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

Sec. 14-1 draws the line between what belongs in the blue cart and what doesn't. 'Recyclables' is defined as material capable of being recycled at the city's material recovery facility and sold as a commodity: clean plastic bottles and jugs, detergent containers, aluminum and steel and tin cans, newspaper, office paper, cardboard boxes, phone books, magazines, catalogs, and junk mail. ' Sec. 14-2(k) is the operative enforcement rule: recyclables must be placed in the recycling carts provided by the solid waste department and clearly identified by the recycling information printed on the lid.

If a recycling cart set out for collection instead contains regular garbage, yard clippings, plastic bags, glass, or other non-recyclable material, the crew will not pick it up. The section goes further than a simple missed pickup: 'persistent use of the recycling blue carts for non-recyclables, as determined by the manager of solid waste services, may result in the removal of the cart and exclusion from the recycling program,' meaning a repeat offender can permanently lose recycling service.