Santa Ana, CA Trash & Recycling: Mandatory Organics Recycling (2026)
Key Facts
- Applies to
- Single-family generators under 5 units
- Requirement
- Weekly gray/blue/green 3-container service
- Contamination notice
- Cart tag within 1 day of discovery
- Fine schedule
- $100 / $200 / $500 (§ 16-40(a)(4))
- Legal basis
- Local SB 1383 implementing ordinance
Summary
Santa Ana single-family households must subscribe to weekly three-container service and route food scraps and yard trimmings into the green organic-waste cart, keeping them out of the gray trash cart. Contaminating a cart with the wrong material draws a cart-tag warning and escalating fines up to $500 under the city's local SB 1383 implementing ordinance.
Single-family organic waste generators with less than five (5) dwelling units shall comply with the following requirements: (a)Subscribe to and pay for the solid waste collection contractor's three-container system collection services for weekly collection of non-recyclable gray container waste, source separated blue container recyclable materials, and source-separated green container organic materials generated by the single-family premises and comply with requirements of those services as described in this section. ... (b)(1)Place source separated green container organic waste in the green container; source separated recyclable materials in the blue container; and solid waste in the gray container.(2)Not place prohibited container contaminants in collection containers and not place materials designated for the green container or blue containers in the gray container.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 32).
Full Breakdown
5 requires single-family organic waste generators with fewer than five dwelling units to subscribe to and pay for the solid waste collection contractor's three-container system for weekly collection of gray container solid waste, blue container recyclables and green container organic material, and to place source-separated green container organic waste in the green container, recyclables in the blue container, and everything else in the gray container. The same section bars placing prohibited contaminants in any container and bars putting material designated for the blue or green container into the gray container.
The executive director can review a household's cart sizes to confirm they have adequate capacity, and can require an adjustment; nothing in the section stops a resident from reducing waste generation, composting on site, or using a community composting site instead. 5. 00 for each further violation, subject to a compliance-deadline extension for acts of God, permit delays, or documented recycling-infrastructure shortfalls.
Violations & Fines
Placing food scraps, yard trimmings or other organic material in the gray trash cart instead of the green container violates Section 16-31.5(b), and the city issues a cart-tag notice of violation within one day of finding prohibited contaminants under Section 16-40(a)(3)(C). After more than three consecutive contaminated collections, the city can add contamination processing fees on top of the standard fine schedule: $100.00 for a first violation, $200.00 for a second within a year, and $500.00 for each subsequent violation in that year.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do Santa Ana households have to separate food scraps from trash?
What happens if I put food waste in the wrong Santa Ana cart?
How much is the fine for repeated organics-cart violations in Santa Ana?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Santa Ana
California rules heatmap·Compare Santa Ana to another location·View the California trash & recycling overview
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