Nevada County, CA Trash & Recycling: Recycling Requirements (2026)

Recycling in the unincorporated county is delivered through the franchised haulers under Nevada County Code Article 8 and California recycling law. The county's mandatory program requires residents and businesses with curbside service to subscribe for garbage, recycling, and organics container collection. In the western unincorporated county, Waste Management provides a three-cart system: black for regular waste, blue for co-mingled (single-stream) recyclables, and green for organics; recycling now accepts items such as plastic and paper to-go cups. In the eastern unincorporated county, Tahoe Truckee Sierra Disposal runs a free blue-bag recycling program where recyclables are placed in tied blue bags rather than a cart; cardboard is best self-hauled free to a drop-off, or broken down and placed in tied blue bags, and all material is sorted at the Eastern Regional Landfill. Article 8 defines 'recycle' as any process that converts garbage, rubbish, or salvageable waste into a usable product, and it distinguishes 'salvaging' (controlled removal of waste material for utilization) from 'scavenging' (uncontrolled or unauthorized removal of solid waste materials). Statewide, California's AB 341 mandatory commercial recycling and AB 1826 commercial organics laws require many businesses and multifamily complexes to arrange recycling service, and SB 1383 (below) layers organics requirements on top. Contamination matters: in the eastern county, untied blue bags, loose cardboard, and contaminated recycling trigger overage charges from TTSD. Glass and certain plastics may be handled differently by each hauler, so residents should check their hauler's accepted-materials list.