Glendale, CA Trash & Recycling: Recycling Requirements (2026)
Key Facts
- Residential mandate
- subscribe to gray, blue, green service
- Curb set-out window
- 3:00 p.m. day before to 8:00 p.m. collection day
- De minimis waiver
- under 20 gal/wk organics (2+ cy accounts)
- Civil penalties began
- January 1, 2024
- Waiver re-verification
- every 5 years
- Enforcing agency
- Dept. of Public Works
Summary
Every household and business in Glendale must subscribe to the city's three-cart collection service, blue for recyclables, green for organics, gray for refuse, under Municipal Code Section 8.44.080(C). Carts go out only on the assigned collection day, no earlier than 3:00 p.m. the day before, and must come off the curb by 8:00 p.m. that night.
Residential waste generators shall subscribe to the city's gray container, blue container and green container collection services for all waste generated. Commercial waste generators shall subscribe to gray container, blue container and green container services provided by the designated commercial franchised hauler. Generators may additionally manage their waste by preventing or reducing waste, managing organic waste on site, self-hauling, and/or using a community composting site pursuant to 14 CCR Section 18984.9(c). ... No person shall place any container in any public highway, street, or alley at any place other than on the collection day established by the city on the particular route. No container shall be placed for collection before 3:00 p.m. on the day immediately prior to the scheduled collection day. No person shall permit the containers to remain on or immediately adjacent to a street or alley after 8:00 p.m. of the collection day.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: rev 4983441; v20 updated 2026-05-19).
Full Breakdown
080(C) of the Glendale Municipal Code makes participation mandatory: residential generators must subscribe to the city's gray, blue and green container collection services for all waste generated, and commercial generators must subscribe through the city's designated franchised hauler. 9(c), but the base subscription itself is not optional. on collection day. 160 lets a commercial generator apply for a de minimis waiver if its organic waste is under 20 gallons a week for accounts of two cubic yards or more of total service, or under 10 gallons a week for smaller accounts, or a physical-space waiver if a licensed architect or engineer documents the property cannot fit the required containers; both waivers must be re-verified with the city every five years. 180(G). 180(E).
Violations & Fines
Skipping the required subscription or the curbside placement rules draws a notice of violation with a 60-day cure window; missing that deadline leads to an administrative citation and a fine set by council resolution for first, second and third offenses under Chapter 1.24. Businesses that misrepresent their waiver eligibility can have the waiver rescinded and lose the exemption from full-service fees.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is curbside recycling mandatory in Glendale?
When can I put my recycling cart at the curb in Glendale?
Can a Glendale business get out of the organics recycling requirement?
What happens if a Glendale property never signs up for recycling collection?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Glendale
California rules heatmap·Compare Glendale to another location·View the California trash & recycling overview
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Recycling Requirements in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Los Angeles County handle recycling requirements.