Trash & Recycling in Plano, TX (2026)
9 verified trash & recycling rules for Plano, Texas, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Pickup Rules & Schedules
Plano requires solid waste, recyclable, landscape waste, HHW, bulky and special-collection materials to reach the curb or alley by 7:00 a.m. on the scheduled day, later placement can mean the crew skips your address for that cycle. Parking a vehicle or trailer so a collection truck cannot reach a container is a separate violation, and only the city or its authorized contractor may take materials out of a set-out container.
Plano Trash Pickup Placement and Timing Rules
Some RestrictionsPlano Code of Ordinances § 18-15
Failure to place solid waste containers, recyclable containers, landscape waste material, HHW materials, bulky waste, and special paid collection waste at its proper collection point, by 7:00 a.m. on the specified collection day may result in the items not being collected.
Bin Placement Rules
Plano issues one solid-waste cart per household free of charge and the container stays city property: you can't take it when you move. The lid must stay closed to keep water out, nothing may be stacked on top, and a cart holding more than 200 pounds of waste simply won't be serviced. Neglecting or damaging the cart brings a replacement fee.
Plano Residential Trash Cart Rules
Some RestrictionsPlano Code of Ordinances § 18-6
(a)Residential customers and non-franchisee commercial customers shall utilize a specified collection container for the collection and removal of solid waste, one (1) such container will be distributed by the city or a representative of the city at no cost to the residential or non-franchisee commercial customer. The container shall remain the property of the city and shall not be removed from ...
Bulk Item Disposal
Plano offers scheduled bulky item collection. Residents can arrange pickups for large items like furniture, appliances, and mattresses. The city also accepts bulky items at designated facilities. Construction debris may require separate disposal. Items containing refrigerants need special handling.
Plano Bulk Item Disposal & Large Item Pickup
Light RestrictionsTex. Health & Safety Code Sec. 365.012
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
Every Plano household and non-franchisee business gets one free recycling cart from the Environmental Waste Services Division, and it stays city property just like the trash cart. The cart follows the same placement, storage and care rules as the solid-waste container, and a home that regularly fills it before the bi-weekly pickup gets a second cart at no extra charge.
Plano Curbside Recycling Container Rules
Some RestrictionsPlano Code of Ordinances § 18-8(a), (c)
(a)Residential customers and non-franchisee commercial customers shall utilize a specified collection container for the collection and removal of recyclable materials, as defined herein. The city or the city's designated representative will distribute one (1) recycling container to the residential customer or non-franchisee commercial customer at no cost to the customer. The container shall rem...
Mandatory Organics Recycling
Plano runs an opt-in composting program for restaurants and other commercial generators of food waste rather than a blanket mandate: the Environmental Waste Services Division supplies containers, staff training and collection to any business that enrolls. Once a business joins, though, its organic material must stay free of non-compostable waste and can't exceed the container's holding capacity.
Plano Commercial Organics Recycling Program
Light RestrictionsPlano Code of Ordinances § 18-19(a), (d), (f)
(a)The city deems it beneficial to expand present recycling programs to include recycling of organic wastes, such as food wastes generated from restaurants. The environmental waste services division will operate the organic recycling program in accordance with the procedures set forth below...(d)A condition of participation in the organics recycling program is that participants must ensure that...
Illegal Dumping
Plano makes it a criminal offense for a property owner to cause or allow refuse, carrion, or unsanitary conditions to accumulate or remain on premises, punishable by a fine up to $2,000 per day under City Code section 14-3.
Plano Illegal Dumping & Refuse Accumulation Fines
Some RestrictionsPlano Code of Ordinances § 14-3(b), (c)
Offenses. It shall be an offense for an owner of premises to do any of the following: (1) Cause or allow carrion, refuse or an unsanitary condition to accumulate or remain on premises... Any person intentionally or knowingly violating a provision of section 14-3 of this chapter shall be punished by a fine not to exceed two thousand dollars ($2,000.00). Each day a violation occurs shall constitu...
Dumpster Rules
Nonresidential and multifamily developments in Plano must provide at least two solid waste containers per lot for refuse and recycling, screened per the city's Site Design Standards, with offsite locations allowed only within 150 feet of the building.
Plano Commercial Dumpster Placement Rules
Some RestrictionsPlano Zoning Ordinance § 20.400
20.400 Requirements for Solid Waste Collection. Nonresidential and multifamily developments must provide designated solid waste collection locations meeting adopted design standards. ... Quantity: A minimum of two containers per lot to accommodate both refuse and recycling. ... Location: One or more required container locations may be offsite in a permanent easement within 150 feet of the build...
Collection Schedule
Plano's Environmental Waste Services Division collects residential garbage and yard waste weekly and recycling every other week, using one city-issued cart. Carts must be at the curb or alley collection point by 7:00 a.m. on your assigned collection day.
Plano Trash Collection Schedule: Weekly Pickup, Biweekly Recycling
Light RestrictionsPlano Code of Ordinances § 18-5 (Frequency and schedule of collection by the city)
The environmental waste services division of the city shall be the exclusive provider of solid waste, recycling and landscape waste collection for residential and non-franchisee commercial customers in the city.... The frequency and schedule of residential and non-franchisee commercial collection of solid waste and landscape waste shall be weekly and the collection of recyclable material shall ...
Recycling Rules
Once you set your recycling out in Plano, it belongs to whoever issued the container, the city or its contractor, and only the customer, an Environmental Waste Services Division employee or an authorized contractor may take it. Anyone else pulling cans, cardboard or bottles from a curbside bin commits a separate offense under the Code of Ordinances.
Plano Recycling Ownership and Anti-Scavenging Rule
Some RestrictionsPlano Code of Ordinances §§ 18-8(d), 18-22
(d)No person other than the residential customer, non-franchisee commercial customer, environmental waste services division employee, or an authorized recycling contractor may remove, collect or transfer recyclable materials that have been placed in a recycling container in the city. Each violation of this provision shall constitute a separate and distinct offense punishable as provided in sect...
Looking for Collin County county-wide rules?
County ordinances apply to unincorporated areas and may supplement Plano city rules.
Trash & Recycling in Collin County →