Curbside recycling serves all single-family homes and some smaller multifamily dwellings, according to the city. Apartment and condominium residents can take recyclables to the City Recycle Center. For cart collection, leave recyclables loose, clean out containers and cut flattened cardboard into pieces no longer than 18 inches. Keep plastic bags, foam, batteries and trash out of the blue cart. Place it at least five feet from obstacles, with its wheels and handle facing the home and its lid fully closed.
The recycling cart may go out no earlier than 8 p.m. the evening before collection and must be at the curb by 6 a.m. on collection day. The city's recycling page lists a residential recycling rate of $4.26 per month and says it was last adjusted in 2010. That is the recycling rate, not a stated price for every trash service on a household's bill.
Choose the right service for extra material
The recycling rate is stated on the residential recycling page; the bulk and tag prices are stated on the city's bulky and excess trash page. The calendar does not state a regular-cart fee.
Furniture and other eligible bulky items are not collected by the weekly garbage truck. The city charges $43.30 for a separate curbside bulk pickup. Submit an online request; a customer service representative will contact you about availability and restrictions. Put approved items at an accessible curbside location at the scheduled time. The truck needs room for its lifting arm. The city says fees become nonrefundable once pickup is scheduled, including when items are moved, blocked or improperly placed.
The city's free quarterly bulky-goods drop-off events offer another option for New Braunfels residents. The city lists furniture, mattresses, whole passenger-car tires without rims, up to four per resident, and other nonmetal items too large for a cart. It excludes electronics, green waste, household hazardous waste, regular garbage, scrap metal, construction or remodeling material, fixtures and commercial trash. Mattresses are excluded at the New Braunfels Utilities Service Center site. Check the city's event information for the site and details of the Dec. 5 event.
For an occasional extra garbage bag, the cart lid still must close. A bag left outside needs a city-issued tag. The 2026 calendar says to bag, tie and tag excess trash weighing up to 40 pounds for regular pickup; those tags do not cover recycling or green waste. Five tags cost $21.65 and are sold at the City Municipal Building, 424 S. Castell Ave.
Where to go next
Start with the address lookup on the 2026 route calendar. For a bulk pickup, use the city's Solid Waste & Recycling request page; it also accepts reports of missed collections and broken carts. For questions about eligibility, charges or an event site, the city lists its main number as 830-221-4000. Confirm event details before traveling: the calendar gives dates, while the bulky-goods page gives the accepted-item rules and listed locations.
