Laredo, TX Trash & Recycling: Recycling Requirements (2026)
Key Facts
- Recycling mandate fee
- $4.25/month per unit
- Billed on
- Monthly water utility bill
- Approved cart sizes
- 96, 67, or 40 gallon
- Cart ownership
- City, not resident
- Nonpayment consequence
- Water service disconnection
- Violation fine
- $500/day (Sec. 14-3(i)(10))
Summary
Laredo charges every individual residence a monthly recycling program mandate fee of $4.25 on top of the garbage bill under Sec. 14-9(a), and Sec. 14-3(i)(1) requires all recyclables to go in city-owned collection carts. The fee funds the solid waste department's recycling operation and applies per residential unit, even inside multifamily buildings.
In addition to this minimum collection fee, a monthly state and federal recycling program mandate fee of four dollars and twenty-five cents ($4.25) will be charged to individual residences inside the city limits and will be charged on the monthly water utility bill from the city utilities department to the building or premises on which the individual residence or residences, if more than one (1), is or are located. ... Types of approved containers. Containers to be used for the pickup of garbage and rubbish or recyclables shall be ninety-six-gallon, sixty-seven-gallon refuse and recyclables collection carts, or forty-gallon two-wheeled refuse-collection carts provided and owned exclusively by the city. Each container will bear a unique serial number that will be assigned to each dwelling or business unit.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 23 Update 3 | Land Development Code: Supplement 1).
Full Breakdown
Sec. 25 on top of the base garbage collection fee, and that mandate fee is billed to every individual residence inside the city limits on the monthly water utility bill from the city utilities department. 25 mandate fee, and the revenue is deposited directly into the city's solid waste fund. 25 mandate fee across each of the three size-based commercial tiers under Sec. 14-9(g). The physical infrastructure for the program is set by Sec. 14-3(i)(1): recyclables must go into ninety-six-gallon, sixty-seven-gallon, or forty-gallon two-wheeled carts that remain the exclusive property of the city and are assigned a unique serial number to each dwelling or business unit.
Sec. 14-3(i)(2) makes it unlawful to dispose of recyclable material anywhere in the city except through one of these approved carts placed out for collection as prescribed. Nonpayment of the mandate fee is enforced the same way as nonpayment of the base garbage fee: Sec. 14-9(a) states nonpayment 'shall be sufficient grounds for discontinuance of water service,' tying recycling compliance directly to the resident's water account.
Violations & Fines
Failing to pay the $4.25 monthly recycling mandate fee is grounds for the city to shut off water service under Sec. 14-9(a), since the fee rides on the water utility bill. Disposing of recyclables outside an approved city cart, or removing or damaging a city-owned recycling cart, is a separate violation of Sec. 14-3(i)(2) and (8), carrying the $500-per-day penalty set in Sec. 14-3(i)(10).
Frequently Asked Questions
Do Laredo residents have to pay for recycling separately from garbage?
What container does Laredo require for recycling?
What happens if I don't pay the recycling mandate fee?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Laredo
Texas rules heatmap·Compare Laredo to another location·View the Texas trash & recycling overview
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