Phoenix Garbage Can Replacement: How to Request, Fees, and Sizing

To get a Phoenix garbage can replacement, call Public Works at 602-262-6251, submit a request through the city’s “At Your Service” online portal, or use the myPHX311 mobile app. The same request works for a black trash container or a recycling container, whether it’s cracked, missing a lid or wheels, or gone entirely. Replacements typically arrive within five business days, and because every curbside container belongs to the city, normal wear-and-tear repairs and swaps are free.¹

Three Ways to Request One

Pick whichever is easiest:

Phone: 602-262-6251 during business hours. This is also the number for reporting a stolen container.
Online: the city’s “At Your Service” portal. Sign in with your utility account or continue as a guest, select the container issue, and submit.
myPHX311 app: free on iOS and Android. Under Requests, choose “Trash and Recycle containers.”

All three route to the same Public Works queue.¹

What to Have Ready

Your service address matters most, since the city tracks containers by physical location. Your utility account number, printed on your monthly bill, speeds things up. Know which container you need (trash or recycling) and what’s wrong with the current one: cracked body, broken lid, missing wheels, or stolen. Two minutes, tops.

When It Arrives and What to Do With the Old One

Expect delivery within five business days of an approved request. If you’re replacing a damaged container rather than a stolen one, leave the old container empty at the curb on your regular collection day and the crew will swap it out or haul it away.¹

New residents whose home has city water service but no containers use the same 602-262-6251 number for an initial set, and the same five-business-day window applies.¹

When You Might Be Charged

Standard repairs and replacements from normal use are free because the container is city property. If the city determines you damaged a container through negligence or intentional misuse, you can be billed for the repair or replacement cost. Phoenix City Code Chapter 27 also requires residents to secure containers between collection days. That matters for theft: a stolen container you didn’t reasonably secure could turn into a paid replacement rather than a free swap.² Any charge shows up as a line item on your monthly utility bill.

Consider a Size Change While You’re At It

A replacement request is a natural moment to rethink container size. Phoenix issues residential trash containers in large and medium sizes. If you consistently fill less than half your large container, the city’s downsizing program lets you swap to a medium and cut $3 per month from your solid waste bill; going the other direction, from medium to large, adds $3 per month. There’s no extra charge for switching sizes at the time of a replacement, so mention your preference when you submit the request.²

If one container isn’t enough, households can add a second large black trash container for $18.30 per month on the utility bill.²

1
City of Phoenix. Residential Trash
2
City of Phoenix. Solid Waste Rates