Lake Havasu City, AZ Trash & Recycling: Recycling Rules (2026)

Chapter 8.04 of the Lake Havasu City Code, Garbage Collection and Disposal, sets up the framework that Section 8.04.170 protects. Under Section 8.04.060, the city's contracted hauler collects refuse from every residence receiving city water at least once a week, provided the material sits in containers that comply with Section 8.04.070 (durable, liquid-tight, flytight-covered cans up to 30 gallons for residential use). Section 8.04.170 then locks in who may touch what has been set out: subsection A bars anyone not authorized by the licensed hauler from collecting, scavenging or disturbing residential or commercial solid waste or refuse in cans, containers or bins, and subsection B extends that same bar specifically to any non-containerized refuse or recyclable material set out for collection and disposal by the city's licensed solid waste contractor.

Both bars carry an exception for law enforcement officers and city employees acting within their official duties. Subsection C makes a violation a class 1 misdemeanor, punishable by up to $2,500 in fines, up to 6 months in jail, or both, and clarifies that any separate penalty assessment a City Magistrate levies under A.R.S. Section 41-2403 does not count toward that $2,500 cap. The rule exists because recyclables and refuse left at the curb still belong to the city's contractor until collected, so anyone else pulling cans, bottles or scrap metal out of a bin, cart or curbside pile before the truck arrives is committing a criminal offense rather than a civil infraction.