Maricopa County, AZ Trash & Recycling: Collection Schedule (2026)

Chapter II, Section 5, Regulation 4 of the Environmental Health Code sets the floor: collection of garbage, refuse, rubbish and ashes follows the collection agency's own schedule, but that schedule can never fall below once per week. A hauler that wants to collect less frequently has to apply to the Environmental Health Officer for a variance, backed by a collection frequency plan showing the reduced schedule won't create a public health hazard or nuisance and that fly breeding will be controlled by biological, chemical or mechanical means.

Every approved variance plan is subject to random Department inspections covering at least 1% of all garbage collection, must be resubmitted for review every two years, and can be revoked outright if the Environmental Health Officer later finds a hazard exists or the reason for the variance no longer applies. Regulation 1 backs this up on the business side: no person may collect, haul, remove or dispose of non-hazardous solid waste as part of a business without a valid Department permit, and every vehicle used for that purpose must carry its own permit and be marked with the permit number in three-inch letters on the side doors and rear.

Regulation 6 spells out what a collection agency must pick up where service exists, garbage, ashes, rubbish and small dead animals under 75 pounds, while construction debris, industrial waste, animals over 75 pounds and manure are optional at the agency's discretion. Regulation 7 further requires every collection agency to give each household or business it serves written notice of its collection days, acceptable and unacceptable materials, and container requirements.