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

12) enforced by the Stanislaus County Department of Environmental Resources, governs where discarded-materials containers may sit in the unincorporated area. Modesto, Turlock, Ceres, and the county's other cities run their own trash codes for property inside city limits. The rule works on two tracks. First, a 24-hour window: carts cannot be placed in or on a street or alley right-of-way more than 24 hours before the scheduled collection day, and they cannot remain there more than 24 hours after collection, unless the department authorizes a longer stay.

Second, a screening duty: outside that set-out window, containers must be screened from public view in a manner the department approves; if screening genuinely isn't feasible on the lot, the department can sign off on an unscreened location instead. 120, which spells out exactly where single-family carts go relative to alleys and county or state roads. Because the two rules interlock, a resident who wants to store a cart in view of the street for convenience, rather than screening it, is out of compliance the moment the 24-hour collection window closes.

100: a county enforcement official can issue a notice of violation or an administrative citation, and every day a container sits out unlawfully or unscreened can be charged as a separate offense with escalating base penalties.