Tempe, AZ Trash & Recycling: Illegal Dumping (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing sections
- City Code §§ 28-51, 28-57
- Maximum fine
- Up to $2,500 plus surcharges
- Possible jail time
- Up to six months
- Uncontained item limit
- No more than 10 days before pickup week
- Enforcing department
- Public Works Department via Tempe 311
- Continuing violation
- Each day counts as a separate offense
Summary
Dumping garbage or solid waste on any Tempe street, alley, or private lot is a City Code violation, not just a mess. Section 28-57 bans depositing garbage or solid waste on streets, alleys, or premises outside the chapter's collection methods, and Section 28-51 bars hazardous waste, septic contents, and uncontained items left more than ten days before pickup. Violators face fines up to $2,500 under the Code's general penalty section.
No person shall deposit or cause to be deposited upon any street, alley or premises in the City any garbage, or solid waste of any kind except as specifically permitted in this chapter. It shall be the duty of all solid waste collection personnel, public or private, to immediately clean up any refuse spilled during the garbage collection process.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: City Code: Supplement 33 Update 4 | Zoning and Development Code: Supplement 11 Update 2).
Full Breakdown
Tempe City Code Chapter 28, Article VI governs solid waste disposal. Section 28-57 makes it unlawful to deposit or cause to be deposited garbage or solid waste of any kind upon any street, alley, or premises in the City, except through the collection methods the chapter specifically permits; solid waste collection crews, public or private, must immediately clean up any refuse spilled during pickup. Section 28-51 adds that noncompliant solid waste will not be collected and exposes the property owner or occupant, or the owner of abutting property when the waste sits in the right-of-way, to Code penalties.
That section separately bars placing hazardous wastes, septic tank or cesspool contents (apart from semi-liquid wastewater-cleaning residue), or non-collectible items in City containers, alleys, rights-of-way, or curbside, and bars residents from setting uncontained items at the curb or alley more than ten days before their scheduled bulk-collection week. Anyone who trims trees, shrubs, or brush for pay is solely responsible for hauling away the resulting debris rather than dumping it curbside, unless the resident who hired them is enrolled in the City's curbside green organics program.
Enforcement runs through Tempe's Public Works Department; residents can report dumping and request special collection through Tempe 311 Customer Service. Because Chapter 28 sets no fine schedule of its own for illegal dumping, violations default to the Code's general penalty provision, Section 1-7.
Violations & Fines
A Section 28-57 or 28-51 violation is punished under the City's general penalty, Section 1-7: a fine up to $2,500 plus surcharges, up to six months in jail, or both, at the sentencing judge's discretion, with up to three years' probation possible. Citations are issued and processed under Sections 1-8 and 1-9, giving the defendant fourteen days to pay or request a Tempe Municipal Court hearing. Each day the dumped waste remains constitutes a separate offense.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is dumping trash on a Tempe street or alley illegal?
Who is responsible if waste is dumped in the right-of-way next to my property?
Can I leave bulk trash at the curb whenever I want?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Tempe
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