Mendocino County, CA Trash & Recycling: Pickup Rules & Schedules (2026)

Mendocino County Code Title 9A (Solid Waste), rewritten by Ordinance 4506 in 2022, governs garbage collection in the unincorporated County. Section 9A.08.040 makes the owner or tenant of any premises responsible for the 'satisfactory removal of all refuse' in accordance with state requirements, and allows two methods: (A) using the waste-hauling services of the franchised collector in that collection area, or (B) self-hauling refuse to a permitted disposal site without compensation and without a permit for that purpose. Section 9A.12.010 requires anyone collecting, transporting, or using refuse for compensation in the unincorporated County to hold a franchise, while letting residents haul their own waste. Through Section 9A.12.020, the Board provides franchised refuse-collection service available in all unincorporated areas of the County; the current franchised hauler in much of the County is Redwood Waste Solutions, which offers weekly garbage pickup with 20-, 32-, 64-, or 96-gallon gray carts and operates transfer stations for self-haulers. Households subject to SB 1383 that subscribe to the three-container service can, where the County and CalRecycle allow, qualify for a collection-frequency waiver permitting pickup once every 14 days under Section 9A.24.040(B)(6). Rules inside the incorporated cities differ from these unincorporated-area requirements.