Mendocino County, CA Property Maintenance: Trash Bin Storage (2026)

Mendocino County Code Chapter 9A.16 (Containers), part of the Solid Waste title rewritten by Ordinance 4506 in 2022, governs how trash carts are stored and presented in the unincorporated County. Section 9A.16.010 requires that containers be 'kept continuously closed except when material is being placed therein or removed therefrom' and 'closed against the access of flies, rodents and other animals.' Containers may not be placed at the point of collection earlier than 12 hours before the scheduled pickup, nor left there longer than 12 hours after. When not set out, carts must be removed to at least 10 feet away from the vehicular right-of-way, and 'under no circumstances may the Containers be left continuously at the point of collection where the point of collection is at the edge of the vehicular right-of-way.' A cart left out in violation may be tagged with a notice of violation; for repeated violations, the Enforcement Officer may instruct the franchised collector to cancel service and remove the cart. Customers who subscribe to special carry-out service, where the hauler retrieves and returns the cart, are exempt from the set-out timing limits. Separately, an excessive accumulation of solid waste or improperly stored containers can be a public nuisance under Chapter 8.75.