Trash & Recycling in Santa Ana, CA (2026)
9 verified trash & recycling rules for Santa Ana, California, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Pickup Rules & Schedules
Santa Ana's own contractor holds the exclusive right to collect, transport and dispose of all solid waste generated in the city, and once waste is set out for collection it becomes the contractor's property. Anyone else who collects, hauls or pays someone else to haul trash outside the narrow exceptions the code allows commits a misdemeanor under Section 16-30(h).
Santa Ana Exclusive Trash Collection Rule
Significant RestrictionsSanta Ana, CA, Municipal Code § 16-30(a), (h)
The city and its solid waste collection contractor have the exclusive duty, right, and privilege to collect, transport, process, recycle, divert by means of composting, mulching, and/or transforming, retain, and dispose of all solid waste accumulated, produced or generated in the city, and all solid waste placed for collection either by the city or its solid waste collection contractor shall be...
Bin Placement Rules
Santa Ana requires curbside trash to go out in the city's official carts, placed in the street with the wheels touching the curb, or along an alley open at both ends. Loose piles left at the curb without a cart won't be picked up by the city's solid waste contractor, and single-family homes with fewer than three units must subscribe to cart service rather than bin service.
Santa Ana Curbside Trash Cart Placement Rules
Some RestrictionsSanta Ana, CA, Municipal Code Ch. 16, Sec. 16-31
(a)All discarded materials shall be placed in the appropriate carts pursuant to section 16-31.5.(b)Any discarded materials placed for collection which is not contained in carts shall not be collected by the city's solid waste collection contractor. ... (e)Carts shall be placed in the street with wheels adjacent to the curb, or along an alley having street access at both ends; provided, the city...
Bulk Item Disposal
Santa Ana's solid waste ordinance defines bulky items, furniture, mattresses, major appliances, up to 30-gallon bags of green waste and electronics, as material too large for a cart, capped at eight feet long, four feet wide or 150 pounds, and removable by no more than two people. Section 16-31 exempts properly placed bulky items from the usual cart-only collection rule.
Santa Ana Bulky Item Collection Rules
Some RestrictionsSanta Ana, CA, Municipal Code § 16-29; § 16-31(c)-(d)
Bulky items shall mean solid waste that cannot and/or would not typically be accommodated within a container, including specifically: furniture (including chairs, sofas, mattresses, and rugs); appliances (...commonly known as "white goods"); up to twenty (20), thirty (30) gallon bags of green waste (including wood waste, tree branches, scrap wood); and electronic equipment (...commonly known as...
Recycling Requirements
Santa Ana requires residential and commercial recycling under California's mandatory recycling laws including AB 341 and SB 1383. Residents must separate recyclable materials from trash and use the provided recycling container. SB 1383 further requires separation of organic waste including food scraps and yard waste to reduce methane emissions from landfills.
Santa Ana Mandatory Recycling Requirements
Some RestrictionsCalRecycle — SB 1383 Short-Lived Climate Pollutant Reduction Strategy
To reduce methane pollution and other short-lived climate pollutants, California passed SB 1383 (Lara, 2016). The law set targets for 2025: 75% less organic waste sent to landfills. 20% of unsold, still-edible food sent to food recovery organizations. [...] All jurisdictions need to provide organic waste collection services to all residents and businesses, and recycle organic waste. Procurement...
Mandatory Organics Recycling
Santa Ana single-family households must subscribe to weekly three-container service and route food scraps and yard trimmings into the green organic-waste cart, keeping them out of the gray trash cart. Contaminating a cart with the wrong material draws a cart-tag warning and escalating fines up to $500 under the city's local SB 1383 implementing ordinance.
Santa Ana Mandatory Organic Waste Separation
Significant RestrictionsSanta Ana, CA, Municipal Code § 16-31.5(a), (b)
Single-family organic waste generators with less than five (5) dwelling units shall comply with the following requirements: (a)Subscribe to and pay for the solid waste collection contractor's three-container system collection services for weekly collection of non-recyclable gray container waste, source separated blue container recyclable materials, and source-separated green container organic m...
Illegal Dumping
Santa Ana bans dumping trash, garbage, refuse or other filth on any public or private alley, street, watercourse or property anywhere in the city except where the council has designated. Violating the littering ordinance is a misdemeanor under Section 16-6, and the city separately treats the dumped material as a public nuisance it can abate under Section 18-1.
Santa Ana Illegal Dumping Penalties
Heavy RestrictionsSanta Ana, CA, Municipal Code §§ 16-1, 16-6
No person shall place, deposit, dump or stand any paper, cans, bottles, ashtray accumulations, refuse, trash, offal, rubbish, garbage or other filth or offensive matter in or upon any public or private alley or street, or in or upon any public or private property or watercourse within the city, or cause the same to be done, except in such places and in the manner prescribed by the council. ... ...
Yard Waste Collection
Commercial and multifamily properties with five or more units that hire a gardening or landscaping service must put diversion requirements in the written contract: the landscaper has to divert all yard waste from disposal, certify compliance, and supply weight tickets from a permitted processing facility on request.
Santa Ana Yard Waste Diversion Rule
Some RestrictionsSanta Ana, CA, Municipal Code § 16-39(a)
A commercial business and/or multifamily residential premise with five (5) units or more contracting for gardening or landscaping services shall require written contracts which contain the following provisions:(1)All yard waste generated at the premises by the landscaping or gardening service shall be diverted from disposal by one (1) or more of the methods in section 16-38.5.(2)A requirement t...
Dumpster Rules
Every commercial and industrial property in Santa Ana, along with residential developments of three or more units, must screen its dumpsters in a dedicated enclosure sized to serve the site. Section 41-623 requires that enclosure to be screened from streets, alleys and neighboring property, and sets a minimum 300-square-foot trash and loading area with no dimension under 10 feet.
Santa Ana Commercial Dumpster Enclosure Rules
Some RestrictionsSanta Ana, CA, Municipal Code Ch. 41, Sec. 41-623(a),(c)
(a)An enclosure for the storage of discarded material containers that are serviced by the city's solid waste collection contractor is required for each commercial or industrial establishment and for each residential development consisting of three (3) or more dwelling units; except that for commercial or industrial establishments sharing vehicular access and parking in an integrated development...
Collection Schedule
The executive director of public works sets each address's curbside collection day in Santa Ana, and single-family and multifamily accounts must subscribe to weekly three-container gray, blue and green cart service. A resident who disagrees with a schedule or service determination can appeal to the city manager.
Santa Ana Trash Collection Day Schedule
Some RestrictionsSanta Ana, CA, Municipal Code § 16-29.5(a)(1), (b); § 16-31.5(a)
The executive director may make rules and determinations pertaining to the storage, collection, recycling, diversion, conveyance, and disposal of solid waste consistent with this article ... including, but not limited to, the following:(1)The collection day schedules for curbside service and, when necessary to improve sanitation or reduce noise, for residential and/or commercial/industrial bin ...
Looking for Orange County county-wide rules?
County ordinances apply to unincorporated areas and may supplement Santa Ana city rules.
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