Trash & Recycling in Tustin, CA (2026)
10 verified trash & recycling rules for Tustin, California, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Pickup Rules & Schedules
Every property owner or occupant in Tustin must arrange with the City's contracted hauler for regular trash and recycling pickup under Tustin City Code Section 4312(a), and Section 4312(b) sets a once-a-week minimum for how often solid waste and divertable materials must be hauled away.
Tustin Weekly Trash Pickup Requirement
Some RestrictionsTustin City Code § 4312(a)-(b)
a.Collection arrangements required: Unauthorized accumulation prohibited and declared a public nuisance.1.In order to protect the public health, safety, and welfare and to prevent the spread of vectors, the owner, occupant, or other person responsible for any premises in the City shall arrange with a contracted hauler for the collection of municipal solid waste and divertable materials, as set ...
Bin Placement Rules
Tustin City Code Section 4312(d) limits when residential trash and recycling containers can sit at the curb, no earlier than 24 hours before pickup and removed within 24 hours after, and requires enclosed storage for containers the rest of the time, with a 6-foot screening wall required near residential areas.
Tustin Trash Container Placement Rules
Some RestrictionsTustin City Code § 4312(d)(2)-(3)
2.Placement of containers for municipal solid waste and divertable materials for collection. Residential containers shall be placed curbside or in the gutter, not earlier than twenty-four (24) hours before collection is scheduled and removed not later than twenty-four (24) hours after collection.3.Storage enclosures for municipal solid waste and divertable materials containers.(a)All municipal ...
Bulk Item Disposal
Tustin City Code Section 4312(d)(1) lets residents set out bulky items, holiday trees, bundled yard trimmings and household hazardous waste for special curbside collection, but only on the terms the City's Municipal Solid Waste and Divertable Materials Collection Contract sets, rather than dumping them loose with regular trash.
Tustin Bulky Item and Special Waste Pickup
Some RestrictionsTustin City Code § 4312(d)(1)
1.With the exception of self-hauled materials, back-hauled materials and materials composted or reused on-site by a generator, municipal solid waste and divertable materials shall be placed for collection in containers provided by the contracted hauler. Special collection items, such as bulky items, holiday trees, bundled residential yard trimmings, and household hazardous waste placed for curb...
Recycling Requirements
Tustin City Code Section 4361 requires every commercial business and multifamily building to subscribe to collection service for solid waste, recyclables, and organics, then put out labeled recycling and organics containers anywhere customers see a trash bin. Businesses must also train staff and inspect containers so recyclables don't end up in the trash stream.
Tustin Commercial Recycling Container Rule
Some RestrictionsTustin City Code § 4361
b.Subscribe to collection services for all municipal solid waste, recyclable materials, and organic materials generated and comply with requirements of those services as described in Section 4361(c) ... d.Supply and allow access to adequate number, size and location of collection containers with sufficient labels or colors for employees, contractors, tenants, and customers.e.Provide containers ...
Mandatory Organics Recycling
Under Tustin City Code Section 4360, every single-family household must sort food scraps, food-soiled paper, yard trimmings, and wood waste into a separate organic materials container, keep recyclables out of the trash cart, and subscribe to hauler service for all three streams. The rule implements the State's SB 1383 organic waste law inside city limits.
Tustin Mandatory Organics Separation
Some RestrictionsTustin City Code § 4360
a.For the purpose of this Section, food scraps, food soiled paper, yard trimmings, and wood waste are referred to as organic materials.b.Single-family generators shall participate in the City's Municipal Solid Waste and Divertable Materials collection service(s) by placing each material in designated containers as described below.1.Generator shall place only organic materials in the organic mat...
Illegal Dumping
Tustin City Code Section 4314 makes it unlawful for anyone, including the City's own contracted hauler, to cast, sweep, deposit, or dump solid waste or recyclables on any private or public property. A separate clause bans dumping hazardous waste, medical waste, or abandoned vehicles anywhere in the City. Violators face the City's general misdemeanor and infraction penalties.
Tustin Illegal Dumping Ban
Heavy RestrictionsTustin City Code § 4314
2.Illegal dumping. It shall be unlawful for any person, including the contracted hauler, to cast, place, sweep, deposit, or dump municipal solid waste or divertable materials upon any private or public property in the City, except as provided for in this Code. It is unlawful for any person to place, deposit, or dump hazardous waste, medical waste, or abandoned vehicles, or parts thereof, upon a...
Yard Waste Collection
Tustin City Code Section 4311 defines yard trimmings as tree and shrub trimmings, grass cuttings, leaves and branches, and Section 4360 requires every single-family household to subscribe to the City's organic materials collection service for all the yard trimmings it generates, sorted into a dedicated container separate from trash and recycling.
Tustin Yard Trimmings Collection Rules
Some RestrictionsTustin City Code §§ 4311, 4360
"Yard trimmings" means tree and shrub trimmings, grass cuttings, leaves, branches, and similar materials. ... Single-family generators shall comply with the following requirements ... a.For the purpose of this Section, food scraps, food soiled paper, yard trimmings, and wood waste are referred to as organic materials.b.Single-family generators shall participate in the City's Municipal Solid Was...
Dumpster Rules
Commercial and residential trash containers in Tustin must be screened from view behind a wall at least six feet high and kept at least fifty feet from any residential or open-space area unless fully enclosed. No one may drop off a roll-off box, bin, or cart within the City, or collect from one, before the City has issued that hauler's solid waste collection contract.
Tustin Dumpster & Roll-Off Placement
Some RestrictionsTustin City Code §§ 4312, 4321
(a)All municipal solid waste and divertable materials containers, for both residential and commercial customers, must be stored within a building or shielded from view, enclosed by a wall not less than six (6) feet in height. No municipal solid waste or divertable materials container storage area shall be within fifty (50) feet of any residential or open space planning areas unless it is fully ...
Collection Schedule
Tustin City Code Section 4313 keeps the contracted trash hauler out of neighborhoods overnight, barring collection within 200 feet of a home between 6:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m., and caps holiday delays at one day for six recognized holidays each year.
Tustin Trash Collection Hours and Holidays
Some RestrictionsTustin City Code § 4313
a.Collection hours. No collection of municipal solid waste, divertable materials, or delivery or removal of containers by a contracted hauler, shall be made from within two hundred (200) feet of any residence in the City between the hours of 6:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. any day unless prior written approval has been obtained from the Director of Public Works or their designee.b.Holiday schedule. Con...
Recycling Rules
Once recyclables and other divertable materials go into the container the City's contracted hauler provides and are set out for pickup, Tustin City Code Section 4312(c) makes them the hauler's property. Only the contracted hauler may take materials from a designated container, though residents keep the right to sell or donate recyclables before they're placed for collection.
Tustin Recycling Ownership and Collection Rule
Some RestrictionsTustin City Code § 4312(c)
c.Collection of divertable materials:1.Ownership of divertable materials. Upon placement of divertable materials in the designated container provided by the City's contracted hauler, and placement of the container for collection at curbside or in another designated location, said divertable materials shall become the property of the contracted hauler engaged to collect such material.2.Collectio...
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