Trash & Recycling in Midland, TX (2026)
8 verified trash & recycling rules for Midland, Texas, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Pickup Rules & Schedules
Midland collects household garbage twice a week (Monday/Thursday or Tuesday/Friday) from alley carts. Call Solid Waste at 432-685-7278 to confirm your days. When a holiday hits, collection shifts one day later that week.
Midland Trash Pickup Schedule & Rules
Light RestrictionsTex. Health & Safety Code Sec. 365.012(a)
A person commits an offense if the person disposes or allows or permits the disposal of litter or other solid waste at a place that is not an approved solid waste site, including a place on or within 300 feet of a public highway, on a right-of-way, on other public or private property, or into inland or coastal water of the state.
Bin Placement Rules
Midland requires apartment complexes to provide at least three cubic yards of refuse container space per 15 units, and bans letting trash pile up above the container's lip.
Midland Apartment Refuse Container Rules
Some RestrictionsMidland Code of Ordinances § 8-6-23(A)
(A)The owner or person in charge of an apartment complex shall provide, at a minimum, three cubic yards of refuse container space on the premises for each 15 individual apartment units. ... Refuse container space shall be sufficient so that material placed within the container remains at or below the lip of the container. If at any time material protrudes beyond the lip of the container, the ow...
Bulk Item Disposal
Dumping brick, lumber, dead trees or other bulky waste anywhere other than an approved disposal site is a crime under Texas Health & Safety Code § 365.012, tiered from a Class C misdemeanor up to a state jail felony by weight and volume. Locally, Midland Code § 8-6-15 requires owners to haul off heavy accumulations themselves, and charges $100.00 per truckload if the City's solid waste division has to remove the pile.
Midland TX Bulk Waste & Illegal Dumping Rules
Heavy RestrictionsTex. Health & Safety Code § 365.012(a), (d)-(h); Midland Code of Ordinances § 8-6-15
Sec. 365.012. ILLEGAL DUMPING; DISCARDING LIGHTED MATERIALS; CRIMINAL PENALTIES. (a) A person commits an offense if the person disposes or allows or permits the disposal of litter or other solid waste at a place that is not an approved solid waste site, including a place on or within 300 feet of a public highway, on a right-of-way, on other public or private property, or into inland or coastal ...
Recycling Requirements
Texas Health & Safety Code § 361.421 defines what legally counts as 'recyclable material,' 'recycling' and 'yard waste' for state waste-reduction programs. Midland does not require residents to sort or set out recyclables; instead every residential utility account pays a mandatory $0.50 monthly recycling surcharge under City Code § 8-6-8(H), which funds the City's own recycling and education programs.
Midland TX Recycling Surcharge & Definitions
Light RestrictionsTex. Health & Safety Code § 361.421(5), (8), (12); Midland Code of Ordinances § 8-6-8(H)-(J)
Sec. 361.421. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter: ... (5) "Recyclable material" means material that has been recovered or diverted from the solid waste stream for purposes of reuse, recycling, or reclamation, a substantial portion of which is consistently used in the manufacture of products which may otherwise be produced using raw or virgin materials. ... Recyclable material is not solid waste un...
Illegal Dumping
Midland bans dumping hazardous, radioactive or noxious material anywhere in the city; each day the material stays is treated as a separate misdemeanor punishable by up to $2,000.
Midland Hazardous Waste Dumping Ban
Heavy RestrictionsMidland Code of Ordinances § 8-6-21
No person shall dump, throw, place or otherwise dispose of any material either in solution or solid form containing any type or amount of waste deemed hazardous or categorized as a waste requiring special handling and/or disposal by current EPA, TNRCC, TDH, or local regulations. Any noxious or malodorous substance, which either singularly or by interaction with other substances is capable of ca...
Yard Waste Collection
Midland requires the commercial yard crews, nurseries and lawn services that generate grass clippings, tree trimmings and dirt from renovating a lawn to haul that waste to the sanitary landfill or an approved mulching site themselves, under City Code § 8-6-4. Overloading a City refuse container with yard waste adds a $50.00 charge under § 8-6-5.
Midland TX Yard Waste Disposal Rules
Some RestrictionsMidland Code of Ordinances § 8-6-4; § 8-6-5
Sec. 8-6-4. - Yardwaste. All commercial yardmen, nurserymen and firms regularly engaged in lawn and garden service shall provide for hauling of all waste generated by their activities to the sanitary landfill or approved mulching/composting site. The disposal of tree trunks, dirt, grass or combinations thereof generated in renovating lawns should be disposed of at the sanitary landfill. ... Sec...
Dumpster Rules
Midland's zoning code requires nonresidential and multifamily dumpsters to be screened on three sides by an eight-foot masonry wall and placed behind the building line, not in required landscaping.
Midland Commercial Dumpster Screening Rules
Some RestrictionsMidland Code of Ordinances § 11-1-6.01(G)
Refuse containers, trash dumpsters/containers, trash compactors, box compactors, and other similar containers shall be screened on three sides with a masonry screening wall that shall be constructed to a minimum height of one foot above the container height, but shall not exceed eight feet in height... (a) Only be allowed as an incidental use; and (b) Only be allowed when located behind the bui...
Collection Schedule
Midland picks up residential garbage, trash and waste twice a week under City Code § 8-6-7, with additional on-request pickups billed at $20.00 each. Every residential utility account pays a $15.50 monthly minimum solid waste fee under § 8-6-8(A), plus a $0.25 fuel surcharge and $0.50 recycling surcharge, and the City can cut off water service for nonpayment.
Midland TX Residential Trash Collection Schedule
Some RestrictionsMidland Code of Ordinances §§ 8-6-7, 8-6-8(A), (C), (E)-(H), (K)
Sec. 8-6-7. - Collections from residences. The collection and removal of garbage, trash or waste for residential purposes shall be twice weekly (Ord. No. 6199, adopted April 26, 1983). Additional pickups by request shall be $20.00 for each additional pickup. ... Sec. 8-6-8. - Charges for collection and disposal; mechanically loaded refuse container regulations. (A)All residential customers of t...
Looking for Midland County county-wide rules?
County ordinances apply to unincorporated areas and may supplement Midland city rules.
Trash & Recycling in Midland County →