Trash & Recycling in Santa Cruz County, CA (2026)

Santa Cruz County Code § 7.20.160

Discarded materials containers on all premises shall be emptied and discarded materials shall be collected and properly transported to a County resource management facility or other approved location not less than once per week. Discarded materials may be collected and transported by a County-authorized service provider or self-hauled in accordance with SCCC § 7.20.250. A County code enforcemen...

Santa Cruz County Code § 7.20.150

Discarded materials containers shall not be placed on curbside or otherwise adjacent to streets or roadways to facilitate discarded materials collection more than 24 hours prior to pick-up time, and they shall be removed from the pick-up site within 24 hours after they have been emptied. Certain fees may be assessed for customers of the County-authorized service provider regarding proper use, c...

Santa Cruz County Code § 7.20.140

Any industrial, commercial, or business establishment wherein discarded materials are handled, produced or stored in large quantities is subject to review by a County code enforcement officer. The person in possession of the establishment shall comply with such requirements as the enforcement officer may deem necessary for the sanitary storage, collection, transport, processing, or disposal of ...

Santa Cruz County Code § 7.20.230

No person shall reside in or lease to any other person a residential property, and no person shall operate any commercial business or lease to any other person commercial property within the urban services line or the rural services line, and, as of January 1, 2022, within any area of the unincorporated County, at any time during which recyclable materials, organic materials, and solid waste co...

Santa Cruz County Code § 7.20.270(A) (Ord. 5383 § 2, 2021)

All generators, including all property owners, owners of commercial businesses, and residents living in single-family structures, multi-family structures and mixed-use buildings, including those entities authorized to self-haul their waste pursuant to SCCC § 7.20.250, must participate in a program to divert covered materials, including the requirements to: (1) Subscribe to covered materials col...

Santa Cruz County Code §§ 7.20.180, 7.20.220(B)

Except as otherwise provided by applicable law, no person shall deposit or discharge, or cause to be deposited or discharged, any discarded materials in any place other than an approved discarded materials container or at a County resource management facility, in accordance with this chapter. ... Administrative penalties assessed for each illegal dumping violation, or repeated violation, are as...

Santa Cruz County Code § 7.20.270(A)(1)-(2)

All generators, including all property owners, owners of commercial businesses, and residents living in single-family structures, multi-family structures and mixed-use buildings, including those entities authorized to self-haul their waste pursuant to SCCC § 7.20.250, must participate in a program to divert covered materials, including the requirements to: (1) Subscribe to covered materials col...

Santa Cruz County Code § 7.20.120(B)

In multi-family or multiple-occupancy structures or premises, it is the responsibility of the property owner or proprietor to provide and maintain suitable discarded materials containers in good repair and of sufficient capacity for tenants and visitors of the premises. The property owner or proprietor may be required to exclusively use containers provided by the County-authorized service provi...

Santa Cruz County Code § 7.20.040(A)

Curbside Collection. Covered materials segregated from other discarded materials and placed for collection by generators shall become the property of the County-authorized service provider at the time of placement for collection. The County, the County-authorized service provider, or a person expressly authorized by the owner or occupant of the residential property and the County under this cha...