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

140 backs that up by giving the city, or its authorized contractor, the exclusive right to gather and collect solid waste, and makes it unlawful for anyone else to collect, gather, or remove it, or even to solicit a property owner for permission to do so, except under the narrow self-haul exemption in Sec. 025. That exemption lets an owner who proves the property produces no waste, already disposes through another subscriber's container, or self-hauls to an authorized disposal facility skip city service, but self-haulers may not contract with anyone but the city for transport.

On the collection side, Sec. 290 entitles each residential dwelling unit to weekly removal of the equivalent of two 30-gallon containers, with no more than once-a-week service and higher fees for additional containers. 300 sets six-day-a-week collection, except legal holidays, for the downtown central business district, while Sec. 310 requires the director of public works to schedule collection for other businesses and industrial establishments commensurate with volume, but never less than once a week. The director of public works enforces the collection rules under Sec. 150, with authority to inspect premises during reasonable hours, alongside the chief of police, finance officer, and health officer.