Aliso Viejo, CA Trash & Recycling: Recycling Rules (2026)

AVMC § 7.05.180 draws the line between owning your recyclables and buying recycling service. Subsection A preserves the right of any person, organization or entity to sell recyclable material it owns or to donate it to a charity or any other entity. Subsection B flips that if the seller or donor pays the buyer or donee any consideration for collecting, processing, recycling, container rental, transporting or disposing of the materials: the transaction is then an arrangement for recycling services subject to the title, not a sale or donation. Subsection C says a person who gets a discount or reduction in collection, disposal or recycling service rates for segregated or unsegregated waste is not treated as selling or donating.

Other sections of Chapter 7.05 govern how recycling is handled day to day. Section 7.05.100(A) requires recyclable materials to go in standard containers or bins approved by the collector, and the definitions in § 7.05.010 assign the blue container to source separated recyclable materials. Section 7.05.170 passes ownership of recyclables placed for collection from the generator directly to the contractor, not to the city. Section 7.05.210 bars anyone other than the person in charge of the premises or the authorized collector from removing containers or their contents, and notes that unauthorized removal of recyclable materials at designated recycling collection locations is prohibited by the California Public Resources Code. Sections 7.05.290 through 7.05.380 set organic waste and edible food requirements, with penalty amounts under § 7.05.390(C) set by AVMC 1.06.120.