Dallas, TX Trash & Recycling: Collection Schedule (2026)

Dallas does not let residents opt for a private trash hauler. Sec. 18-9(b)(3) states that collection service must be provided by the sanitation services of the city for all residences and duplexes and for all manual collection from apartments and mobile home parks, and that service may not be contracted or performed by anyone other than the city's own crews. Sec. 18-4(a)(2) backs that up on the ground: a person commits an offense if they collect dry or wet solid waste, including recyclables, from a residence or duplex, unless they are the occupant, a city sanitation employee on duty, a franchised hauler under contract with the city, a charity collecting clothes or newspapers, or a service, like lawn care or home repair, hauling away debris incidental to its own work.

Billing for the mandatory service rides on the water bill: Sec. 18-9(a)(1) puts every dwelling unit with an active water or wastewater account on the sanitation charge automatically, and Sec. 18-9(a)(2) makes a bill delinquent 15 days after it is issued. Once delinquent, Sec. 18-9(a)(3) lets sanitation services refuse to pick up garbage and trash at that address, lets the water utilities department shut off water and wastewater service, and adds a five percent late payment fee to the total bill. Service charges are set by how the property is actually used rather than by its zoning classification, per Sec. 18-9(b)(1).