Contra Costa County, CA Trash & Recycling: Recycling Rules (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing chapter
- Ordinance Code Chapter 418-10
- Materials required
- 12 categories, from aluminum to paper
- Full compliance date
- January 1, 1996
- Enforcement point
- Landfill gate refuses uncertified haulers
- Program review
- Recertified at least every 5 years
Summary
Contra Costa County won't let a landfill operator accept solid waste from a hauler whose local agency isn't running a certified recycling program. Chapter 418-10 has required haulers to divert twelve specific materials, from aluminum cans to yard waste, since the program phased in fully back in 1996.
Beginning January 1, 1993, an operator of a landfill shall not accept solid waste from the haulers of a local agency that is not implementing a recycling program approved and certified by the board as satisfying the requirements of this chapter. ... The recycling program shall include collection or diversion of the following materials: (a) aluminum cans, (b) glass containers, (c) newsprint, (d) PET bottles, (e) clear HDPE bottles, (f) colored HDPE bottles, (g) steel and tin-plated cans, (h) cardboard, (i) polystyrene, (j) plastic film, (k) yardwaste, and (l) paper.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Ordinance Code: Supplement 103).
Full Breakdown
Contra Costa County Ordinance Code Chapter 418-10, Recycling Requirements for Landfill Disposal, implements the state Integrated Waste Management Act locally by controlling what a landfill can accept. 602 bars a landfill operator, effective January 1, 1993, from accepting solid waste from any local agency's haulers unless that local agency is running a recycling program the board of supervisors has approved and certified. 4 down to the resin codes for plastic film. The rollout was staged: local agencies needed to divert at least seven of the twelve materials by January 1, 1993, at least ten by January 1, 1994, and all twelve by January 1, 1996.
606, with progress reports due from each local agency on the same milestone dates. 614 extends the same certification requirement to what the transfer station passes on to the landfill.
Violations & Fines
The enforcement point in Chapter 418-10 is the landfill gate, not a fine against residents. A landfill operator that keeps accepting waste from an uncertified local agency's haulers is out of compliance with Section 418-10.602. A local agency can seek a hardship exemption from the board under Section 418-10.802 by showing good cause, such as a material's recycling market being in severe decline, but exemptions are reviewed annually and are not automatic.
Frequently Asked Questions
What materials does Contra Costa's recycling program have to cover?
Since when has full recycling been required?
What happens if a hauler doesn't have a certified recycling program?
Can a local agency get out of the recycling requirement?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Contra Costa County
California rules heatmap·Compare Contra Costa County to another location·View the California trash & recycling overview
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