Trash & Recycling in San Leandro, CA (2026)
10 verified trash & recycling rules for San Leandro, California, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Pickup Rules & Schedules
San Leandro uses exclusive franchised haulers (Alameda County Industries and Waste Management of Alameda County). Carts must be at the curb by 6:00 a.m. on collection day with at least 3 feet between carts.
Exclusive Franchise Collection & Set-Out Times
Light RestrictionsCal. Pub. Resources Code § 42652.5 (SB 1383, Short-Lived Climate Pollutants)
The state board is also required to complete a comprehensive strategy to reduce emissions of short-lived climate pollutants, as defined, in the state. This bill would require the state board, no later than January 1, 2018, to approve and begin implementing that comprehensive strategy to reduce emissions of short-lived climate pollutants to achieve a reduction in methane by 40%, hydrofluorocarbo...
Bin Placement Rules
San Leandro requires leak-proof, properly sized containers positioned where the franchisee can easily reach them, and bars overloading carts or leaving unauthorized containers in public places.
San Leandro Trash Cart Placement Rules
Some RestrictionsSan Leandro Municipal Code § 3-6-250
Every person that owns, occupies, or is in possession or control of any property in the City where solid waste is produced or accumulated shall deposit such materials in one or more leak-proof containers of sufficient size and quantity to adequately service the property. ... locating such containers where the franchisee can easily access them, and not overloading such containers.
Bulk Item Disposal
San Leandro residents cannot set large items like furniture, mattresses, appliances, or tires out with regular trash. The city's exclusive franchisee handles bulky waste only as a special on-call service, billed as an extra fee outside the normal weekly collection.
San Leandro Bulky Item Pickup Rules
Some RestrictionsSan Leandro Municipal Code § 3-6-100 & § 3-6-310(d)
"Bulky waste" includes, but is not limited to, discarded materials such as large household appliances, furniture, tires, carpets, mattresses, tree trunks, and similar large items that require special handling because of their size. ... Upon request of a resident or business and for a special fee, the franchisee or contractor shall provide other services, including but not limited to, bulky wast...
Recycling Requirements
San Leandro requires every property that produces solid waste, recyclables, or green waste to subscribe to the City's exclusive franchisee's collection service within 15 days of occupancy, with narrow self-haul exemptions that occupied single-family homes, multi-family buildings, and operating food establishments can never claim.
San Leandro Mandatory Recycling Service Rules
Some RestrictionsSan Leandro Municipal Code §§ 3-6-200, 3-6-220
§ 3-6-200. REQUIRED USE OF SERVICE OFFERED BY THE CITY'S FRANCHISEE. (a) Every person who owns or occupies or is in possession or control of any property in the City where solid waste, recyclables, and green waste are produced or accumulated shall discard such materials through the regular collection service of the City's franchisee. (b) The owner or occupant of any property shall start service...
Mandatory Organics Recycling
San Leandro's Organics Reduction and Recycling ordinance (SLMC Ch. 3-24) requires every household and business to subscribe to compost, recycling, and landfill collection and sort waste into the right bin, with fines up to $500 per violation for repeat offenders.
San Leandro Mandatory Food Scrap Separation
Some RestrictionsSan Leandro Municipal Code § 3-24-1100 (Enforcement), Title 3, Chapter 3-24
For a first violation, the amount of the penalty shall be Fifty dollars to One hundred dollars per violation or such higher amount as may be established by the enforcement agency... For a third or subsequent violation, the amount of the penalty shall be Two hundred fifty dollars to Five hundred dollars per violation or such higher amount as may be established by the enforcement agency.
Illegal Dumping
Dumping refuse on streets, sidewalks, storm drains, or private lots is banned citywide under San Leandro's storm water ordinance and solid waste code, backed by misdemeanor and infraction penalties and administrative abatement.
San Leandro Illegal Dumping Penalties
Significant RestrictionsSan Leandro Municipal Code § 3-15-215(a)
Except when deposited into containers or in lawfully established dumping grounds, no person shall throw, deposit, leave, maintain, keep, or permit to be thrown, deposited, placed, left, or maintained, any refuse, rubbish, garbage, or other discarded or abandoned objects, articles, and accumulations, in or upon any street, alley, sidewalk, storm drain, inlet, catch basin, conduit, or other drain...
Yard Waste Collection
San Leandro requires every occupied home to subscribe to the city franchisee's green waste service for tree trimmings, grass, and leaves, using the franchisee-provided cart, unless a documented exemption applies.
San Leandro Green Waste Collection Rules
Some RestrictionsSan Leandro Municipal Code § 3-6-100 & § 3-6-200(a)
"Green waste" means all tree and plant trimmings, grass cuttings, dead plants, weeds, leaves, branches, and similar materials; provided, however, that larger items such as tree stumps and intact dead trees are bulky waste. ... Every person who owns or occupies or is in possession or control of any property in the City where solid waste, recyclables, and green waste are produced or accumulated s...
Dumpster Rules
San Leandro's zoning code requires refuse storage areas for multi-family, commercial, industrial, and public/semipublic properties to sit behind a six-foot solid wall that matches the main building before the property can be occupied. The Zoning Enforcement Official can waive screening only if the dumpster is not visible from a street or residential district.
San Leandro Dumpster Screening Requirements
Some RestrictionsSan Leandro, CA, Zoning Code Sec. 4.04.332 (Refuse Storage Areas)
Except as exempted through an Administrative Exception per Chapter 5.06, a refuse storage area screened on all sides by a six foot solid wall using exterior materials, colors, and finishes that are also used on the primary building or located within a building, shall be provided prior to occupancy for all multi-family, commercial, industrial, and public/semipublic uses. The Zoning Enforcement O...
Collection Schedule
San Leandro requires every property that generates solid waste to subscribe to the city's exclusive franchisee within 15 days of occupancy, with putrescible waste removed at least once every seven days.
San Leandro Mandatory Trash Collection Service
Significant RestrictionsSan Leandro Municipal Code § 3-6-200(a) & § 3-6-240
Every person who owns or occupies or is in possession or control of any property in the City where solid waste, recyclables, and green waste are produced or accumulated shall discard such materials through the regular collection service of the City's franchisee. ... All putrescible waste produced and accumulated on any property, whether public or private, shall be removed at least once every se...
Recycling Rules
Once recyclables are set out for pickup, San Leandro makes them the property of the City's franchisee and bars anyone else, including the person who set them out, from taking them back or placing an unauthorized collection container in the City.
San Leandro Recycling Scavenging and Container Rules
Significant RestrictionsSan Leandro Municipal Code § 3-6-330
§ 3-6-330. PROHIBITION ON SCAVENGING. (a) Upon placement of recyclable materials at a designated recycling collection location for collection by the City or its franchisee or contractor, recyclable materials shall become the property of the City's franchisee or contractor. (b) It shall be unlawful for any person other than an authorized City employee or the City's franchisee or contractor to ta...
Looking for Alameda County county-wide rules?
County ordinances apply to unincorporated areas and may supplement San Leandro city rules.
Trash & Recycling in Alameda County →