Trash & Recycling in La Mesa, CA (2026)
8 verified trash & recycling rules for La Mesa, California, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Pickup Rules & Schedules
In the City of La Mesa, only the city's exclusive refuse contractor may collect, haul, or transport garbage and refuse under Municipal Code Sections 7.20.020 and 7.20.050. It is unlawful for anyone else to pick up trash within city limits, though a commercial business can self-haul its own waste if it meets the Section 7.30.090 self-hauler requirements.
La Mesa Refuse Pickup Rules for Residents
Significant RestrictionsLa Mesa Municipal Code §§ 7.20.020, 7.20.050
It is unlawful for any person, to collect, convey, transport or cause to be collected, conveyed, or transported any refuse, garbage, or other waste material in violation of the provisions of this chapter; except, if a commercial business elects to self-haul, it must meet the self-hauler requirements in Section 7.30.090 of the La Mesa Municipal Code. ... It is unlawful for any person other than ...
Bin Placement Rules
In the City of La Mesa, Municipal Code Section 7.20.075 tells residents and businesses exactly when to put refuse containers out and when to bring them back in: no earlier than twelve hours before the scheduled pickup, and removed from the curb or alley the same day service is rendered. Leaving refuse loose on public property more than 24 hours is a separate encroachment.
La Mesa Garbage Cart Set-Out and Placement Rules
Some RestrictionsLa Mesa Municipal Code § 7.20.075
(a)It shall be the duty of every tenant, lessee or occupant of any private dwelling house, the keeper of every hotel, restaurant, eating house, boarding house, or other furnished flat or apartment house and of every other person or business having refuse, to provide sufficient gray, blue, and green containers or "one way" containers, except as hereinafter provided; and which when filled within ...
Bulk Item Disposal
In the City of La Mesa, Municipal Code Section 7.20.090 lets the refuse contractor charge extra for large disposal jobs: any accumulation of more than ten receptacles, bags or bundles combined counts as an 'unusual accumulation,' and the rate for hauling it away is whatever the contractor and the customer agree on rather than the standard collection fee.
La Mesa Unusual Refuse Accumulation Charges
Light RestrictionsLa Mesa Municipal Code § 7.20.090
For unusual accumulations of refuse or garbage, and for collection in places not otherwise provided for in this chapter, rates may be charged as shall be agreed upon by the contractor and the customer. Unusual accumulations shall be anything in excess of ten (10) receptacles, bags or bundles, or combination thereof.
Recycling Requirements
In the City of La Mesa, Municipal Code Chapter 7.22 makes recycling mandatory once the city council designates recyclable materials by resolution. Section 7.22.020 gives the council that designation power, and Section 7.22.030 then requires those designated materials to be segregated from rubbish or garbage for separate collection starting on the resolution's effective date.
La Mesa Mandatory Recycling Requirements
Some RestrictionsLa Mesa Municipal Code §§ 7.22.020, 7.22.030, 7.22.040
The city council, by resolution, shall designate materials to be recycled in accordance with this chapter. ... It shall be mandatory on the dates specified by council resolution designating materials to be recycled that such recyclable materials be segregated from rubbish or garbage for separate collection or removal. ... The city manager or designee shall have responsibility for the enforcemen...
Mandatory Organics Recycling
In the City of La Mesa, Municipal Code Chapter 7.30 implements the state's SB 1383 organics law by automatically enrolling every single-family home in three-container collection under Section 7.30.030: a thirty-five-gallon-per-week blue recycling container, a thirty-five-gallon-per-week green organic waste container, and a gray container for what's left. Commercial businesses and multi-family properties face parallel three-container duties under Section 7.30.040.
La Mesa Mandatory Organics Recycling Rules
Some RestrictionsLa Mesa Municipal Code §§ 7.30.030, 7.30.120
A.Single-family residential dwellings shall be automatically enrolled in city's organic waste collection services with a minimum source separated recyclable materials (blue container) service level of thirty-five gallons per week per dwelling unit, and with a minimum source separated green container organic waste (green container) service level of thirty-five gallons per week per dwelling unit....
Illegal Dumping
In the City of La Mesa, dumping garbage or refuse anywhere except an authorized, state-permitted landfill is unlawful under Municipal Code Section 7.20.185, whether you haul your own trash or someone else's. Dumping into another person's or agency's rented receptacle, or leaving refuse elsewhere to dodge the contractor's collection charge, is expressly banned. Violations are infractions enforced under the city's general penalty clause.
La Mesa Illegal Dumping Penalties
Some RestrictionsLa Mesa Municipal Code §§ 7.20.185, 7.20.195
(a)It shall be unlawful for any person hauling their own garbage or refuse as provided in this chapter, or hauling garbage or refuse belonging to others, to dispose of such garbage or refuse at any location other than an authorized landfill permitted by the state of California. Disposal of garbage or refuse into receptacles or containers that are the property of or being rented by any other per...
Dumpster Rules
New commercial development in La Mesa over two thousand five hundred square feet, and additions that push an existing site past that size, must provide a trash enclosure built of solid masonry with solid gates and a separate recyclables area, set back at least twenty feet from the street curb, under La Mesa Municipal Code § 24.06.040(H).
La Mesa Commercial Trash Enclosure Rules
Some RestrictionsLa Mesa Municipal Code § 24.06.040(H)
H.Trash and Recycling Enclosures.1.All new commercial developments over two thousand five hundred square feet in building area, and existing developments which are adding over two thousand five hundred square feet in building area, shall comply with the following standards:a.All developments shall provide trash enclosures containing trash dumpsters and areas for the storage of recyclable materi...
Collection Schedule
In the City of La Mesa, the city council awards one exclusive contract under Municipal Code Section 7.20.030 to collect, convey, transport and dispose of refuse and garbage citywide, and Section 7.20.150 requires that contractor to collect from residences at least as often as the council decides is necessary. Every single-family, multi-family and commercial property is served by that same contract.
La Mesa Mandatory Exclusive Trash Collection Contract
Significant RestrictionsLa Mesa Municipal Code §§ 7.20.030, 7.20.150
At such times as the Council shall from time to time determine, it shall award an exclusive contract to collect, convey, transport and dispose of refuse, garbage and other waste materials within the City of La Mesa for a period of time as set by City Council. ... The contractor shall make collections from residences not less often than the Council may from time to time deem necessary.
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