City of Santa Barbara residents must place MarBorg carts curbside by 6:00 a.m. on the service day (no earlier than the night before), keep at least 12 inches of clearance between carts and obstacles, orient handles toward the house with lids opening to the street, and return carts to on-property storage by noon the next day.
Cart placement in the City of Santa Barbara follows specific curbside rules adopted with the July 1, 2025 transition to automated collection. Residents must 'place your carts (wheeled containers) at the curbside by 6:00 AM, no earlier than the night before' the scheduled service day. To allow the automated truck arm to grab each cart, residents must 'leave at least one foot (12 inches) of space between each cart and between your carts and any other obstacles (cars, trees, mailboxes, etc.).' Carts should be placed 'with the handles facing your house, so the lids open facing the street,' and must not block mail delivery access. Lids must fully close, so carts should not be overfilled. After collection, carts must be returned to their storage location on the customer's property by noon the following day, meaning carts cannot be stored at the curb between service days. The City offered a three-week grace period beginning July 1, 2025 during which MarBorg communicated directly with customers who needed help with proper placement and provided free return service for missed carts; after the grace period, the City enforces placement and MarBorg may charge for missed pickups caused by improper placement. Customers who cannot move carts may use paid in-place service or qualify for a free age- or disability-based waiver. These curbside standards are set by the City of Santa Barbara, not the County.
After the grace period ending in 2025, carts placed improperly (too close together, blocking access, or out at the wrong time) may be missed and subject to a MarBorg charge for a return trip. Carts left curbside past noon the day after collection violate the storage rule.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
santa-barbara-ca
The Fence Guidelines set height and location but defer the exact material, color, width and style to design-review boards. Front-yard fences, walls and gates...
santa-barbara-ca
No fence, screen, wall or hedge over 3.5 feet may stand in a driveway visibility triangle: 10 ft along the driveway and 10 ft back from the front lot line wh...
santa-barbara-ca
Residential retaining walls not over 4 feet (footing to top) are permit-exempt unless they support a surcharge or impound flammable liquids. Where a fence si...
santa-barbara-ca
The City of Santa Barbara addresses animal hoarding through its care-and-keeping and nuisance provisions plus California's anti-cruelty law. Keeping animals ...
santa-barbara-ca
The City of Santa Barbara does not publish a dedicated wildlife-feeding ban in its general animal regulations, but feeding wild animals can create a public n...
santa-barbara-ca
The City of Santa Barbara requires a license for each unaltered cat over four months old, obtained from the City. There is no leash requirement for cats. Red...
See how Santa Barbara's bin placement rules rules stack up against other locations.
Help us keep this page accurate. If you notice an error or outdated information, let us know.