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

Cart placement in unincorporated Sonoma County follows the franchised hauler's specifications rather than a numbered County Code section. Recology Sonoma Marin's cart-and-bin placement guidelines direct residents to place carts 'no more than two feet away from the curb or road edge' and to keep each cart 'three feet away from other containers or structures,' including telephone poles, automobiles, mailboxes, and other carts. There must be a 'twelve-foot vertical clearance above carts,' so carts should be kept clear of low phone or electric wires and low-hanging tree branches. Carts should be positioned so 'the arrows on the lid face the street and the hinges face away from the street,' which orients them correctly for the automated collection arm. Residents are told not to place carts 'behind parked cars, fire hydrants, trees, or other obstructions,' which can block the truck from reaching the cart. Carts should be set out the night before collection because pickup begins early in the morning. These spacing requirements (2 feet from curb, 3 feet between carts, 12 feet overhead) exist primarily so the automated side-loader trucks can grab and empty each cart without hitting nearby objects. Carts left in the public right-of-way for extended periods, or stored in front-yard view between collections in violation of local standards, could also draw a nuisance complaint to Permit Sonoma.