Santa Ana, CA Trash & Recycling: Yard Waste Collection (2026)
Key Facts
- Applies to
- Commercial/multifamily premises, 5+ units
- Contract mandate
- Written landscaping contract must divert yard waste
- Proof required
- Weight tickets from a permitted facility
- Reporting deadline
- Compliance form due within 60 days of city request
Summary
Commercial and multifamily properties with five or more units that hire a gardening or landscaping service must put diversion requirements in the written contract: the landscaper has to divert all yard waste from disposal, certify compliance, and supply weight tickets from a permitted processing facility on request.
A commercial business and/or multifamily residential premise with five (5) units or more contracting for gardening or landscaping services shall require written contracts which contain the following provisions:(1)All yard waste generated at the premises by the landscaping or gardening service shall be diverted from disposal by one (1) or more of the methods in section 16-38.5.(2)A requirement that the landscaper, gardener or any third party(ies) certify that the requirements set forth in subsection (a) of this section are being met.(3)A requirement that the landscaper, gardener or any third party(ies), upon request by the city, certify that it is compliant with this section by completing and submitting a city-provided reporting form.(4)A requirement that the landscaper, gardener or any third party(ies) provide copies of weight tickets from the permitted processing facility(ies) where the yard waste from premises within city were delivered by the landscaper or gardener.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 32).
Full Breakdown
Section 16-39(a) applies to a commercial business or multifamily residential premises with five or more units that contracts for gardening or landscaping services. 5, that the landscaper or gardener certify the diversion requirement is being met, that the landscaper certify compliance on a city-provided reporting form upon request, and that the landscaper provide copies of weight tickets from the permitted processing facility that received the yard waste. Section 16-39(b) then requires the commercial business, within sixty days of a written request from the city, to submit a compliance reporting form attaching copies of its landscaping contract and the landscaper's certifications covering the preceding twelve months.
5(l) separately require multifamily and commercial premises that use landscaping services to make sure their service contracts contain the Section 16-39 provisions, tying the yard-waste diversion mandate into the property's overall three-container compliance obligations under this chapter.
Violations & Fines
A commercial business or qualifying multifamily property that fails to include the required diversion, certification and weight-ticket provisions in its landscaping contract, or that fails to submit the compliance reporting form within sixty days of a city request, is out of compliance with Section 16-39 and is subject to the same SB 1383 enforcement and administrative citation process the city applies to other Chapter 16 organic waste violations, including the $100.00/$200.00/$500.00 escalating fine schedule in Section 16-40(a)(4).
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Santa Ana require landscapers to divert yard waste from the landfill?
How does a Santa Ana property prove its landscaper diverted the yard waste?
How soon must a property respond to a city request about yard waste compliance?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Santa Ana
California rules heatmap·Compare Santa Ana to another location·View the California trash & recycling overview
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Yard Waste Collection in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Orange County handle yard waste collection.