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

Municipal Code § 13-4 makes two things unlawful for residents: taking or pilfering recyclables that someone else has segregated and set out, and willingly placing materials in a recycling receptacle that don't meet the criteria defined under § 13-2 of the chapter. Recyclables donated to a city drop-off facility are declared city property, and dumping regular refuse in or around those drop-off facilities is separately banned. None of that stops a resident from selling or giving recyclables to a hauler of their own choosing.

Anyone in the business of gathering, collecting, transporting or disposing of recyclables commercially, rather than through the city's own program, needs a nonexclusive recycling hauler permit under § 13-19. The application goes through the city manager or designee, carries a fee, and each permit must specify the type of material the hauler is authorized to collect. Section 13-20 lets the city refuse or decline to renew a permit whose service is inconsistent with the chapter's purpose or does not serve the best interest of the people of Porterville. A granted permit runs through the end of the calendar year and renews with the hauler's business license under § 13-21.

Permittees carry ongoing reporting duties under § 13-22, tied to the state's 1989 Integrated Waste Management Act (AB 939): they must log the type of material collected, the name and address of every collection site in the city with the tonnage recovered there, and where that material was ultimately disposed, keeping those records for five years and open to city inspection. Violating any recycling provision of Chapter 13 is a misdemeanor under § 13-24, punishable by a fine up to $1,000, up to six months in jail, or both.