Flagstaff, AZ Trash & Recycling: Recycling Rules (2026)

Section 7-04-001-0007(L) states plainly that no solid waste or materials other than recyclables shall be placed or stored in any container the City provides for recyclables. Section 7-04-001-0014(B) backs that with a $40.00 fine per occurrence for contamination in a recycling container, and warns that multiple violations may result in removal of the recycling container altogether; getting it back and resuming service costs an additional $40.00 fee on request. Recyclables themselves are defined in Section 7-04-001-0003 to include newspapers, residential mixed paper, cardboard, office paper, aluminum cans and scrap, steel and bi-metal food and beverage cans and lids, plastic bottles and hard plastic containers labeled #1 through #7, and glass, though glass runs through its own separate collection program rather than the standard recycling cart.

Section 7-04-001-0007(K)(2) separately bars anyone not authorized by the City from removing or disturbing recyclable materials deposited in City containers, closing off unauthorized scavenging from a recycling cart as its own violation. General chapter enforcement under Section 7-04-001-0004 and criminal penalties under Section 7-04-001-0023 apply on top of the contamination fine for repeated or aggravated noncompliance.