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

Section 23-38 sets the terms for opting out of the county's mandatory residential collection program. A dwelling owner in a mandatory service area, defined in Section 23-12 as a parcel zoned RR, RE, RS, RD or RM and developed with a residential unit, may apply to the Environmental Health Services Division on the department's form and pay a non-refundable application fee to be exempted from curbside service. The exemption is granted only if the owner shows either that their own arrangements for storage, transportation, disposal or recycling meet the intent of the code and won't create unsanitary conditions or a nuisance, or that the residence has been vacant for more than two months with a plan in place for proper recycling or disposal of any green waste that does accumulate.

Once granted, the exemption is not automatic or permanent: the owner must give the Department proof that recycling or disposal is actually occurring at an approved facility, on whatever schedule the Department sets, and the Department can revoke the exemption on a finding of an unsanitary condition, public-health threat, environmental contamination or nuisance. Exemptions are non-transferable and must be renewed, with the Department re-verifying that conditions still qualify at an interval of not more than once a year and not less than once every three years. Absent an approved exemption, the property remains subject to the mandatory collection service required by Section 23-30.