Chino Hills, CA Trash & Recycling: Recycling Rules (2026)

190 establishes ownership: once an owner places recyclable material at a designated recycling collection location or container for pickup by the city's authorized recycling contractor, the material becomes the contractor's property by operation of state law, not the resident's or the city's. 20 stops a person, organization or entity from donating, selling or otherwise disposing of recyclable material it owns to a charity or any other recipient besides the franchisee, as long as the disposal otherwise complies with the chapter, so setting materials out at the curb rather than diverting them elsewhere is what triggers the franchisee's ownership.

310 backstops the arrangement with a state-law citation: California Public Resources Code Section 41950 makes it unlawful for anyone other than the authorized hauler to remove recyclables from a designated collection location, which is the legal basis for treating curbside recycling theft, sometimes called 'scavenging,' as a real violation rather than a civil dispute over abandoned property. Together the three sections mean a Chino Hills resident's recycling bin is protected property from the moment it is set out for the franchisee, while the resident remains free to bypass curbside service entirely and give or sell recyclables to whomever they choose before setting anything at the curb.