Garland, TX Trash & Recycling: Recycling Rules (2026)

Under Garland Code of Ordinances § 52.31, a customer may obtain one single stream recycle container based on their designated collection area, and the City retains ownership of the container: it cannot be moved to another address. Section 52.32 sets the placement window: containers go out no earlier than 6:00 p.m. the day before collection and no later than 7:00 a.m. on collection day, and must come back in before 11:00 p.m. that same day. Containers must sit at least four feet from any residential solid waste container, from mailboxes, cable boxes, sprinkler heads, gas meters, fences or similar obstructions, and from any fence line or gate.

Section 52.33 lists what belongs in the bin: plastic containers marked #1-#7 (water and soda bottles, milk jugs, yogurt cups, shampoo bottles), aluminum/tin/steel cans, CFC-free empty aerosol cans, glass bottles and jars of all colors, newspapers, magazines and catalogs, office paper, shredded paper tied in clear bags, chipboard, small flattened cardboard, and telephone books. Residents using bins (rather than the wheeled container) may use clear white plastic bags for overflow.

Section 52.34 excludes household garbage, plastic grocery bags, CFC-containing aerosol cans, automotive fluid containers, aluminum foil, scrap metal, paint cans, containers that held household hazardous waste like bleach, light bulbs and other glass/ceramics, paper towels and tissue, greasy pizza boxes, and wax-coated containers. Under § 52.35, sanitation department staff tag a container the first two times contamination is found and a supervisor contacts the customer after the second tag; a third contamination at the same address can result in the recycling container being removed to keep the City's contamination rate under the threshold set by the material recovery facility.