Riverside, CA Trash & Recycling: Dumpster Rules (2026)

554 sets citywide design standards for trash and recyclable materials collection enclosures, adopted to keep bins screened from view without creating a safety hazard. 020(A) requires centralized, enclosed collection areas for all development projects except detached and attached single-family subdivisions, planned communities, and multifamily developments of three units or fewer. The Public Works Department's Solid Waste Division determines how many enclosures a project needs. 020(C) requires the enclosure to allow gateless pedestrian access unless the Development Review Committee finds that impossible on the site plan.

The code recognizes two enclosure types, basic and full-feature, defined in the City's Trash Enclosure Policies maintained jointly by the Planning Division and Public Works; basic enclosures are reserved for developments of four or fewer residential units or nonresidential lease spaces. At minimum, every enclosure must be walled on three sides with a decorative masonry wall at least six feet tall, color- and style-matched to the project's architecture, with the fourth side closed by an opaque, latchable gate built to the City's Trash Enclosure Policies specifications, and the enclosure must be screened with plant material reviewed through design review.

Plans, including elevations, plot plans, and construction details, must be submitted for every proposed enclosure, and any deviation from the standard requirements needs design-review approval before a building permit issues.