Pima County, AZ Trash & Recycling: Bin Placement Rules (2026)
Key Facts
- Earliest set-out
- 5 p.m. the day before collection
- Latest removal
- 8 p.m. collection day or 2 hrs after
- Governing section
- Pima County Code § 7.25.060
- Applies to
- Unincorporated county only, not Tucson or Marana
- Violation class
- Petty offense, § 7.25.220
- Alley exemption width
- Under 15 feet wide
Summary
Pima County Code § 7.25.060 governs curbside placement in the unincorporated county, the area outside Tucson, Marana, Oro Valley, Sahuarita and South Tucson: residents cannot put a cart at the curb before 5 p.m. the day before collection, and must pull it back by 8 p.m. on collection day, or within two hours after the truck actually empties it, whichever comes later.
If collected from the front of the premises, no person shall place any solid waste, or any container containing solid waste, at any place of collection before five p.m. of the day preceding the scheduled collection of the solid waste, or leave any such container at the place of collection after eight p.m. on the day of actual collection, or more than two hours after actual collection, whichever is later.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: 2026 S-64: Contains Supplement, with local legislation through Ordinance 2026-9, passed 7-28-2026, current through 7-28-2026).
Full Breakdown
060, titled Containers, Hours for placement, sets the county's placement window in one sentence, quoted below in full. 050 instead, which puts refuse on the alley side of the lot and excuses a residential waste collector from entering a blind alley, an alley under fifteen feet wide, an L- or T-shaped alley too tight for a collection truck to turn safely, or any alley whose surface would endanger safe year-round operation of the trucks. 080 shifts the cleanup burden to the collector, not the resident: the collector must replace every container where it was found, and neither the container nor its lid may sit in the street or spill onto a neighbor's property.
010(L) as the territory outside any incorporated city or town; Tucson, Marana, Oro Valley, Sahuarita and South Tucson each run or contract their own collection service and set their own hours, so an address inside any of those cities is not covered by this county section even though it sits inside Pima County lines. 01, and separately defines garbage, rubbish, ashes and manure for purposes of the chapter.
Violations & Fines
Violating Section 7.25.060, whether by setting a cart out early or leaving it out past the deadline, is a petty offense under Section 7.25.220, and county code treats every additional day the cart sits out as a new, separate offense. Operating as a waste collector without the license the chapter requires is a more serious Class 1 misdemeanor, while a licensee who racks up three or more violations of any waste-collection law within twelve months can have its county license revoked under Section 7.25.190.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I set my Pima County trash cart out the morning of pickup?
What happens if I leave my Pima County trash cart at the curb all week?
Does this county cart-placement rule cover my Tucson address?
Who is responsible for putting my emptied cart back after pickup?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Pima County
Compare Pima County to another location·View the Arizona trash & recycling overview
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