La Habra, CA Trash & Recycling: Holiday Pickup Schedule (2026)

Chapter 5.44 governs the franchise the city council grants for collection of commercial, industrial and residential refuse, and Section 5.44.170 sets the collection standards every franchise grantee must follow. Subsection D states that collections are required on holidays, with the single exception that service may skip a day when the county landfill itself is closed, meaning a New Year's Day or July Fourth pickup does not shift automatically the way it does in many neighboring cities. The same subsection separately bars Sunday collection altogether unless the director of public works gives written approval, so a hauler cannot simply reschedule a skipped holiday route into the weekend without that sign-off.

The chapter's other collection standards reinforce the schedule requirement: grantees must transport refuse to the nearest available county dump or another site approved at no cost to the grantee (Section 5.44.170.A), keep trucks quiet and their crews under the direction of the public works director (5.44.170.B, C), and operate all vehicles safely in compliance with the state Vehicle Code (5.44.170.F). Equipment must meet the standards in Section 5.44.160, including watertight, closed truck bodies and inspection by the city at least every six months. A grantee's failure to follow the collection-standards chapter exposes it to the franchise's bond and indemnification obligations under Sections 5.44.130 and 5.44.140, which the director of public works and city attorney administer, rather than to a criminal penalty tied to holiday service specifically.