Trash & Recycling in Fresno, CA (2026)
10 verified trash & recycling rules for Fresno, California, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Pickup Rules & Schedules
Fresno Municipal Code § 6-206(a) makes trash, recycling, and organics collection service mandatory for every residence and business, and § 6-205(b) requires accumulated material to be set out for pickup at least once a week through an authorized city hauler only.
Fresno Weekly Trash and Recycling Pickup Mandate
Some RestrictionsFresno Municipal Code § 6-206(a); § 6-205(b)
(a)Mandatory Service. Every person owning or occupying a residence or commercial establishment shall subscribe to solid waste, segregated recyclable materials, and organic materials collection service from an authorized cart/bin collection agent or authorized roll-off collector... Removal of Solid Waste, Recyclables, Organic Materials, and C&D Debris. Except as provided herein, every responsibl...
Bin Placement Rules
Fresno Municipal Code § 6-205(c)(10) bars storing a trash, recycling, or organics container in a front or side yard facing the street unless it's screened from view, though the Director can waive that for hardship and temporary roll-off boxes get a 30-day exemption.
Fresno Trash Cart Street-View Screening Rule
Some RestrictionsFresno Municipal Code § 6-205(c)(10)
Container in view requirements: No material container shall be stored in the front yard or side yard on a street as said yards are described in Chapter 12, Articles 2 and 3 of this Code, unless the container is screened from view from the street in accordance with that article of the Code, provided that upon written request the Director in his/her discretion may grant relief from screening requ...
Bulk Item Disposal
Fresno Municipal Code § 6-205(c)(5) requires customers with more waste than their carts can hold to order and pay for a "special haul" at the Master Fee Schedule rate, or transport the abnormal accumulation to a lawful disposal site themselves.
Fresno Special Haul for Bulky Waste
Some RestrictionsFresno Municipal Code § 6-205(c)(5)
Each service location shall be provided with sufficient containers to adequately store for collection the normal periodic accumulation of material. In cases where an abnormal accumulation cannot be stored until the next regular collection in a manner conforming to this article, the customer shall order a special haul and pay for that service at the rates established in the Master Fee Schedule p...
Recycling Requirements
Fresno mandates recycling participation under state laws including AB 341, AB 1826, and SB 1383. All residents must use the blue recycling cart for paper, cardboard, plastics (#1-7), glass, and metals. SB 1383 requires organic waste diversion through the green cart for food scraps, food-soiled paper, and yard trimmings. Commercial generators producing four or more cubic yards of waste per week must have recycling service.
Fresno Mandatory Recycling Requirements
Some RestrictionsCal. SB 1383 (2016) - Short-Lived Climate Pollutants; HSC §39730.6 / PRC §42652.5
(a) Consistent with Section 39730.5, methane emissions reduction goals shall include the following targets to reduce the landfill disposal of organics: (1) A 50-percent reduction in the level of the statewide disposal of organic waste from the 2014 level by 2020. (2) A 75-percent reduction in the level of the statewide disposal of organic waste from the 2014 level by 2025. ... The department, i...
Mandatory Organics Recycling
Every Fresno resident and business must subscribe to organics collection alongside trash and recycling: it isn't optional. FMC § 6-206(a) requires every person owning or occupying a residence or commercial establishment to subscribe to solid waste, segregated recyclable materials, and organic materials collection service, with a state-recognized community composting site as the only built-in carve-out.
Fresno Mandatory Organics Collection Subscription
Some RestrictionsFresno Municipal Code § 6-206(a)
Every person owning or occupying a residence or commercial establishment shall subscribe to solid waste, segregated recyclable materials, and organic materials collection service from an authorized cart/bin collection agent or authorized roll-off collector, and each person generating construction and demolition debris/material under a city issued building, relocation or demolition permit shall ...
Illegal Dumping
Fresno Municipal Code § 10-611 makes unauthorized dumping and illegal storage of junk, rubbish, or vehicles on land a public nuisance, punishable by escalating administrative citations of $1,000, $1,500, then $3,000 per violation plus the city's abatement costs, with the dumper's vehicle subject to impoundment.
Fresno Illegal Dumping Penalties
Significant RestrictionsFresno Municipal Code § 10-611(a)
Unauthorized dumping, under Section 6-210, is unlawful and a public nuisance and may be abated under Sections 10-609 or 10-616. ... a violator may be required to clean up the violation within ten days of issuance of a Notice and Order... (a) Illegal dumping Citations. violators may be issued administrative citations for penalties in the following amounts: (1) for the first violation, one thousa...
Yard Waste Collection
Fresno Municipal Code § 6-202(ll) defines "green waste material" as decomposable landscape debris, clippings, leaves, brush, and prunings under 4 inches in diameter, that must go in the green organics container under the city's Waste Collection and Disposal Ordinance rather than the trash or recycling cart.
Fresno Green Waste Collection Rules
Some RestrictionsFresno Municipal Code § 6-202(ll)
"Green Waste Material" shall mean any materials generated from the maintenance or alteration of public, commercial, or residential landscapes that will decompose and/or putrefy including, but not limited to, yard clippings, grass, leaves, shrub/tree trimmings or prunings (less than 4" in diameter), brush, flowers, weeds, dead plants, small pieces of unpainted and untreated wood, and other types...
Dumpster Rules
You can't just call any hauler for a construction dumpster in Fresno. FMC § 6-222(a) requires roll-off collection service to come from a company holding a non-exclusive franchise from the city, effective since September 1, 2011, and containers placed on a property must carry the collector's name, phone number, and ID number under § 6-204(e).
Fresno Roll-Off Dumpster Franchise Requirement
Significant RestrictionsFresno Municipal Code § 6-222(a)
Effective September 1, 2011, no person shall provide roll-off collection services to residents and businesses of the city unless authorized to do so pursuant to this Section 6-222. The collection of solid waste, recyclable materials, organic materials, and C&D debris with roll-off containers in the city shall be performed only by persons that first receive a franchise to engage in such activity...
Collection Schedule
Fresno requires every residence and business to put waste out at least once a week, and it sets a strict clock for the cart itself: FMC § 6-205(c)(11) bars setting an automated container out any earlier than 6:00 p.m. the night before pickup and requires it back off the curb by 8:00 p.m. the day it's emptied.
Fresno Trash Cart Placement Time Window
Some RestrictionsFresno Municipal Code § 6-205(c)(11)
Placement for collection shall conform to the following: Automated containers shall be placed for collection before 5:30 a.m. of the collection day, but not before 6:00 p.m. of the preceding day. The containers shall be moved back to their normal storage location by not later than 8:00 p.m. of the collection day unless authorized by the Director. Roll-off containers are exempt from the requirem...
Recycling Rules
Fresno's blue-cart recycling program isn't a suggestion: it's written into the Municipal Code as a sorting mandate. FMC § 6-205(c)(3)(ii) requires customers to place organics in the green container, recyclables in the blue container, and everything else in gray, and bars putting gray-container material into either of the other two carts.
Fresno Three-Cart Recycling Sorting Rule
Some RestrictionsFresno Municipal Code § 6-205(c)(3)(ii)
Customers shall place organic materials, including food waste, in the green container; segregated recyclable materials in the blue container; and remaining solid waste in the gray container. Customers shall not place materials designated for the gray container into the green container or blue container.
Looking for Fresno County county-wide rules?
County ordinances apply to unincorporated areas and may supplement Fresno city rules.
Trash & Recycling in Fresno County →