City guide · Texas

Arlington Trash Pickup Schedule

This Arlington trash pickup schedule covers a city where Republic Services collects under contract to the city - weekly garbage and biweekly single-stream recycling on an A/B cycle, both on the same day. What makes Arlington distinctive is how bulk pickup works: instead of a separate monthly or twice-yearly calendar, bulk items go out every other week on the same day as your regular recycling cycle.

Here's how Arlington's garbage collection schedule breaks down, how the city's holiday week-slide works, and what the mandatory on-site recycling rule means for new apartment developments. We'll also cover cost details, since exact water-bill rate tiers change from year to year and are best confirmed directly with the city. Where a specific dollar figure hasn't been independently confirmed, we'll say so rather than guess, and point you to where to look it up yourself.

How often is trash picked up in Arlington?

Garbage is collected weekly for every address, and single-stream recycling runs every other week on an A or B cycle tied to your street, always on the same day as garbage. Arlington does not have a confirmed dedicated curbside yard-waste cart - brush and larger yard waste generally move through the bulk collection program described later in this guide.

Because a standard curbside yard-waste allowance isn't confirmed for Arlington, check with Republic Services or the city before setting loose yard debris out with your regular cart rather than assuming it's covered.

Garbage and recycling always share the same day of the week, so once you know your route day you know both. The A/B label only changes which week recycling goes out, not which day of the week it lands on.

Single-stream means you don't have to separate paper from plastic or glass into different bins - everything recyclable goes into the same blue cart together, and sorting happens later at the recovery facility rather than at the curb.

Find your exact pickup day

Every Arlington address has its own garbage day and its own A or B recycling cycle, which also determines your bulk pickup day. Confirm all three through the city's official lookup tool.

Since bulk collection rides along with your recycling cycle, the same lookup that tells you your garbage day effectively tells you your bulk day too - there's no separate calendar to hunt down.

Look up your Arlington pickup schedule →

The My Area tool covers collection days plus other address-specific city services in a single lookup, so it's worth bookmarking beyond just trash day.

Bin placement rules

Following the placement rules matters most on bulk day, since a misplaced item can get skipped entirely until your next scheduled cycle two weeks later.

• Carts out by the collection time posted for your route, wheels facing the street
• Recycling loose in the cart, no bagging
• Bulk items placed curbside only on your scheduled bulk day, one item per collection
• Keep carts and bulk items clear of parked cars, mailboxes, low tree limbs, and utility boxes

Arlington Trash Holiday Schedule

Arlington observes five holidays that affect collection: New Year's Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day. When one of those falls on a scheduled collection day, that day's route - and every route after it that week - slides forward one day.

Friday routes are affected most, since a Friday holiday pushes that collection all the way to Saturday. It's the same "week slides forward" pattern used in several other Texas cities, so if your regular day falls later in the week, expect the ripple effect to reach you too.

Confirm exact current-year holiday dates on arlingtontx.gov before relying on this table for a specific week, since observed dates can shift slightly from year to year.

Because a Friday route can absorb two days of stops on the Saturday after a late-week holiday, it's worth setting carts out a little earlier than usual that week. Trucks running a doubled-up route sometimes pass through neighborhoods sooner than residents expect.

What goes in each cart

Arlington's curbside system centers on two carts, with bulk items handled separately on their own recycling-day cycle rather than through a third container. There's no confirmed dedicated yard-waste cart, so how small clippings and trimmings should be handled isn't spelled out here - check with Republic Services or the city rather than assume either cart is the right answer.

How much does trash service cost in Arlington?

Trash service in Arlington is charged on the water utility bill rather than a separate invoice. Exact current cart-tier dollar rates weren't independently confirmed for this guide - an October 2024 rate-change notice referenced a roughly 5%, about $1-a-month increase, but the underlying rate can change again after that. Check your current water bill or arlingtontx.gov for the exact amount you're being charged.

One specific fee is confirmed directly: a contaminated recycling cart, meaning one with non-recyclable material mixed in, can trigger a $33.49 fee. Keeping recyclables loose and free of food residue or plastic bags is the simplest, cheapest way to avoid it.

Because the exact residential rate tiers weren't independently confirmed for this guide, it's worth pulling up a recent water bill and looking for the solid waste line item directly. That figure, not any estimate here, is the one to budget against.

Water bills in many cities bundle multiple charges together under one statement, and Arlington's follows that same pattern. Reading the full bill rather than just the total due is the best way to see exactly what portion covers trash and recycling versus water and sewer service.

Bulk item pickup

Bulk item pickup in Arlington runs on a genuinely distinctive schedule: instead of a separate monthly or twice-a-year calendar, bulk collection happens every other week, on the same day as your regular recycling A or B cycle.

Each scheduled bulk day is limited to one item per address, so a large cleanout may take more than one cycle to clear. Because bulk piggybacks on your recycling day rather than running on its own calendar, the fastest way to find your next bulk date is to look up your recycling cycle through the My Area tool.

This design is worth appreciating for what it avoids: residents in cities with a once- or twice-a-year bulk calendar often have to store a broken appliance or old mattress for months. In Arlington, the wait between opportunities is never longer than two weeks, even if only one item goes out at a time.

Apartments & multifamily buildings

The Republic Services contract for curbside collection covers single-family homes, not apartment buildings. Multifamily properties are served instead through the city's separate Commercial & Multi-Family Collections program.

New or redeveloped multifamily properties fall under a mandatory on-site recycling ordinance, and noncompliance carries real penalties - up to $2,000 per violation as a Class C misdemeanor. Property managers should confirm their building's specific recycling setup with the city rather than assume it matches a neighboring complex.

This is a stricter approach than several other Texas cities take, where multifamily recycling is often optional rather than required by ordinance. Renters who aren't sure whether their complex offers recycling should ask their property manager directly, since availability isn't guaranteed the way it is for single-family curbside service, and the penalty structure only applies going forward to new or redeveloped properties rather than every existing building citywide.

Reporting illegal dumping

Report illegal dumping to the city's Action Center at 817-459-6777, or through arlingtontx.gov/contact. For a missed collection, contact Republic Services directly at 817-317-2000, or use the city's online Trash & Recycle Requests form.

Keeping these two contacts separate matters, since the Action Center handles code-enforcement issues like dumped debris on vacant lots, while Republic Services handles the actual collection routes. Calling the wrong number just adds a transfer before your issue gets to the right place.

Frequently asked questions

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Bookmark this Arlington trash pickup schedule and check back whenever a holiday shifts your route or your A/B recycling cycle changes. The bulk-on-recycling-day pattern is the one detail most worth remembering, since it's different from how most Texas cities schedule large item pickup.

Need more than curbside pickup? Compare local bulk & junk removal quotes. Browse all Texas cities or the full state directory.