Sonoma, CA Trash & Recycling: Yard Waste Collection (2026)
Key Facts
- Program basis
- Ord. 12-2021, implementing SB 1383
- Yard waste container
- Green container only
- Self-composting allowed
- Yes, under SMC 7.08.160
- Waivers available
- De minimis and physical-space
- Enforcement
- Administrative citation, Chapter 1.12
Summary
The City of Sonoma requires every household and business to keep yard trimmings and other organic waste out of the trash and recycling. Under Chapter 7.10 of the Sonoma Municipal Code, single-family generators must subscribe to city organic waste collection and place landscape and pruning waste, food scraps and food-soiled paper in the green container only.
“Organic waste” means solid wastes containing material originated from living organisms and their metabolic waste products, including but not limited to food, green material, landscape and pruning waste, organic textiles and carpets, lumber, wood, paper products, printing and writing paper, manure, biosolids, digestate, and sludges or as otherwise defined in 14 CCR Section 18982(a)(46). ... Single-family organic waste generators shall comply with the following requirements except single-family generators that meet the self-hauler requirements in SMC 7.10.090: A. Subscribe to the city’s organic waste collection services for all organic waste generated as described below in subsection (B) of this section. ... ... C. Place source separated green container organic waste, including food scraps and food-soiled paper, in the green container; source separated recyclable materials in the blue container; and gray container waste in the gray container. Generators shall not place materials designated for the gray container into the green container or blue container.
Official source re-checked September 8, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: current through Ordinance 13-2025, passed December 3, 2025).
Full Breakdown
The City of Sonoma adopted its mandatory organics recycling program by Ordinance 12-2021 to comply with the statewide SB 1383 organic waste mandate. 020(KK) defines "organic waste" broadly to include green material and landscape and pruning waste, meaning grass clippings, leaves, branches and other yard debris. 030 requires every single-family generator in the city to subscribe to the city's organic waste collection service and to sort materials at the curb: yard waste, food scraps and food-soiled paper go in the green container, recyclables go in the blue container, and everything else goes in the gray container.
040, plus container-labeling and employee-training rules. 090. 050. 110 to confirm generators are sorting correctly, though inspectors cannot enter the interior of a private residence.
Violations & Fines
Violations of Chapter 7.10 are enforced by the city code enforcement officer through an administrative citation and fine under Chapter 1.12 of the Sonoma Municipal Code. If prohibited materials, such as trash, show up in a green or blue container more than three times in a row, the city can assess contamination penalties on top of the notice of violation, which is typically delivered as a cart tag within 14 days of the finding.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to subscribe to organic waste collection in the City of Sonoma?
Can I compost my own yard waste instead of using the green container?
What happens if I put yard waste in the wrong container in Sonoma?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Sonoma
California rules heatmap·Compare Sonoma to another location·View the California trash & recycling overview
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Yard Waste Collection in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Sonoma County handle yard waste collection.