Black/gray (standard refuse cart) Bin (Trash)
Place out the night before or by 5:00 AM on your collection day; do not overload the container or place bulky/heavy items (concrete, large tree limbs, appliances, construction waste) inside it; lid must close fully for the truck's lift to operate.
Accepted Items
- ✓Household garbage
- ✓Non-recyclable packaging
- ✓Broken household items
Blue Bin (Recycling)
CRV containers can still be redeemed at buyback centers, but all other listed materials should go loose into the blue cart; use the Tule Trash app's Waste Wizard to confirm uncertain items.
Accepted Items
- ✓Newspapers
- ✓Cardboard
- ✓Junk mail
- ✓Glass
- ✓Tin cans (washed)
- ✓CRV beverage containers
Do NOT Include
- ✕Food waste
- ✕Yard waste
- ✕Construction debris
- ✕Plastic bags
- ✕Hazardous materials
Yard Waste Bin
Yard waste and food waste must go in the green organics cart rather than the trash cart, per California SB 1383's mandatory organics diversion law that took effect January 1, 2022.
Accepted Items
- ✓Grass clippings
- ✓Yard trimmings
- ✓Food scraps (as of SB 1383 implementation)
Bulky Item Pickup
Frequency
Not offered as a standard included service; handled as a special arrangement
Placement
Contact Tule Trash Company directly at 1-800-543-0223 to arrange special collection service for oversized or excess waste; do not place these materials in your regular carts.
Accepted
- ✓ Furniture
- ✓ Appliances
- ✓ Construction and demolition debris (via special arrangement)
- ✓ Bricks, plaster, concrete (via special arrangement)
Not Accepted
- ✕ Hazardous waste
- ✕ Items placed directly in standard trash/recycling/organics carts
Special services for bulky or excess waste are arranged and billed separately from standard residential refuse service; contact Tule Trash or the city's Finance Department for current special-service rates.
Holiday Schedule
General Rule
When Tule Trash observes a holiday, routes for the remainder of that week run one day later than usual (for example, a Friday route becomes a Saturday pickup).
Yard Waste Exception
No separate exception is published for the organics/yard waste cart; the one-day delay applies to all three carts (trash, recycling, and organics) together during an affected week.
Residents can download the Tule Trash app for automatic holiday-week reminders, since the exact delayed day can vary depending on which day of the week the holiday falls.
Observed Holidays
!Contamination Tips
Half-Empty Cans Slow Down the Whole Route
Corcoran's guidelines specifically ask residents not to set out a container that's less than half full. Waiting an extra day to consolidate your trash, recycling, or organics helps keep collection routes efficient across the city's residential grid.
Construction Debris Doesn't Belong in Any of the Three Carts
Concrete chunks, bricks, plaster, and large tree limbs can jam a truck's lift mechanism and are explicitly barred from all three residential containers. These materials fall under the city's separate 'Special Services' provision and need to be arranged directly with Tule Trash.
Rinse Cans Before Recycling to Avoid Cross-Contamination
Tin cans should be washed before going in the blue cart — food residue left inside can attract pests and contaminate the rest of the load, especially during Corcoran's hot Central Valley summers when odors and pests develop quickly.
Seasonal Information
Summer Heat and Valley Fog Contrast
June–SeptemberCorcoran's Central Valley summers regularly climb into the triple digits, and food waste or organics left in an open or overloaded container can turn odorous and attract flies within hours. Keeping container lids fully closed — a rule the city calls out specifically — matters even more during this stretch than in cooler months.
Tule Fog Season
November–FebruaryThe Central Valley's notorious tule fog can roll in thick enough to slow traffic and delay routes some mornings; residents whose collection sits early on a foggy morning are encouraged to set containers out the night before, exactly as the city's helpful tips recommend, rather than waiting until the 5:00 AM cutoff.
Holiday Week Adjustments
Late November, December, and Early JanuaryCollection shifts around Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Day pushes routes back, and the Tule Trash app is built specifically to send updated reminders during these weeks so residents don't miss a delayed pickup.
About Corcoran Waste Management
A Small Central Valley City Running Its Own Franchise Contract
Corcoran sits in the middle of Kings County's farmland, and its trash service reflects that small-town scale: the city directly franchises a single local hauler, Tule Trash Company, rather than dealing with one of the national conglomerates that service larger California cities. That local relationship shows up in details you won't find in bigger municipalities — a five-year franchise agreement posted right on the city's website, a direct phone line to a regional hauler instead of a call center, and refuse rates set through City Hall's own Finance Department rather than a corporate rate schedule.
Why Corcoran's Curb Rules Are Stricter Than the State Average
Corcoran's placement instructions go further than a generic 'put it at the curb' notice. Containers need at least six feet of clearance from any obstruction — cars, boats, or otherwise — so the automated arm on Tule Trash's collection trucks can lift the container cleanly. Cans that are less than half full aren't supposed to go out at all, a detail aimed at keeping routes efficient across the city's spread-out residential blocks. And unlike cities that still allow rear-alley service, Corcoran eliminated alley collection back on July 1, 2005, meaning every household needs curb access regardless of how the property was originally built.
The Tule Trash App Replaces a City Hotline for Day-to-Day Questions
Rather than routing residents through city staff for routine questions, Corcoran points households directly to the Tule Trash smartphone app. It handles the two things residents call about most: a built-in 'Waste Wizard' that tells you which of the three carts a specific item belongs in, and automatic collection-day reminders that adjust themselves whenever a holiday pushes the schedule back — useful in a farming community where trash day can otherwise be easy to lose track of.
SB 1383's Three-Cart Mandate Arrived Later in Corcoran Than in Coastal Cities
California's organics law technically took effect statewide on January 1, 2022, but smaller Central Valley jurisdictions like Corcoran rolled out their three-cart systems — trash, recycling, and organics — on a delayed track compared to larger coastal cities. The city's own SB 1383 page frames this plainly as a Greenhouse Gas Reduction law with real financial consequences: jurisdictions that don't comply face state fines, which is why Corcoran now requires yard waste and food scraps to go in the organics cart instead of regular trash.
Special Services for Waste Too Big for a Standard Container
Corcoran's municipal code carves out a specific category called 'Special Services' for solid waste that exceeds what a normal residential cart can hold — construction debris, concrete, bricks, plaster, and similar bulk materials. Rather than being folded into standard weekly pickup, this waste is handled through a separate arrangement directly between the resident and the city's franchised hauler, which keeps Corcoran's regular collection routes moving efficiently for everyday household trash.
Drop-off Facilities
Corcoran City Hall (Finance Department – Utility Billing & Refuse Rates)
832 Whitley Avenue, Corcoran, CA 93212
Materials Accepted
Tule Trash Company (Franchised Hauler Contact)
Service inquiries via phone; see tuletrash.com for facility locations
Materials Accepted
Frequently Asked Questions
Why can't I put a half-full trash can out on my Corcoran pickup day?
The city specifically asks residents not to set out containers that are less than half full. This keeps collection routes efficient across Corcoran's neighborhoods and reduces unnecessary truck stops for minimal amounts of waste.
What happens to bulky items like an old couch or broken appliance in Corcoran?
These don't go in your regular carts. Bulky and oversized materials fall under the city's 'Special Services' provision, which requires contacting Tule Trash Company directly at 1-800-543-0223 to arrange separate collection, typically for an additional fee.
Does Corcoran still offer alley trash pickup for older homes?
No. The city eliminated alley collection service as of July 1, 2005. All residential refuse, recycling, and organics containers now need to be accessible from the street for pickup.
How do I know which cart my recycling or food scraps go in for Corcoran's three-cart system?
Tule Trash's free smartphone app includes a 'Waste Wizard' tool that tells you exactly which of the three carts — trash, blue recycling, or green organics — a specific item belongs in, which is useful since SB 1383 now requires food scraps to go in the organics cart rather than the trash.