Madera County, CA Trash & Recycling: Bin Placement Rules (2026)

Unlike many cities, Madera County does not appear to have a standalone code section in its solid waste chapter prescribing exact hours that carts may be placed at the curb or specific screening/storage requirements for the unincorporated area. Instead, container placement is managed operationally through the exclusive franchise system under County Code Chapter 7.24 (Solid Waste). Customers receive carts from their zone's franchise hauler - Red Rock Environmental Group in the valley or Emadco Disposal in the mountains - and follow that hauler's set-out instructions for collection day. Chapter 7.24, Article III ('Impounding Unauthorized Containers') makes clear that containers used for collection must be those authorized under the franchise; the county may impound unauthorized bins. Practical expectations in rural Madera County are that carts be placed at the designated collection point on service day with the lid closing fully, and returned to a storage location off public view between pickups, consistent with the property-maintenance and blight provisions of Title 7 (e.g., Chapter 7.40's neighborhood-standard maintenance requirement). Residents with placement questions - including long private driveways, shared access roads, or bear-resistant container needs in the mountains - should contact their franchise hauler directly.