Costa Mesa, CA Trash & Recycling: Collection Schedule (2026)

Under § 8-81(a) of the Costa Mesa Municipal Code, every area of the city must receive recurring solid waste service at least once per week unless a specific agreement sets a different schedule. Collection trucks cannot operate before 7:00 a.m. or after 8:00 p.m. on any day the route runs, and the enforcement official or CMSD must specifically approve any exception to those hours. Sunday collection is banned outright, with no carve-out in the ordinance for special circumstances.

Residential curbside service is not handled directly by the city: § 8-77 assigns the Costa Mesa Sanitary District the exclusive franchise for single-family and multi-family curbside collection, and no other permittee may operate in territory the CMSD serves. Commercial and industrial accounts, and multi-family properties that do not use curbside service, fall under the city's own permit and franchise system administered by the enforcement official. Under § 8-81(b), the schedule for recurring commercial pickups is set through each franchisee's agreement and is subject to review by the enforcement official, while temporary collection permits for construction, deconstruction and property-improvement projects run on whatever schedule the scope of work reasonably requires, still bounded by the same daily hours unless the director or building official approves otherwise in writing.

Franchisees must keep a staffed office reachable by phone from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on every collection day to take complaints, plus an emergency number covering 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 a.m. and non-collection days, per § 8-81(f). If a natural disaster or other emergency generates abnormal refuse volumes, § 8-81(h) lets the city require additional collection by agreement with the franchisee.