Alhambra, CA Trash & Recycling: Recycling Requirements (2026)

Under the City of Alhambra's program, all residents receive a blue recycling cart from Republic Services and are required to sort recyclables, organics, and trash into the appropriate containers. The blue container accepts glass jars and bottles (tops removed and recycled separately), plastic jars and bottles (tops may stay on), metal and aluminum cans, clean dry paper and cardboard, milk and juice cartons (Tetra Pak), and clean food-free aluminum foil. The City's key rule is that items must be "empty, clean and dry," and "All paper must be dry." Prohibited from the blue cart are plastic bags of any kind, Styrofoam, toothpaste tubes, food-contaminated pizza boxes, and clothing. Carts come in 32-, 65-, and 95/96-gallon sizes. The City's recycling mandate is reinforced by California law: AB 341 requires commercial businesses and multi-family properties of five or more units to arrange for recycling services, and AB 827 requires certain businesses to provide customer-facing recycling and organics bins. To manage quality, contaminated recycling carts may be tagged for trash service, which can result in charges. The blue cart color and labeling follow statewide SB 1383 container standards, while the day-to-day sorting requirement and contamination tagging are administered by the City and Republic Services.