Sugar Land, TX Trash & Recycling: Collection Schedule (2026)

Section 3-157 makes it unlawful for anyone other than the city to operate, or direct someone else to operate, a vehicle on a public street to collect residential solid waste for compensation. It's a defense if the hauler has a contract with the city or the city's consent to collect from residential property, or if the property was annexed into Sugar Land and the hauler already held a valid pre-annexation contract and city consent for that specific location and date. In practice this locks residential collection to the city's own service or its designated contractor, closing the door on independent haulers soliciting Sugar Land homeowners directly.

Section 3-158 sets the billing side: every residential property owes a monthly fee set by city council for having residential solid waste collection available or in use, due on the date shown on the bill. That charge isn't billed separately from water and sewer; it's folded into one combined monthly bill, and the code specifically states it isn't treated as a separate account for delinquency purposes. If a customer fails to timely pay the full combined water, sewer and solid waste bill, the city may discontinue water service under the same delinquent-payment rules that apply to water and sewer accounts generally, giving the city real leverage to enforce collection of the trash fee.

Because Sec. 3-157 carries no dedicated penalty of its own, an unauthorized commercial hauler operating without a city contract is subject to the general fine ceiling in Sec. 1-9, up to $500 per offense, with each day of unauthorized operation a separate offense.