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

Section 7.10.120 of the National City Municipal Code, in Title 7 (Property Conservation and Community Appearance Code), sets the timing. Subsection A keeps all containers on private property between refuse collection days. Subsection B bars any container from the curb, the alley or any public right-of-way before four p.m. on the day prior to scheduled collection and requires removal before noon on the day following collection day.

Placement is governed by § 7.10.110(B). Rubbish and garbage to be collected must sit within ten feet of the curbline of the public street, or within ten feet of the surfaced portion of the street where there is no curb. For alley pickup, the receptacle goes within ten feet of the edge of the alley right-of-way. Containers never go within or upon a street or alley roadway, and never on a sidewalk in a way that would interfere with pedestrians. Where no other access exists, the city engineer can issue permits to cut a portion of curb so receptacles can be moved into the street for collection.

The container rules sit alongside the timing rule. Under § 7.10.050, receptacles for garbage or rubbish are the ones provided by the city rubbish collection contractor. Yard waste containers are capped at forty gallons in volume and fifty pounds when filled, and need tight-fitting covers or lids. Brush and limbs can be set out beside the containers in tied bundles of no more than four feet in length, eighteen inches in diameter and sixty pounds each. Where the contractor supplies recycling containers, the recyclable materials defined in Chapter 9.52 are separated from garbage and rubbish and go in the recycling container. Garbage receptacles must be kept covered.

After pickup, anyone who places containers in the right-of-way is responsible for cleaning up any spillage or debris from the placement or from collection (§ 7.10.130(B)), and no one is allowed to hinder collectors' access to the containers (§ 7.10.160).