Fresno County, CA Trash & Recycling: Dumpster Rules (2026)

120 implements the state Solid Waste Reuse and Recycling Access Act (California Public Resources Code Sections 42900-42911) by requiring every multi-family project with five or more dwelling units, and every commercial, industrial, and institutional use, to provide a refuse and recyclable material enclosure approved by the Director of the Department of Public Works and Planning. Recycling baskets, refuse carts, and green-waste carts must be grouped together, either inside an approved fence or wall enclosure, in a designated interior court or yard, or in a side or rear setback with screening; the storage area cannot sit in a required front or street-side setback, a parking space, a landscaped area, or any other required open space.

Driveways and aisles serving the enclosure must give collection trucks and crews unobstructed access, with vehicles able to enter and exit in a forward direction. Storage bins, including recycling carts and solid waste dumpsters, must be screened as the Director determines appropriate, and an enclosure cannot sit closer than 20 feet to a door or operable window on an adjacent structure. Design standards under Subsection C require a concrete pad and apron inside the fenced or walled enclosure, protection of the stored materials from weather so they stay marketable, and screening on all sides using solid decorative masonry walls, metal gates sized by the Director based on the anticipated waste stream, and landscaping, with overhead trellises required where needed to screen views from above. The whole design must be architecturally compatible with the surrounding development and is subject to the Director's review and approval before it is built.