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

Merced County Code § 9.06.050 requires every commercial business, including multifamily residential properties, in the unincorporated area to subscribe to the county's three-container (blue/green/gray) or two-container (green/gray) collection service and to sort waste into the designated containers: source-separated recyclable materials into the blue container, source-separated green-container organic waste (including food waste) into the green container, and everything else into the gray container. Businesses may only skip the county's collection service if they qualify as a 'self-hauler' under § 9.06.100. The county can review and require adjustments to a business's container size, number, and pickup frequency to make sure capacity matches the waste actually generated.

Beyond subscribing, § 9.06.050 requires businesses (except multifamily dwellings) to place labeled recycling and organics containers in every indoor and outdoor area where they provide trash bins for customers, periodically inspect those containers for contamination, and train employees not to cross-contaminate the streams. Businesses must give tenants written recycling and organics instructions within 14 days of move-in and must provide annual education to employees, contractors, and customers about the sorting requirements. Tier one and tier two commercial edible food generators, such as large grocery stores and restaurants, face an additional layer of mandatory food-recovery obligations under § 9.06.070. These commercial recycling duties were briefly suspended by the county under Ordinance 2028 while the program was rolled out, but that suspension expired on July 1, 2025, so the requirements are now fully enforceable.