Texas trash pickup is run by cities, counties and private haulers, not by the state, and your pickup day comes from your city’s or hauler’s own lookup. Among the largest cities, Houston, San Antonio and Dallas collect curbside themselves. Texas has an electronics recycling law, but no statewide bottle deposit, PaintCare paint or mattress program.
Find your city
- Austin — Austin Resource Recovery, My Schedule lookup. Bulk, brush and HHW are on-demand appointments.
- Boerne — WM under city contract on the Boerne Utilities bill. Garbage and recycling weekly on one day; bulk and brush in the second full week of the month.
- Dallas — Sanitation Services, weekly garbage and recycling for homes and duplexes. Brush and bulky items once a month.
- El Paso — Environmental Services, gray bin weekly and blue recycling bin every other week. Bulk is a paid special pickup; five collection stations.
- Fort Worth — Environmental Services with Waste Management. Weekly carts and yard trimmings; bulk once a month by area.
- Houston — Solid Waste Management, HTX Collects. Weekly 96-gallon carts for single-family homes.
- San Antonio — Solid Waste Management, brown, blue and green carts. Brush and bulky piles twice a year after a door hanger.
Missing your city? Suggest a City.
Who collects in Texas
- Austin Resource Recovery — municipal department
- Houston Solid Waste Management Department — municipal department
- Texas Commission on Environmental Quality — state agency, not a collector
- Texas law requires businesses that sell lead-acid batteries to take your old battery when you buy a new one. Source ↗
- TCEQ says not to throw rechargeable batteries in the trash and points residents to Call2Recycle drop-off locations. Source ↗
- TCEQ lists used oil, used oil filters and lead-acid batteries as prohibited at every type of Texas municipal solid waste landfill. Source ↗
National haulers (Republic Services, WM, Waste Connections) hold contracts in many places; the city or county names the hauler for each street.
State-level rules
- Container deposit: No statewide container deposit law. NCSL lists ten states and Guam with beverage container deposit laws (California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, Oregon and Vermont), and Texas is not one of them. Source ↗
- Paint: Not a PaintCare state. PaintCare operates in twelve states and the District of Columbia, and Texas is not one of them. Leftover paint goes through the local household hazardous waste program; see paint. Source ↗
- Mattresses: No statewide mattress take-back program. The Mattress Recycling Council’s Bye Bye Mattress program operates statewide only in California, Connecticut, Oregon and Rhode Island. See mattresses. Source ↗
- Electronics: Texas law requires computer and TV manufacturers to offer consumers recycling, with free computer recycling through TexasRecyclesComputers.org; TCEQ’s page does not describe a landfill ban. Source ↗
- Yard waste: No statewide landfill ban. TCEQ’s landfill guide RG-606, revised February 2026, lists brush as allowed at every type of municipal solid waste landfill, though a landfill may choose not to accept a waste. Source ↗
- Household hazardous waste collection is local: TCEQ’s county-by-county list shows drop-off sites, home collection programs and one-time events, and if your area is missing TCEQ says to call your local government or regional council of governments. Source ↗
- Collections of only batteries, used oil, latex paint and antifreeze, called BOPA, are exempt from state HHW requirements and TCEQ does not list them, so check with your city for these items. Source ↗
- TCEQ answers questions about household hazardous waste programs at 512-239-0010 and recycle@tceq.texas.gov. Source ↗
State agency
- State agency: Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), Waste Permits Division, Municipal Solid Waste Permits Section. TCEQ permits and sets rules for municipal solid waste landfills, transfer stations and processing facilities, and its recycling pages point residents to city recycling programs and local household hazardous waste collections. Official website ↗
- Find your local program: TCEQ links to city recycling programs ↗
Flag of Texas. Public-domain artwork. Artwork: Paul B. Joiner. Source. Resized to 480 pixels wide.
Materials with their own rules
Paint · Lithium-ion batteries · Household hazardous waste · Mattresses · Pizza boxes · Christmas trees
Neighboring states
Arkansas · Louisiana · New Mexico · Oklahoma
Sources
Official pages used: tceq.texas.gov · tceq.texas.gov · tceq.texas.gov · houstontx.gov · houstontx.gov · sa.gov · sa.gov · dallascityhall.com · dallascityhall.com · ncsl.org · paintcare.org · mattressrecyclingcouncil.org · tceq.texas.gov · tceq.texas.gov · tceq.texas.gov · tceq.texas.gov · tceq.texas.gov · tceq.texas.gov.
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