San Diego County, CA Trash & Recycling: Collection Schedule (2026)
Key Facts
- Single-family minimum
- Once per week in dense areas
- Sparsely-populated minimum
- Not less than once per week
- Multi-family/commercial
- Negotiated, floor of once weekly
- Enforcing agency
- Director, County Department of Public Works
- Effective date
- June 4, 2021 (Ord. 10729 N.S.)
- Last amended
- January 10, 2025 (Ord. 10927 N.S.)
- Legal basis
- Non-exclusive franchise agreement (NEFA) system
Summary
In unincorporated San Diego County, franchised haulers operating under a Non-Exclusive Franchise Agreement must pick up trash from single-family homes in densely-populated areas at least once a week. Multi-family, commercial, and rural backcountry customers can negotiate their own day, but County Code Section 68.550 still floors solid waste and recyclables pickup at once a week.
(a) A collector providing single-family collection service and/or multi-family/commercial collection service pursuant to a NEFA shall comply with all of the following requirements... (1) In densely-populated areas, collector shall collect solid waste, recyclable materials, and organic materials from customers that voluntarily subscribe to collector's services. Collector shall provide collection services to single-family customers once per week. Collector shall provide collection service to multi-family and commercial customers at a frequency to be agreed on by its customer provided that solid waste and organic materials are collected by collector at least once per week and recyclables materials are collected by collector at least once per week, unless every other week collection authorized by applicable law or regulations and approved by the Director. (2) In sparsely-populated areas... A collector may collect solid waste from its customers at a frequency as agreed upon by the customer, but not less than once per week, unless every other week collection is authorized by applicable law or regulations and approved by the Director.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: 2026 S-141: Administrative: Current through Ord. No. 11007 (N.S.), effective 7-10-26 | Regulatory: Current through Ord. No. 11008 (N.S.), effective 7-24-26).
Full Breakdown
550, part of the County's Non-Exclusive Franchise Agreement (NEFA) system for solid waste haulers, sets the minimum pickup frequency for unincorporated communities. In densely-populated areas, the franchised collector must pick up solid waste, recyclable materials, and organic materials from every single-family customer who subscribes to service at least once a week; a slower schedule requires the Director's approval of an every-other-week plan under applicable state regulations. Multi-family and commercial accounts negotiate frequency directly with their hauler, but the code still floors solid waste and organic materials pickup at once a week and recyclables at once a week unless the Director signs off on biweekly service.
In the county's sparsely-populated backcountry areas, haulers may set solid waste frequency by agreement with the customer, but never less than weekly, and any hauler offering trash pickup there must also offer recyclables pickup at least every other week. 547 limits when a collector may refuse a new account. Haulers must also renotify customers about recycling, organics, and hazardous- and toxic-waste rules at least every six months and file a copy of that notice with the Director. The rule traces to Ordinance No. ), effective June 4, 2021, and was last amended by Ordinance No. ), effective January 10, 2025, to align the county with the state's mandatory organic-waste diversion program.
Violations & Fines
A hauler that misses the weekly minimum, refuses to serve a paying customer inside its franchise territory, or skips the required six-month recycling notice can be cited by the Department of Public Works Director, who administers every Non-Exclusive Franchise Agreement under this chapter. Noncompliance also exposes a hauler to liquidated damages set by its own franchise agreement under Section 68.552, and repeated violations can factor into the Director's decision not to renew the NEFA.
Frequently Asked Questions
How often is trash picked up in unincorporated San Diego County?
Do I have to subscribe to a hauler, or can I haul my own trash?
Can my hauler refuse to pick up at my house?
What about the county's rural backcountry areas?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in San Diego County
California rules heatmap·Compare San Diego County to another location·View the California trash & recycling overview
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