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

Section 16-31 of the Santa Ana Municipal Code governs how residents on curbside service must set out their trash, recycling and organics for collection. Subsection (a) requires all discarded materials to go into the appropriate carts under the city's three-container system established in section 16-31.5, and subsection (b) makes clear that anything set out loose, not in a cart, simply won't be picked up by the solid waste collection contractor. The code carves out exceptions in subsection (d): Christmas trees, items covered by uncontainerized service, and bulky items like furniture or household equipment don't need to be bagged into a cart, though subsection (c) still classifies those large, bulky pieces as a separate bulky-items category with its own disposal path.

Placement matters as much as containment. Subsection (e) requires carts to sit in the street with their wheels adjacent to the curb, or along an alley that has street access at both ends; the city or its contractor can also condition collection from private streets on reasonable access and an owners' agreement, including an extra fee for the special service.

Subsection (f) sets the service tier by building size: single-family premises with fewer than three dwelling units must subscribe to cart service, while multifamily residential premises with three or more units on one parcel must subscribe to bin service instead, though the executive director can waive that requirement for a residential building.