Dallas, TX Trash & Recycling: Bin Placement Rules (2026)
Key Facts
- Curb setout time
- No earlier than 6:00 p.m. day before
- Curb pickup deadline
- Removed by 8:00 a.m. day after
- Side clearance
- 3 feet on each side of rollcart
- Rear clearance
- 1.5 feet behind rollcart
- Alley placement
- Container barred from sitting inside alley
- Governing section
- Dallas City Code Sec. 18-4(c)
Summary
Dallas bars putting a garbage or recycling cart at the curb before 6:00 p.m. the evening before collection, and requires it back out of sight by 8:00 a.m. the next morning, under City Code Sec. 18-4(c). Rollcarts also need three feet of side clearance and cannot sit inside an alley.
(c) Placement of garbage or recycling containers for curb collection service. Where a residence or duplex is designated by the director of sanitation to be provided with curb collection service, except as may be authorized by the director of sanitation, each container must be placed just behind the curbline of the street abutting such property, but may not be placed in any manner where the container will interfere with vehicular or pedestrian traffic or with solid waste collection service. (1) Where garbage or recyclable materials are collected from the street curbline adjacent to the property, a container must be placed there no earlier than 6:00 p.m. of the afternoon preceding the collection day and must be removed to a point at the side or rear of the structure not later than 8:00 a.m. of the day following collection.
Full Breakdown
Dallas sets out exactly where a rollcart can sit and how long it can stay at the curb. Sec. 18-4(c) requires that, on streets with curb collection, each garbage or recycling container go just behind the curbline of the street the property fronts, and bars placing it anywhere it would block vehicle or foot traffic or interfere with the collection truck. Sec. the morning after pickup. Containers used for alley collection follow a different rule under Sec. 18-4(b): they cannot sit inside the alley itself, and if a fence separates the alley from the lot, the cart has to stay outside the fence in a way that will not tip over or spill and will not block the collection truck's path down the alley.
Placement rules for the cart itself come from Sec. 18-3(a)(3)(A), which requires three feet of clearance on each side of a rollcart and one and a half feet behind it from any fence, gas meter, utility box, tree, shrub, or other rollcart, with the handle turned to face the house so the truck's automated arm can grab it. A cart placed in a rack, or a rack that extends into the alley or street, also violates Sec. 18-4(b) and (c)(3).
Violations & Fines
Setting a cart out before 6:00 p.m. the day before collection, leaving it at the curb past 8:00 a.m. the following morning, or blocking the sidewalk or street with it are all violations of Sec. 18-4(c). Code compliance and sanitation services can cite the property owner or occupant, and a cart that blocks alley access under Sec. 18-4(b) can be flagged for the same enforcement process the city uses for other Chapter 18 offenses.
Frequently Asked Questions
How early can I put my trash cart out in Dallas?
How much space does my rollcart need from the fence in Dallas?
Can I leave my trash cart in the alley behind my Dallas house?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Dallas
Texas rules heatmap·Compare Dallas to another location·View the Texas trash & recycling overview
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Bin Placement Rules in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Dallas County handle bin placement rules.