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

070, Placement of waste in containers, Separation of recyclable materials and organic materials, is Stockton's core sorting rule. Subsection D states plainly that recyclable materials and organic materials shall be separated from other solid waste for collection, though the collector will not refuse to pick up a solid waste container just because it holds incidental amounts of recyclables or organics. 020, which already requires owners to place source-separated organic materials in the organics container and source-separated recyclable materials in the recycling container, and bars directing generators to dump contamination into the wrong bin.

070 also carves out several categories that never belong in any collection container at all: flammable liquids, anti-freeze, insecticides, poisons, caustics, acids, explosives, liquid paint, and other household hazardous waste must go to a designated hazardous waste facility instead; medical waste must be disposed of as otherwise required by law rather than through solid waste service; and large household or bulky items are excluded from the standard containers and instead follow whatever administrative rules the Public Works Director and the City's franchise agreement set. Used motor oil and used oil filters get their own carve-out, allowed in containers the Public Works Director designates for that purpose.

036(B)(2), requiring blue-lidded recyclable materials containers, green-lidded organic materials containers, and grey-lidded solid waste containers, or equivalent labeling, wherever solid waste containers are provided for customers.