Palm Desert, CA Trash & Recycling: Bin Placement Rules (2026)

In the City of Palm Desert, California, § 8.19.050 sets the curbside rules for garbage, recycling and organics carts. Containers go at or as near to the curb or edge of road as possible, clear of vehicles, other refuse containers, poles, fences, mailboxes and other obstacles, so collection crews can reach them. Carts must be at the designated pickup area by five-thirty a.m. on the scheduled collection day. No container can sit curbside more than twelve hours before the normal collection time, and it must be removed from the curb or street within twelve hours after collection. Section 8.16.030 repeats the twelve-hour limits for any container adjacent to a street or public right-of-way.

Screening is a separate duty. Section 8.16.035 requires every person in charge of a residence to store containers, once normal collection is complete, so they are not viewable by the public from a public right-of-way. Section 8.19.050(D) allows exceptions for terrain, disabilities, and complexes with centralized disposal setups, including apartments and condos with four or more units and two-story residential units, decided case by case by the city.

What goes in the cart is limited too. Toxic or hazardous materials, dead animals, building materials, large yard waste and bulky items such as household furnishings or appliances cannot be placed in containers. Noncompactible solid waste cannot be set out beside a street without prior approval and arrangements with the franchise waste hauler (§ 8.16.050). Containers must be obtained through the franchise waste hauler, remain its property, and cannot be removed from the property they were assigned to (§ 8.19.040). Solid waste containers are gray or black, recyclable containers are blue and organic containers are green. Paper or plastic bags for solid waste are allowed under the franchise agreement (§ 8.19.050(C)).