Tempe, AZ Trash & Recycling: Pickup Rules & Schedules (2026)

Section 28-41 sets pickup-hour limits for Tempe's commercial waste stream rather than residential carts. , protecting nearby homes from overnight truck noise. Subsection (b) then targets service failures: garbage cannot be allowed to pile up on commercial or multifamily property in unsanitary quantities, and once the City telephones a licensed contractor about a problem location, that contractor has eight working hours to service the containers. If the contractor misses that window and the City ends up servicing the containers and collecting the garbage itself, Section 28-41(b) lets the City bill the contractor at double the rate set by City Council resolution in Appendix A.

These pickup rules sit in Article V, Commercial Collection, distinct from the residential cart set-out window in Section 28-34 and the exclusive-collector licensing scheme in Section 28-21, and they exist because business-district and multifamily hauling in Tempe runs on contractor schedules rather than the City's residential route. A licensed contractor also owes the City written notice before starting or ending service to a commercial establishment or multifamily property under Section 28-43, including the account's name, address, ownership, container count and collection days.