Contra Costa County, CA Trash & Recycling: Pickup Rules & Schedules (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing chapter
- Ordinance Code Chapter 418-20 (Ord. 2021-38)
- Requirement
- Subscribe to organics service or self-haul
- 1st fine
- $100
- 2nd fine (1 yr)
- $200
- 3rd+ fine (1 yr)
- $500
- Compliance period
- 60 days after notice of violation
- Waivers
- De minimis (3 yrs) or space (5 yrs)
Summary
Contra Costa County requires every home and business in the unincorporated area to subscribe to organic waste collection or haul it themselves under the county's own rules. Ordinance Code Chapter 418-20 implements the state's organics law locally, and skipping the service can draw escalating fines starting at $100.
(a)Subject to Section 418-20.210, organic waste generators shall do at least one of the following:(1)Subscribe to and comply with the requirements of an organic waste collection service that is provided to the organic waste generator... (2)Self-haul organic waste in a manner that complies with Subsection 418-20.212(b). ... The amount of the fine will be $100.00 for a first violation, $200.00 for a second violation of the same requirement within one year of the first violation, and $500.00 for a third or subsequent violation of the same requirement within one year of the first violation.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Ordinance Code: Supplement 103).
Full Breakdown
Contra Costa County Ordinance Code Chapter 418-20, the Organic Waste Disposal Reduction Ordinance adopted by Ord. No. 212(b). A property owner or commercial business satisfies the subscription requirement simply by having an organics collection service available and subscribed to it; a tenant isn't separately on the hook if the landlord already subscribes. Generators can't dump prohibited contaminants into the organics cart. Commercial businesses (not multifamily housing) face added duties: they must place an organics container everywhere they place a trash container except restrooms, label or color-code those containers, train employees not to cross-contaminate them, and periodically inspect for contamination.
The director of conservation and development can waive these requirements for businesses that generate a de minimis amount of waste or that lack physical space for the required carts, with de minimis waivers valid for three years and space waivers for five. Commercial haulers must hold county authorization and deliver organics only to a facility that lawfully processes them under Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations; self-haulers must source-separate or use a high-diversion facility and keep delivery records for five years.
Violations & Fines
Enforcement runs through Section 418-20.222. The director serves a notice of violation with the code section violated, how to fix it, and a sixty-day compliance period. Miss that window and the fine is $100 for a first violation, $200 for a second within a year, and $500 for a third or later, with each day counted separately. Appeal to a hearing examiner within fifteen days; an unpaid fine collects as a civil judgment with interest.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to subscribe to organic waste pickup in unincorporated Contra Costa?
Can my business get out of the organics requirement?
What's the fine for not complying?
Who enforces the organic waste rules?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Contra Costa County
California rules heatmap·Compare Contra Costa County to another location·View the California trash & recycling overview
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