Costa Mesa, CA Trash & Recycling: Recycling Requirements (2026)

The Costa Mesa Sanitary District (CMSD) administers the city's residential recycling program in compliance with California's mandatory recycling and organics diversion laws including AB 341 and SB 1383. Each residential unit receives a blue recycling cart for accepted materials: newspaper, magazines, office paper, cardboard (flattened), glass bottles and jars, aluminum and tin cans, rigid plastics numbered 1 through 5 and 7, and empty aerosol cans. Materials must be clean, dry, and loose, not bagged. Prohibited items include plastic bags, Styrofoam, food-soiled paper, ceramics, mirrors, window glass, and tanglers such as garden hoses and wire.

Under SB 1383, which took effect January 1, 2022, all California residents must separate organic waste from landfill trash. Costa Mesa residents place food scraps, food-soiled paper, and yard trimmings in the green organics cart. Accepted organics include fruit and vegetable scraps, meat, dairy, bread, coffee grounds, paper towels, and yard waste such as grass clippings, leaves, and small branches. CMSD provides educational materials about proper sorting and conducts periodic cart audits to reduce contamination. Multi-family complexes with five or more units are served by commercial haulers and must comply with the same state recycling mandates. Businesses generating specified amounts of waste must also arrange organic waste collection through their hauler.