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

City Code § 14-3(1) makes it unlawful for anyone to place waste into a collection container without permission from the owner or tenant of the premises where that container sits, closing off casual dumping into a neighbor's cart. , a limit that can only be lifted by a specific order of the City Manager. The same section requires the franchise hauler to identify, in writing to the City by July 1 of each year, the facilities to which it will transport each material stream, and to send recyclables to a facility that actually recovers them, organics to a facility that recovers organic waste under state regulations, and solid waste to a licensed disposal or transfer facility.

A hauler cannot collect organic waste at all without City approval unless it is delivering source separated organics to a community composting site or lawfully hauling construction and demolition debris under state rules and Chapter 9. Separately, § 14-3(6) makes it unlawful for anyone other than the generator, the premises owner, the City, or the franchisee to remove or take items already placed in a collection container, protecting both the resident's set-out and the materials the franchisee is contracted to collect.