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

Article IV of Chapter 12 locks Gilroy's curbside recycling program to a single hauler. Section 12.57 makes it unlawful for any person, business or entity other than the City of Gilroy's official authorized recycling agent to collect recyclable materials anywhere in the city, unless an exception in the article or state or federal law applies. Section 12.58 backs that exclusivity with a property rule: the moment a resident places recyclables at the curb, in another designated collection spot, or in a container the authorized agent supplied, those materials become that agent's property, not the resident's and not a scavenger's.

Section 12.59 extends the same protection to the containers themselves, prohibiting anyone but the authorized agent from using its receptacles or picking materials up from a designated collection location. Section 12.60 makes a violation of Section 12.59 an infraction, and treats each separate location where the prohibited activity occurs as its own distinct offense, so a scrap hauler working multiple blocks can rack up multiple citations in a single day. Gilroy does carve out real exceptions at Section 12.62: residents may still take their own segregated recyclables to an approved drop-off site or collection station themselves, donate materials to a charity, or use a nonprofit recycling center or processor operating under the state's Solid Waste Management Resource and Recovery Act or Beverage Container Recycling and Litter Reduction Act.

Beyond criminal infractions, Section 12.61 lets the city and the authorized recycling agent pursue civil enforcement, including treble damages under California Government Code Section 66764, at the city administrator's discretion.