Tucson, AZ Trash & Recycling: Bin Placement Rules (2026)

0, Solid Waste and Recycle Disposal, Collection, and Storage, governs how trash and recycling containers must be sited and screened on new construction and expanding sites. 0(C), applicable to all development, requires that all solid waste and recycle metal container storage areas be screened from public view and from adjacent developments. Automated plastic containers (APCs) are allowed only where the calculated waste stream is 190 gallons per week or less, 95 gallons each for solid waste and recycling, and metal container service with a built enclosure is required above that volume, per subsection (D).

2(A) requires enclosure walls of masonry or another Environmental Services-approved material, and vertical steel bollards must sit at least one foot inside the enclosure's rear and side walls to keep containers from damaging them. Each enclosure needs a minimum unobstructed ten-foot-by-ten-foot interior space per container, gates with latches mounted on a secured post to block unauthorized access and visually screen the container, and a minimum 12-foot unobstructed gate opening. The concrete pad must be six inches thick at 3,000 psi with No. 4 rebar on 12-inch centers, sloped at least 2% away from the enclosure so stormwater doesn't pool at the gates. 2(I).