Yuba City, CA Trash & Recycling: Recycling Requirements (2026)

Section 6-3.03 makes refuse and recycling collection mandatory for every owner of property in Yuba City where refuse is created, with the collector or the City holding the exclusive right to collect it; only a licensed collector under contract with the City may pick up refuse for compensation. Section 6-3.09 ties container specifications directly to state law: carts must be supplied by the collector, sized for standard collection equipment, and their color, labeling, type and character must comply with SB 1383 (Health and Safety Code sections 39730.5 through 39730.8 and Public Resources Code Chapter 13.1) on the implementation timeline SB 1383 sets.

Section 6-3.12(c) defines what belongs in the recycling cart: newspaper and inserts, mixed paper including magazines, catalogs, corrugated cardboard and phone books, glass containers, aluminum beverage containers, pie tins, tin cans, bi-metal containers, and #1-7 plastics, excluding plastic bags, film plastic, packaging peanuts and foam packaging. Carts must be set at street-side within two feet of the curb, placed no more than 12 hours before collection and pulled in within 12 hours afterward (section 6-3.10), and refuse of any kind cannot accumulate on a property for more than one calendar week (section 6-3.14).

An owner who believes mandatory service should not apply, for example because all refuse is fully recycled through another legal method, can appeal in writing to the Public Works Director within 15 days of being notified service is required; the Director must rule within ten days and that decision is final (section 6-3.04).