Pico Rivera, CA Trash & Recycling: Bulk Item Disposal (2026)

Pico Rivera Municipal Code Section 8.12.340 closes with a specific bulk-item allowance: single items such as furniture and appliances weighing less than eighty pounds, or which can be lifted by one person, are allowed with regular collection on a weekly basis. That allowance sits in the same section that regulates tree and garden trimmings, but it is a separate rule aimed at individual bulky household items rather than yard debris. Anything heavier or larger falls under the definition of 'exceptional materials' in Section 8.12.020, which expressly lists discarded automobile bodies, refrigerators, stoves, or other bulky or heavy objects not easily moved by one person as materials excluded from the ordinary definitions of rubbish, garbage or waste material covered by routine collection.

Because exceptional materials sit outside the regular refuse definitions, residents with a genuinely heavy or oversized item, such as a full refrigerator or a couch too heavy for one person to carry, need to arrange separate collection through the city's contracted hauler rather than simply setting the item at the curb with the weekly trash. Section 8.12.470 reinforces that only the city's authorized collector, franchise holder or a permitted salvage collector may lawfully collect solid waste from any location in the city, so residents cannot hire an outside junk-removal company without confirming it holds city authorization.

The weekly single-item allowance in Section 8.12.340 is the only bulk-pickup mechanism written directly into the ordinance; the code does not describe a separate scheduled 'bulky item day' program beyond this per-item weight and portability standard.