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

Section 28-71 makes it unlawful for any person, firm or corporation to maintain a recycling container in Tempe without a City permit, renewed annually through the Public Works Department. Section 28-72 spells out what the application must contain: the owner's or operator's name, address and phone number, plus the container's proposed location, size and type. The application also needs a written statement from the property owner describing where the container will sit and granting permission for its placement. If the container is going on a developed site, Section 28-72(c) adds a second layer: the property owner must first obtain site plan approval from the Community Development Department covering the container's placement, color, screening and signage under the Zoning and Development Code before Public Works will issue the permit.

Containers that run afoul of the chapter, unpermitted, in disrepair, or improperly sited, can be impounded under Section 28-15. The Public Works Director posts a notice on the container identifying the Code section violated and a removal date at least ten days out, unless the problem is fixed first. Once impounded, the owner owes the City for removal and storage costs and has sixty days to pay before the City can dispose of the container outright. Article VIII's permit and impoundment scheme sits in the general code's Chapter 28, separate from the curbside garbage and green-organics containers the City itself issues to households, and it governs privately operated bins placed around the community.