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

Three printed rules govern what happens at the pickup itself. Section 5.22.120 C applies to each short-term rental or homestay: it must provide for garbage removal as required by Chapter 8.12, and garbage bins must be put out for collection no earlier than 5:00 p.m. the day before collection day and brought in no later than 8:00 p.m. on collection day. Section 8.12.050 B deals with containers that fail the placement and condition standards or deteriorate until they fail: the contract agent tags them, and if they are not replaced by the next regular collection day they are considered rubbish and removed by the agent in the same manner as any other rubbish. Section 8.12.190 B bars any person from interfering in any manner with the collection or disposal of refuse, garbage or rubbish by anyone authorized by license or contract to collect and dispose of it.

Who picks up is also fixed. Under § 8.12.170, no person other than the contract agent collects, removes or hauls solid wastes, including refuse or rubbish, over the streets of the city while the agent holds the city contract, except producer hauling under the chapter and persons holding an emergency-removal permit from the director of public works. A producer of refuse can personally haul it in the producer's own vehicle to the city disposal site, subject at all times to the approval of the director of public works, and must show satisfactory evidence on request that the material came from the city and that the producer is a city resident (§ 8.12.160 A and B). That permission does not extend to dead animals, refuse from construction, demolition or alteration of buildings, old automobile bodies or frames, or refuse originating in a commercial establishment where the quantity exceeds one cubic yard (§ 8.12.160 C).

Haulers have their own duties. Solid waste carried along streets and alleys must travel in dust-proof conveyances arranged so nothing shifts through or falls upon the street, and its contents must be protected from blowing (§ 8.12.060). Wet garbage moves only in water-tight containers with proper covers (§ 8.12.070). The director of public works can adopt rules not inconsistent with the chapter governing collection and disposal (§ 8.12.180).