La Habra, CA Trash & Recycling: Pickup Rules & Schedules (2026)

Once materials are separated for collection or recovery at the curb, in an alley, at a designated pick-up location or in a storage container, § 8.04.090 bars any unauthorized person from taking or removing that separated discarded or salvageable material, whether it sits in a container or not; this reaches everything from someone pulling cans out of a recycling bin to hauling off separated bulk items left for pickup. Section 8.04.110 targets the container itself: only the container's owner, agent or employee may place a substance in it, tamper with it, meddle with it, or move it, a rule that applies whether or not the container even conforms to the chapter's other requirements.

Together the two sections protect both the pickup materials and the physical carts that hold them from third parties, including so-called scavengers who pull recyclables ahead of the franchised hauler and reduce the diversion revenue the city and franchisee rely on. The rules sit alongside container-standard duties in § 8.04.180, which requires containers to be kept clean, covered and leak-free, and enforcement authority under § 8.04.260 that lets the public works director tag and impound noncompliant containers, a separate process from a scavenging or tampering complaint.