Petaluma, CA Trash & Recycling: Bin Placement Rules (2026)
Key Facts
- Placement (with alley)
- Within 5 ft of rear property line
- Placement (no alley)
- Within 20 ft of rear of building
- Covering
- Kept covered except when in use
- Container limit
- 30-gallon capacity, 125 lb max loaded
- Residential collection window
- 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.
- Unauthorized hauling penalty
- Up to $1,000 fine, 6 months jail
Summary
Petaluma requires garbage and rubbish receptacles to stay covered except when in use, and placed within five feet of the rear property line where there's a rear alley, or within twenty feet of the rear of the building where there isn't, during the time set for collection.
The receptacle as required by Section 8.16.170, when containing garbage, shall at all times be kept covered, except when necessary to place garbage therein or take garbage therefrom. Each such vessel, tank, box or receptacle, including its cover, shall be kept clean from accumulating grease and decomposing material on the outside thereof. ... Each garbage and rubbish tank, vessel, box or receptacle provided, or caused to be provided, as required by Section 8.16.170, in any place of business, rooming house, restaurant or hotel, apartment house, eating house or dwelling house shall be kept or placed in the following manner during the time for collection: A. Where there is any alley, other than a blind alley, in the rear of the premises, the vessel, tank, box or receptacle shall be placed on the premises within five feet of the rear property line; B. Where there is no alley or merely a blind alley, the vessel, tank, box or receptacle shall be placed on the premises within twenty feet of the rear of the dwelling house, apartment house or place of business from which garbage and rubbish is accumulated.
Official source re-checked September 8, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: current through Ordinance 2931 NCS, passed July 6, 2026).
Full Breakdown
200 fixes exactly where a garbage, rubbish, or recycling receptacle must sit during collection: within five feet of the rear property line if there is a rear alley other than a blind alley, or within twenty feet of the rear of the dwelling, apartment house, or place of business if there is no alley or only a blind alley. 190 requires the receptacle to stay covered at all times except when someone is actually depositing or removing garbage, and requires the vessel and its cover to be kept free of accumulated grease and decomposing material on the outside.
180: constructed of metal, watertight, capped at thirty gallons, fitted with a handle and a tight-fitting metal cover, and never loaded so heavily that it and its contents exceed 125 pounds. 310. 340.
Violations & Fines
An uncovered, misplaced, or leaking receptacle violates the specific placement and covering standards of PMC §§8.16.190-8.16.200. Continued accumulation of garbage or rubbish outside a conforming container after a lapse in service is declared a nuisance and an infraction under §8.16.300, punishable under §1.04.060; collecting or hauling waste in the city without the contracted hauler or a §8.16.120 permit is a misdemeanor carrying up to a $1,000 fine or six months in jail under §8.16.110.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where am I supposed to put my garbage can for pickup in Petaluma?
Does my trash can have to be covered?
What size garbage container does Petaluma's code describe?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Petaluma
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