Gray Bin (Trash)
Place your gray cart at the curb by 6:00 a.m. on your collection day. Carts should be placed side-by-side with at least a few feet of clearance from each other, vehicles, and mailboxes. Lids must be fully closed.
Accepted Items
- ✓Styrofoam (expanded polystyrene)
- ✓Single-use plastic bags and wrap
- ✓Pet waste and cat litter
- ✓Diapers and sanitary products
- ✓Ceramics and non-recyclable glass
- ✓Snack wrappers and chip bags
Blue Bin (Recycling)
All recyclables must be placed loosely in the blue cart. Never bag your recyclables. Containers should be empty and lightly rinsed to remove heavy food residue.
Accepted Items
- ✓Plastics #1 through #7 (bottles, jugs, and tubs)
- ✓Clean paper, newspaper, and junk mail
- ✓Flattened cardboard (cut to 3ft x 3ft or smaller)
- ✓Glass bottles and jars (all colors, lids removed)
- ✓Aluminum and tin cans
- ✓Aseptic cartons (milk cartons and juice boxes)
Do NOT Include
- ✕Plastic bags or film
- ✕Food waste or liquids
- ✕Expanded Polystyrene (Styrofoam)
- ✕Ceramics or drinking glasses
- ✕Hazardous waste or electronics
Yard Waste Bin
Place organics loosely in the green cart. Do not use plastic bags to line your kitchen compost pail; use newspaper or an uncoated paper bag instead.
Accepted Items
- ✓Grass clippings, leaves, and weeds
- ✓Small tree branches and prunings
- ✓Meat, fish, poultry, and dairy
- ✓Fruits, vegetables, and coffee grounds
- ✓Food-soiled paper (pizza boxes, uncoated paper plates, napkins)
Bulky Item Pickup
Frequency
Two free collections per calendar year
Placement
You must call to schedule your bulky item pickup. Once confirmed, place the items at the curb by 6:00 a.m. on the scheduled day. If you need to cancel, you must notify them at least one business day prior to avoid forfeiting your free pickup.
Accepted
- ✓ Furniture (sofas, chairs, tables)
- ✓ Mattresses and box springs
- ✓ Large household appliances
- ✓ Scrap metal
- ✓ Large yard debris (bundled)
Not Accepted
- ✕ Automotive parts or motor vehicles
- ✕ Tires
- ✕ Large tree stumps or limbs
- ✕ Construction and demolition debris
- ✕ Items longer than 6 feet or over 200 pounds
- ✕ Hazardous waste
The first two bulky pickups are free for current residential account holders. Unused bulky item collections do not roll over to the next year. Exceeding your limit will incur a fee.
Holiday Schedule
General Rule
As of recent updates, Recology South Valley provides regular service on Thanksgiving Day. Services are only disrupted on Christmas Day and New Year's Day. If your normal collection day falls on or after one of these two holidays, your pickup will be delayed by one day for the rest of the week.
Yard Waste Exception
This holiday schedule adjustment applies to all three collection streams: trash, recycling, and organics.
If a holiday falls on a Saturday or Sunday, there is no change to the regular weekday pickup schedule.
Observed Holidays
!Contamination Tips
Keep the Blue Cart Bag-Free
Never bag your recyclables in standard plastic trash bags, and do not put loose plastic grocery bags in the blue cart. Plastic film wraps around the gears at the sorting facility, causing major equipment failures.
Styrofoam is Strictly Garbage
Expanded polystyrene (commonly known as Styrofoam) packaging blocks and packing peanuts cannot be recycled in your blue cart. They must always be placed directly into the gray landfill cart.
Pizza Boxes Belong in the Green Cart
While clean cardboard is highly recyclable, cardboard soaked in grease and cheese is ruined for the paper recycling process. Always throw greasy pizza boxes and food-soiled paper napkins into the green organics cart.
Seasonal Information
Summer
June to SeptemberTo reduce odors and prevent pests in your green organics cart during the hot summer months, try keeping your meat and dairy food scraps in a container in the freezer until the night before your scheduled collection day.
Fall
October to DecemberDuring heavy yard work in the fall, remember that yard waste overages can be collected if bundled securely. Recology allows up to 7 bundles or 32-gallon customer-owned cans of extra yard waste per week.
About Gilroy Waste Management
Exclusive Franchise with Recology South Valley
The City of Gilroy maintains an exclusive franchise agreement with Recology South Valley to manage all residential and commercial solid waste. The city operates on a three-cart system, providing households with a gray cart for landfill trash, a blue cart for single-stream recyclables, and a green cart for organics. This streamlined approach allows residents to effortlessly separate waste at the curb, supporting local and state environmental targets while keeping the Garlic Capital of the World clean.
Strict Compliance with SB 1383 Organics Mandate
In order to meet California’s SB 1383 goals, Gilroy residents are required to place all food scraps, food-soiled paper, and yard trimmings directly into the green organics cart. Recology transports these organic materials to the local South Valley Organics facility right in Gilroy. Over a 12-week period, this facility converts roughly 40,000 tons of local yard trimmings and food waste into a rich, dark soil amendment known as Recology Compost, returning valuable nutrients back to the region's agricultural lands.
Curbside Motor Oil Collection Program
Improper disposal of automotive fluids is incredibly dangerous to Santa Clara County's waterways. To make safe disposal as easy as possible, Recology South Valley offers free curbside collection of used motor oil and oil filters. Residents must simply call customer service to request specialized one-gallon oil jugs and filter bags. Once filled, these specific containers can be placed alongside your recycling cart on your normal collection day for safe handling.
Managing Household Hazardous and Electronic Waste
For hazardous materials like old paint, pesticides, household cleaners, and electronic waste, residents must utilize the Santa Clara County Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) program. Gilroy residents can schedule a free drop-off appointment online or over the phone to safely dispose of these toxic materials. Additionally, certain local retailers and specialized recycling centers on Automall Parkway and Camino Arroyo accept various e-waste items year-round.
Drop-off Facilities
San Martin Transfer Station
14070 Llagas Avenue, San Martin, CA 95046
Materials Accepted
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Recology pick up trash on Thanksgiving in Gilroy?
Yes. Recology South Valley now provides regular collection service on Thanksgiving Day. The only holidays that cause a one-day delay in your service schedule are Christmas Day and New Year's Day.
How do I recycle old motor oil and filters?
Recology South Valley offers a free curbside collection program for used motor oil. You must call their customer service line to request specialized one-gallon oil jugs and filter bags, which you can then set out next to your blue cart on collection day.
Can I throw food waste in my regular gray garbage cart?
No. Due to California's SB 1383 mandate, all Gilroy residents must separate food scraps, including meat and dairy, and place them into the green organics cart so they can be composted into soil amendment.
Where can I drop off extra cardboard boxes if my recycling cart is full?
If you have an excessive amount of flattened cardboard or other clean recyclables, you can drop them off for free at the San Martin Transfer Station on Llagas Avenue, which is open Tuesday through Saturday.