El Dorado County, CA Trash & Recycling: Recycling Rules (2026)
Key Facts
- Who may remove recyclables
- Owner or franchised hauler only
- Prohibited act
- Tampering, modifying, or scavenging set-out recyclables
- Related section
- § 8.42.750 general container tampering
- Enforcement
- County nuisance/code enforcement, Ch. 9.02
Summary
It's illegal in unincorporated El Dorado County for anyone other than the property's franchised hauler or the owner to touch recyclables once they're set out for pickup. Code Section 8.42.770 bans tampering with, modifying or scavenging segregated recyclable materials placed at a collection point.
No person shall, other than the owner or franchised recyclable materials hauler, tamper with, modify, or deposit wastes into recyclable materials that have been segregated from non-recyclable wastes and placed at a designated collection location for the purpose of collection and recycling. Unless otherwise provided by contract, all recyclable materials which are segregated from non-recyclable wastes for the purpose of recycling, and placed at a designated collection location, may not be removed by anyone other than the franchised recyclable materials collector or owner.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 13 Update 4).
Full Breakdown
770 protects recyclable materials from the moment they're segregated from regular trash and set out at a designated collection location. It bars anyone other than the owner or the franchised recyclable-materials hauler from tampering with, modifying, or dumping additional waste into those segregated materials. The second sentence goes further: unless a contract says otherwise, no one but the franchised collector or the owner may remove recyclables once they're staged for pickup, closing off informal scavenging of cans, bottles and cardboard left at the curb. 510(C), which similarly bars anyone but the generator, franchisee or permittee from removing solid waste or recyclables placed for collection. 02.
Violations & Fines
Removing recyclables staged for collection, or dumping non-recyclable waste into someone else's segregated recycling, violates Section 8.42.770 and the related container-tampering prohibition in Section 8.42.750; both are enforceable through the County's code enforcement and nuisance abatement process under Chapter 9.02.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can someone else take the recycling I put out at the curb?
Is it illegal to dig through curbside recycling bins in El Dorado County?
Why does the County restrict who can take recyclables?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in El Dorado County
California rules heatmap·Compare El Dorado County to another location·View the California trash & recycling overview
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