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

' Automated-service properties are limited to one standard container of each type unless the customer arranges for an additional container or the City requires one; manual-service properties may have up to three containers of each type. Containers must be kept clean and sanitary under subsection B, and a container with ragged, sharp, or defective edges that isn't repaired within five days of written notice can have its service suspended, with the City authorized to replace it and bill the customer's account. 040(D) backs the three-bin system with a contamination rule: putting solid waste into a recycling or organics container is prohibited, and 'contamination' means more than two percent by volume of nonacceptable material.

A collector who finds a contaminated container first leaves a warning tag; three violations for the same container within a calendar year trigger a fee equal to an additional solid waste container charge for the third and fourth violation, and a fifth or later violation lets the hauler require the customer to maintain and pay for a second container for that waste stream. Customers get ten days' written notice of any fee and may appeal to the Public Works Director, whose decision is final.