Fountain Valley, CA Trash & Recycling: Pickup Rules & Schedules (2026)

Section 6.08.150 of the Fountain Valley Municipal Code sets the standards for how collection is performed in the City of Fountain Valley. Subsection (a) puts equipment under the city manager's judgment: it must assure, in the opinion of the city manager, that adequate standards of collection are maintained. Equipment used shall be watertight, and complete metal operating covers must be part of the design. No material can leak, fall or be spilled onto city streets, alleys or highways, and any spill must be immediately corrected and the area cleaned. Equipment must also employ adequate safety conditions for operating personnel and the public and be kept in good mechanical condition. The subsection states the city's interest in a contractor able to supply a wide variety of containers for commercial, industrial and multiple residential users.

Subsection (b) covers noise. All collections shall be made as quietly as possible and no unnecessarily noisy trucks or equipment are allowed. Contractor employees who are unnecessarily noisy, or who violate the California Vehicle Code or an applicable city ordinance while collecting, can be barred from city streets and rights-of-way on the city manager's demand. Subsection (c) fixes the clock: collections shall only be made between six-thirty a.m. and six-thirty p.m. unless the city manager gives permission.

The resident side is in neighboring sections. Section 6.08.140 requires carts at the curb before 6 a.m. on collection day and not before 6 p.m. the day before. Section 6.08.090(b) says no refuse will be collected from the curbside unless it is in compliant carts, and Section 6.08.130 limits accumulation to one calendar week for solid waste and fifteen days for refuse and cuttings. Collection itself is by the city's contractor or franchisee under Section 6.08.030.