Lynwood, CA Trash & Recycling: Recycling Rules (2026)

The Lynwood Anti-Scavenging Ordinance, codified at Lynwood Municipal Code § 9-1.40, defines scavenging as the unauthorized collection, removal, or possession of solid waste, recyclables, or organic material once it is placed in a city collection container, including temporary receptacles used at special events and large venues, by anyone other than the city or its authorized collector. The ordinance separately bars removing recyclable materials identified in California Public Resources Code §§ 41950 and 41951, the state's curbside-theft statutes. Under § 9-1.40(b), no one other than the responsible person, or that person's authorized employees or agents, may remove, interfere with, or disturb solid waste, green waste, or recyclable materials once placed in the applicable container for temporary storage and collection, or bulky items set out at the proper collection location.

The rule exists because Lynwood's franchise hauler relies on the value of collected recyclables and organics to help fund the city's collection contract, so people picking through blue and green bins for cans, bottles, or scrap metal before the truck arrives divert that revenue from the program. The prohibition covers curbside bins, bulky-item piles awaiting scheduled pickup, and containers placed for special events, and it applies citywide regardless of whether the material sits on a residential parkway or in front of a commercial property.