Trash & Recycling
Pickup schedules, bin placement rules, bulk item disposal, and recycling requirements.
Whether you may choose your own garbage company is the fact from which most local trash rules follow. Franchise cities assign one hauler and bill everyone, sometimes fining residents who contract elsewhere. Open-market cities leave the choice, and the code shifts its attention to standards instead.
Day to day, the enforceable rules are narrow and specific. Carts go out no earlier than a stated hour and come back by another. Between pickups they live where passersby cannot see them, in stricter codes. Contamination rules police the recycling stream, and illegal dumping carries the chapter's only serious fines.
All 50 States: Trash & Recycling at the State Level
Each tile shows the strongest state-level rule for that state. Click a state to see its full statewide rules and how local cities are constrained.
Severity: Few Restrictions · Light Restrictions · Some Restrictions · Significant Restrictions · Heavy Restrictions
What's Covered
Pickup Rules & Schedules
Trash and recycling collection days, what time to put bins out, and rules about sorting materials for curbside pickup.
Bin Placement Rules
Where to position trash and recycling carts, when they may go to the curb and must come back, and the screening or enclosure rules for where bins live between pickups.
Bulk Item Disposal
How to dispose of large items like furniture, appliances, and mattresses, including scheduled pickups and drop-off locations.
Recycling Requirements
Mandatory recycling rules including which materials must be separated, contamination penalties, and composting requirements.
Mandatory Organics Recycling
Curbside organics collection mandated by California SB-1383 (and equivalent state laws), residential opt-out rules, and edible-food-recovery requirements.
Valet Trash Rules
Multi-family building rules around door-to-door (valet) trash and recycling service, including container standards, hallway-storage prohibitions, and fees.
Holiday Pickup Schedule
How collection days shift around major holidays, where to verify the current schedule, and rules for putting bins out around shifted pickup dates.
Illegal Dumping
Penalties and enforcement for dumping trash, debris, or hazardous materials on private or public property without authorization.
Yard Waste Collection
Rules for separating grass clippings, leaves, branches, and other yard waste from regular trash, including pickup days and bag/bin requirements.
Dumpster Rules
Permits and placement rules for residential or construction dumpsters, including how long they can stay and ROW obstruction limits.
Collection Schedule
Day-of-week pickup schedules by neighborhood, set-out and take-back time windows, and where to find your specific block's schedule.
Recycling Rules
Which items can and cannot go in residential single-stream recycling bins, contamination penalties, and rules for hazardous-waste drop-off.