Lake County, CA Trash & Recycling: Recycling Rules (2026)

Lake County Code Sec. 3 requires that a Refuse/Litter Control (RLC) plan, the alternative available under Sec. 1 to properties that cannot practically build the screened dumpster enclosure Sec. 9-6 otherwise requires, spell out the type and size of refuse and recycling containers on the property and the number of refuse and recycling containers to be used. The plan must also state the location and storage of those containers and how they will be screened from public view, the times and frequency of disposal, and the day and time containers are placed at and removed from the street.

Sec. 4 requires the plan to be consistent with the rest of the Lake County Code, and Sec. 5 requires the franchise hauler to confirm the plan's proposed container arrangement, including the recycling containers, is serviceable before the Community Development Department can approve it under Sec. 6. Because this recycling-container specification lives inside the RLC plan process, it reaches commercial, industrial and qualifying multi-family or care-facility properties that are exempt from the standard enclosure, rather than setting a universal county-wide recycling mandate for every residential parcel; single-family residential recycling participation in unincorporated Lake County is instead arranged directly through the area's franchised hauler contract.