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Carrollton, TX Trash & Recycling: Pickup Rules & Schedules (2026)

Some Restrictions
Compiled from the official code textEditor Martyn O'NeillLast verified August 2026

Key Facts

Governing sections
§§ 50.16, 50.17
Refuse must stay
Inside approved containers
Using another's cart without permission
Separate offense
Approved container defined
§ 50.01
Max fine
$2,000 per offense
Adopted
Ordinance 4272, 8/19/2025

Summary

Carrollton residents can't just pile trash in the yard: § 50.16 bars letting refuse accumulate on a property outside an approved container, and § 50.17 makes it a separate offense to dump refuse into a neighbor's cart without permission. Both rules sit in chapter 50's residential collection subchapter, adopted under Ordinance 4272 on August 19, 2025, and back up the container and placement requirements the rest of the chapter sets.

§ 50.16. Accumulation of refuse. No owner, lessee, or occupant of any residence shall permit the accumulation of any refuse on his premises, except in approved containers. ... § 50.17. Placing refuse in another's container. A person commits an offense if he places refuse in any approved container which he neither is assigned, owns nor leases, when he does not have the permission of the owner or lessee of said container.

Source: Carrollton Code of OrdinancesView official code

Full Breakdown

01 means a city-issued residential or recycling cart, a commercial dumpster, or bags approved for yard waste. That closes the gap a resident might otherwise use by simply stacking bags of trash in a yard or driveway between pickups rather than containing them. 19 or to get rid of overflow after their own cart is full. 29's ban on damaging a cart, to form the operative set of curbside pickup obligations: contain your refuse, use only your own assigned container, and set it out within the approved location and window.

012, but that state law governs disposing of waste at unapproved dump sites, a different topic covered on this site under illegal dumping, not the container and placement rules that actually govern routine curbside pickup in Carrollton.

Violations & Fines

Letting refuse accumulate outside an approved container under § 50.16, or dumping trash into a container a resident does not own, lease or have permission to use under § 50.17, is a misdemeanor under chapter 50's general penalty, § 50.99, punishable up to $2,000.00 per offense under § 10.99(A)(2) because chapter 50 is a public-health and sanitation chapter, with each day the accumulation continues counted as a separate offense.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I leave bagged trash in my yard between Carrollton pickups?
No. Section 50.16 bars any owner, lessee or occupant from letting refuse accumulate on the premises except inside an approved container, so bags stacked in a yard or driveway between collection days violate the section even if they're tied shut.
Can I put my trash in a neighbor's cart in Carrollton if mine is full?
No. Section 50.17 makes it a separate offense to place refuse in an approved container you are not assigned to, do not own or lease, unless the container's owner or lessee gives permission, regardless of whether your own cart has room.
Is Carrollton's curbside pickup rule the same as its illegal dumping law?
No. Curbside pickup is governed by chapter 50 sections like §§ 50.16, 50.17, 50.19 and 50.24, covering containers and placement. Illegal dumping is a separate local (§50.02) and state (Health & Safety Code § 365.012) prohibition on depositing waste on land or at unapproved sites.

Sources & Official References

Other rules in Carrollton

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