Trash & Recycling in Mesa, AZ (2026)
8 verified trash & recycling rules for Mesa, Arizona, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Pickup Rules & Schedules
Before the City will pick up household or business trash in Mesa, it has to be bagged and tied and placed inside a City-furnished container, under Mesa City Code § 8-3-4(A). Customers are expected to keep those containers in good repair and sanitary condition, and the City can remove a container outright if unsanitary conditions endanger public health.
Mesa Solid Waste Preparation Rules
Some RestrictionsMesa City Code, Title 8, Chapter 3, § 8-3-4(A)
The City shall furnish containers to commercial and residential customers, for the accumulation, storage, and collection of all solid waste. Customers will make every effort to keep such containers in good repair and in a sanitary condition. Containers found to be no longer serviceable through disrepair or maintained in an unsanitary condition will be replaced by the City and may be subject to ...
Bin Placement Rules
Mesa requires solid waste containers to be set at the front curb no earlier than 6:00 p.m. the evening before pickup and no later than 6:00 a.m. on collection day, under Mesa City Code § 8-3-5. Carts must be pulled back at least six feet from the curb by 6:00 a.m. the morning after collection, and may never block an alley, sidewalk, mailbox, driveway, or gutter.
Mesa Trash Cart Set-Out and Curb Rules
Some RestrictionsMesa City Code, Title 8, Chapter 3, § 8-3-5
All solid waste containers prepared for the City collection service shall be placed at the front curb, unless otherwise designated by the Solid Waste Division, in an easily accessible manner. The containers shall be set out after six (6:00) P.M. of the day preceding regular collection and no later than six (6:00) A.M. of the designated regular collection day. The containers shall be removed to ...
Bulk Item Disposal
Bulky refuse and furniture in Mesa must be tied in bundles or boxed by the customer and set at the front curb, with each bundle or box capped at four feet by four feet and 60 pounds, under Mesa City Code § 8-3-4(B). Green waste and brush follow the same four-by-four-foot, 60-pound bundle limit under § 8-3-4(C), and residents get 10 days to fix a nonconforming brush pile once notified.
Mesa Bulky Refuse and Brush Pickup Rules
Some RestrictionsMesa City Code, Title 8, Chapter 3, § 8-3-4(B)
Bulky refuse and furniture shall be placed at the front curb, unless otherwise designated by the Solid Waste Division, tied in bundles or placed in boxes by the customer. Boxes and bundles shall not exceed four (4) square feet by four (4) square feet deep in measurement and not to exceed sixty (60) pounds in weight. Customers wishing to retain disposal boxes should mark the box "SAVE" in a read...
Valet Trash Rules
Mesa's Fire Code adopts the 2024 International Fire Code's Appendix O by reference, making valet trash and recycling collection in Group R-2 apartment buildings subject to that appendix as binding City law. The adoption took effect as a public record on December 1, 2025, under Resolution No. 12444 and Ordinance No. 5978.
Mesa Adopts Valet Trash Code for Apartments
Some RestrictionsMesa City Code, Title 7, Chapter 2, § 7-2-1
The following publications, which were made a public record on December 1, 2025, by Resolution No. 12444, of the City of Mesa, Arizona, one paper copy and one electronic copy of which are on file and available for public use and inspection with the City Clerk, are hereby adopted by reference and made a part hereof as if fully set forth in this Mesa City Code Section 7-2-1: 2024 International Fi...
Illegal Dumping
Mesa's solid waste code makes it unlawful to dump into someone else's collection container or to dump unauthorized items in alleys, streets, vacant lots or private premises. The Solid Waste Division cites violators under Title 8, Chapter 3, with fines from $50 up to $500 per violation, and repeat offenders risk criminal prosecution.
Mesa Bans Indiscriminate Dumping of Trash
Some RestrictionsMesa City Code, Title 8, Chapter 3, § 8-3-8
8-3-8: - INDISCRIMINATE DUMPING It shall be the responsibility of the owner, tenant, or occupant of all premises in the City limits to be sure that solid waste is properly placed for collection. No person, without permission from any of the above, may dump into commercial dumpsters or residential containers. No person may dump any unauthorized items in any alleys, streets, vacant lots, or premi...
Dumpster Rules
Private haulers permitted to collect commercial or industrial refuse in Mesa must furnish customers with containers marked with the permittee's business name and phone number, positioned so they never interfere with vehicular or pedestrian traffic or with City-owned containers, under Mesa City Code § 8-3-16(E). The rule also requires those containers to keep the customer's premises clean and sanitary.
Mesa Commercial Dumpster Placement Rules
Some RestrictionsMesa City Code, Title 8, Chapter 3, § 8-3-16(E)
All permittees shall furnish their customers with containers consistent with the permit issued under this Article and necessary and appropriate to maintain a clean and sanitary condition on the customers' premises. Such containers shall display conspicuously the business name of the permittee and telephone number and shall be located so as: 1.Not to interfere with vehicular or pedestrian traffi...
Collection Schedule
Every owner, tenant, and occupant of property within Mesa city limits is personally responsible for properly controlling and disposing of all solid waste generated there, under Mesa City Code § 8-3-1. Backing that duty, § 8-3-3 confines collection to the City itself or to private haulers holding a City permit, license, franchise, or contract: no one else may pick up solid waste set out for collection.
Mesa Mandatory Solid Waste Service Rules
Some RestrictionsMesa City Code, Title 8, Chapter 3, § 8-3-3
Solid waste shall only be collected by the City or by private haulers (business establishments only) that have obtained a permit, license, franchise, or contract from the City authorizing private collection. Solid waste deposited for collection shall become the property of the City, or authorized private hauler when approved by the City, upon collection. No person shall remove any or all such s...
Recycling Rules
Mesa's residential recycling program gives participating customers a second barrel for specified recyclables and collects it once a week alongside the once-a-week black barrel pickup, under Mesa City Code § 8-3-29. Recyclables, clean bottles, jugs, cans, cardboard, and mixed paper, must go in loose, never bagged, while regular garbage must be bagged, tied, and placed in the black barrel.
Mesa Residential Recycling Program Rules
Some RestrictionsMesa City Code, Title 8, Chapter 3, § 8-3-29
(A)Under the residential recycling program, the City will provide residential customers a second clearly identified recycle barrel in which to place specified residential recyclable materials.(B)The following items, if clean, are acceptable residential recyclable materials. Other recyclable commodities may be added to or deleted from the program by the City Manager or designee.1.Empty, clean, a...
Looking for Maricopa County county-wide rules?
County ordinances apply to unincorporated areas and may supplement Mesa city rules.
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