City of Mesa
Home MenuBarrel Inspections
You may on occasion see a City of Mesa Quality Assurance Inspector looking inside barrels that have been placed out for service in your neighborhood. This routine practice is performed throughout Mesa for one or more of the following reasons:
Black barrel
- Overloaded barrel
- Barrel placement
- Unbagged trash
- Maricopa County compliance requirements
Blue barrel
- Overloaded barrel
- Barrel placement
- Contaminated with non-acceptable items*
- Recyclables found in plastic bags
- Quality control material inspections
- What type of notice might be left behind?
- White "Thank You" tag - Household is doing a great job at recycling the right items.
- Green tag - Minor contamination issue but recycle barrel was serviced.
- Yellow tag - Significant contamination issue identified and recycle barrel was not serviced.
- Pink fuchsia tag - Due to ongoing contamination, recycle barrel was removed.
- Red tag - Due to severe contamination, recycle barrel was immediately removed.
Green barrel
- Overloaded barrel
- Barrel placement
- Contaminated with non-acceptable items
- Bagged yard trimmings
- Oversized branches
- Maricopa County compliance requirements
If an unacceptable barrel practice is identified, the inspector will leave behind an educational reminder. This reminder will provide helpful information as well as list any actions needed in order to service the barrel on the next collection day. A special pickup is available for an additional fee by contacting Customer Service.
*To maintain the integrity and sustainability of our recycling program, the City of Mesa reserves the right to suspend recycling participation due to excessive contamination. If non-accepted materials are found in a recycle container, City staff will leave behind a notice to advise of the non-accepted items as well as provide educational information. On the third occurrence, the barrel will be removed. If a customer wishes to be reinstated back into the recycling program, they may do so after a minimum period of 3 months and will be assessed a $42 reinstatement fee.