Dallas, TX Trash & Recycling: Valet Trash Rules (2026)

Multifamily properties in Dallas that offer valet trash pickup cannot treat recycling as an afterthought. Sec. 1(a)(3) ties recycling container placement to wherever waste containers sit: they have to be within visibility of each other, and if the property uses valet trash service, the recycling service has to be of a similar nature, meaning residents get the same doorstep-style convenience for recyclables that they get for garbage. The same subsection extends that principle to trash chute rooms, requiring the recycling option to be just as convenient for the tenant, such as a recycling container placed next to the trash chute if there is room.

This sits inside a broader set of owner duties in Sec. 1(a): the property must contract with a permitted multifamily site recycling collection service, supply at least 11 gallons of recycling capacity per unit per week under Sec. 1(c), post signage in common areas explaining what is recyclable, and train both new tenants and, for properties running valet or back-of-house recycling, the staff or contractors who collect it. Owners had to have this program running by January 1, 2020, or immediately upon receiving a certificate of occupancy if the property was built later, and must file a written recycling plan with the director of sanitation every year as part of the multi-tenant registration under Sec.

1(g). The director's designee may inspect any multifamily site for compliance at any time, including during the inspections the city already runs under Sec. 27-42 of the property-standards code, per Sec. 1(h).