La Habra, CA Trash & Recycling: Recycling Requirements (2026)

Section 8.04.270 sits in Chapter 8.04, La Habra's solid waste ordinance adopted by Ord. 1838 and effective January 1, 2022 to meet the state's mandatory organics and recycling diversion mandates referenced throughout the chapter's definitions (AB 341, AB 1826). Subsection (A) requires every single-family generator to subscribe to the city's franchised collection service, and (B) requires participation in the organic waste collection program by using the designated containers. Subsection (C) is the sorting rule itself: source-separated green container organic waste, including food scraps and food-soiled paper, goes in the green container; source-separated recyclable materials go in the blue container; and gray container waste, the residual refuse stream, goes in the gray container.

The section expressly bars cross-contamination: a generator may not place gray-container material into the green or blue container. The city may review the number and size of a household's containers to confirm they are adequate for proper separation and can adjust the service level on request. Commercial businesses and multifamily properties of five or more units follow the parallel three-container rule at § 8.04.280, which layers on labeling, inspection and tenant-education duties that single-family households do not carry.