdale caps bulk rubbish piles at 10 feet long, 6 feet wide and 4 feet high, set out no earlier than three days before and no later than 5:00 a.m. on collection Monday. Business establishments get no city bulk service at all and must haul their own.

Key details: Max pile dimensions: 10 ft long x 6 ft wide x 4 ft high. Earliest set-out: 3 days before collection Monday. Latest set-out: 5:00 a.m. collection Monday. Uncollected material removal: Within 48 hours. Business establishments: No city bulk service; self-haul required.

Bulk-rubbish violations fall under the same chapter 24 civil penalty schedule: up to $500 for a first offense and up to $700 for a second within two years (§ 24-52(c)), with a second violation within a year chargeable as a class one misdemeanor (§ 24-52(d)). Material left in the right-of-way past the 48-hour cleanup window can additionally be charged as unlawful littering under § 24-44, since that section bars placing refuse on public or private property not owned or controlled by the depositor.

The Bottom Line

Scottsdale's trash & recycling rules are a mixed bag. Some areas are strict, others are relaxed, and the details matter. The best approach is to check the specific rule that applies to your situation rather than assuming Scottsdale is broadly strict or permissive.

These rules come from Scottsdale's publicly available municipal code. For complete penalty schedules, exemption details, and answers to common questions, see the individual ordinance pages throughout this guide.