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

Section 5.52.290, "Residential Collection - Placement and Removal of Containers," tells every householder exactly where and when to put containers out. Carts go at the curb in front of the property, or at the curb on the side street for a corner lot touching more than one street. Where a property backs onto a paved alley at least 15 feet wide, the container instead goes within two feet of the rear property line for pickup, keeping alley traffic clear.

Timing is strict on both ends: no container may be set out more than 24 hours before collection is scheduled to begin in that district, and it must come back in by 10:00 p.m. on collection day, or within two hours of actual pickup, whichever is later. The section also bars storing containers within the front yard setback outside of the collection window, cross-referencing Chapter 8.36 PMC for the city's setback and screening standards; containers may only be visible from the street during the placement-to-removal collection period.

Container specifications sit in the neighboring sections: Section 5.52.270 requires the collector to supply standard residential solid waste containers, and no cardboard box or paper bag may be substituted as a container. The "standard residential solid waste container" is defined in Section 5.52.030 as a roll-away cart with a locking lid, made of metal, hard rubber or plastic, with an approximate 90-gallon capacity, in a design and color approved by the City Manager. A household generating more waste than one cart holds may add its own compatible extra container at its own cost.