San Antonio, TX Trash & Recycling: Bin Placement Rules (2026)

Sec. 14-10 governs container placement for every residential garbage, recycling, and organics cart in the city's collection system. Containers cannot block sidewalks and must sit at least three feet from a mailbox, parked car, or other fixed object, clear of low-hanging limbs and utility lines, and at least three feet from other collection containers. The standard spot is the base of the curb with wheels against it; where that is not feasible, alternates apply, including the edge of pavement on streets without curbs, the parkway at the top of the curb on high-traffic streets, or a constructed pad in alleys.

Customers receiving street-side service must keep trees and other vegetation trimmed to provide fourteen feet of overhead clearance and must not let growth extend into the roadway in a way that impedes collection. on collection day or they may sit until the next scheduled cycle. the same day as collection, except where alley storage is designated; anything left out past that is declared a public nuisance and the city may remove it. Alley collection itself is restricted to residents who had it before October 1, 2010, unless at least half the affected customers petition for it and the alley meets paved-surface and clearance standards confirmed by the director.

Sec. 14-45(f) separately makes it unlawful for a vehicle owner to park within three feet of a collection container on collection day, reinforcing the same clearance the resident is required to maintain.