Where to dump trash in Mesa, from $15 loads to free hazardous drop-off

The Mesa Landfill Use Program covers one load a calendar month, up to 2,000 lb of non-hazardous solid or yard waste, for a $15 charge added to your next Mesa utility bill. It is open to Mesa residential trash and recycling customers whose bill shows rate code R1.2, R1.2A, R1.2B, R1.24, R1.25, R1.26, R1.27, R1.29, R2.9A or R2.9B under Solid Waste.

Show the bill (paper or on your phone) and a photo ID at the scale house window. Salt River Landfill has told the city that drivers without paperwork may be sent to the back of the line, so a printed bill is faster.

Two rules catch people out. Go over 2,000 lb and you pay the full gate rate on the whole load, with no credit for the first ton. And the vehicle must be rated one ton or less, with the load covered and tied down. A second trip in the same month is billed at the facility's normal rate.

Salt River Landfill sits at Gilbert Road and the Beeline Highway and is run by the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community. It is open Monday to Friday 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturday 6 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Without the Mesa program, garbage and green waste cost $60 a ton with a $35 minimum, and untarped loads pay $20 more. It does not take tires.

Republic Services Mesa Transfer Station is at Pecos and Mountain roads in the southeast corner of the city, open Monday to Friday 6 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and Saturday until 11:30 a.m. Republic requires a hard hat and sells them on site. It refuses any appliance that holds refrigerant, so take a fridge or AC unit to Salt River or the city instead. Republic's gate rate for non-program loads is not posted on the city page.

If you can't haul it yourself, Mesa picks up bulky items by appointment for its trash customers from $31 a load, or $39.59 for non-Mesa customers. A load is roughly 4 by 8 by 4 feet, with up to 4 loads per pickup. Book online or call 480-644-6789.

Furniture, mattresses, box springs, exercise machines, toilets, grills without propane and bundled branches all qualify. Set items at the end of the driveway after 6 p.m. the night before and by 6 a.m. on pickup day. Cut branches into bundles no more than 48 inches long and 60 lb, box cactus, and tape a sheet marked "BB" to anything that has had bed bugs. Mixed-in banned items can get the whole pile left behind with a $31 trip charge. Neighboring cities run their own rules, compared in the Valley bulk trash guide.

Mesa appliance recycling picks up fridges, washers, stoves, water heaters and similar items at the curb for $19 each, plus $11 for freon removal ($28.42 for non-Mesa customers). Empty the appliance and remove fridge and freezer doors first, as state law requires.

You can also drive appliances, tires and chemicals to the Mesa Household Hazardous Materials facility at 2412 N Center St. It is open Wednesday to Saturday 7 a.m. to 2 p.m., costs eligible residents nothing extra, and staff unload while you stay in the car. Daily limits are 3 appliances (the city's appliance page says 2, so plan on 2), 5 car tires off the rim, 10 gallons of automotive fluids and 20 gallons of paint, with no container over 5 gallons. Bring a license with a Mesa address or a Mesa bill or rent receipt with photo ID. Dried latex paint can go in your black barrel.

The closest thing Mesa has to a free dump day is the Neighborhood Cleanup Program. A resident applies, and the city drops a 30-yard trash container and a 30-yard green waste container on the street for everyone who lives there. Each neighborhood gets one event every 12 months, first come, first served.

The trash container takes bagged trash, unusable furniture, mattresses and junk. The green one takes unbagged grass, leaves and branches under 12 inches across, but no oleander, cactus or palm. Contractors, landscapers and remodeling debris are not allowed. For a bigger project, Mesa also rents 20, 30 and 40-yard roll-offs; call 480-644-6789 for rates, which are not posted.

Construction and remodeling waste is the gap. Bulk pickup refuses cabinets, tile, drywall, concrete, rock, dirt, shingles, lumber and doors, and the hazardous materials facility refuses carpet and construction waste too. For those, haul to Salt River Landfill at the gate rate, or call the city at 480-644-2221 for options. Mesa sends railroad ties and treated wood to Butterfield Station Landfill and asks you to call a licensed contractor for asbestos.

Mesa Police stations take unwanted medication at drop-off kiosks. Medical sharps go in the black barrel inside a puncture-proof, taped container marked "Do Not Recycle."