San Bernardino County, CA Trash & Recycling: Pickup Rules & Schedules (2026)

Solid-waste collection in the unincorporated County is organized by the San Bernardino County Department of Public Works, Solid Waste Management Division (SWMD), which administers the County's Solid Waste Franchise Program covering 20 Franchise Areas, plus a refuse-collection permit program that authorizes and regulates trash collection by private haulers in the unincorporated areas. WM is the contracted franchise hauler providing residential and commercial collection in these County Franchise Areas (CFAs). The County states that employing or paying anyone other than a SWMD-contracted franchise waste hauler to remove waste from your property is prohibited. Residents and businesses in CFAs are subject to mandatory waste services, but the County offers a Self-Haul Exemption Program letting eligible properties transport their own solid waste, recycling, and green/organic waste (depending on location) to designated facilities instead of subscribing to hauler collection. WM's standard residential service provides a 96-gallon cart each for trash, recycling, and organics, collected on a regular weekly service day that residents can look up by address. Collection does not occur on six holidays (New Year's Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas); when a holiday falls on a weekday, collection is delayed one day for the rest of that week, with no delay for Saturday/Sunday holidays. The underlying storage standards are in the County Code (Section 33.0801 et seq.), enforced by DEHS.