Gray Bin (Trash)
All refuse must be securely bagged and fit loosely within the gray container with the lid closed flat. Piling additional loose garbage sacks alongside automated tracks is prohibited.
Accepted Items
- ✓Flimsy plastic grocery bags and dry stretch film wraps
- ✓Polystyrene foam packaging blocks and packing peanuts
- ✓Diapers, personal sanitary wipes, and pet waste bags
- ✓Broken ceramics, incandescent bulbs, and window shards
- ✓Multi-material consumer trash and worn textiles
Blue Bin (Recycling)
Recyclables must be dropped loose directly into the blue container without any plastic bag encapsulation. Rinsing out liquids preserves the market value of neighboring clean paper sheets.
Accepted Items
- ✓Rigid plastics marked exclusively with #1, #2, and #5 labels
- ✓Clean aluminum soda cans and empty tin soup cans
- ✓Glass bottles and food jars (clear or tinted variations)
- ✓Flattened dry corrugated cardboard shipping boxes
- ✓Newspapers, magazines, flyers, and white paper products
Do NOT Include
- ✕Plastics stamped #3, #4, #6, and #7
- ✕Flimsy plastic grocery sacks or bundle wrappers
- ✕Food-stained pizza boxes or greasy grease sheets
- ✕Household electronics or consumer alkaline batteries
- ✕Textiles, clothes, towels, or old household rags
Yard Waste Bin
Organics and kitchen remnants must be mixed completely loose within the green cart. Enclosing compostable fractions in plastic or biodegradable plastic bags is strictly barred.
Accepted Items
- ✓Fresh grass clippings and organic lawn thatch
- ✓Dry garden leaves, shrub prunings, and weeds
- ✓Tree limbs under 3 inches thick and 4 feet long
- ✓Raw or cooked kitchen food scraps (meat, bones, dairy)
- ✓Food-soiled napkins, paper towels, and greasy pizza boxes
Bulky Item Pickup
Frequency
3 pickups per calendar year (3 items per pickup)
Placement
Oversized bulk items must be staged neatly at the street curb edge only on your confirmed service day. Glass mirrors or tabletops must be taped thoroughly to prevent shattering.
Accepted
- ✓ Large home furniture (sofas, armchairs, tables)
- ✓ Major household appliances (refrigerators, washers, dryers)
- ✓ Mattresses and matching box springs
- ✓ Consumer electronic waste (televisions, old monitors, computers)
- ✓ Artificial Christmas trees and bundled wood scrap lengths
Not Accepted
- ✕ Household hazardous chemicals, paints, and vehicle fluids
- ✕ Spas, hot tubs, heavy camper shells, or cast-iron bathtubs
- ✕ Loose unbundled renovation demolition bricks or concrete pieces
- ✕ Any individual object exceeding 150 lbs or 8 feet in length
Once your three free annual collection allocations are exhausted, extra bulk collections or heavy cleanouts must be coordinated for an additional service charge.
Holiday Schedule
General Rule
When an observed holiday falls squarely on a scheduled weekday, residential collection routes for the holiday and all remaining service days for that week shift back exactly one business day. Normal Friday services are completed on Saturday.
Yard Waste Exception
Green organic waste collections follow the identical holiday schedule delay structure implemented for regular trash and blue bin recycling.
If a major calendar holiday falls on a Saturday or Sunday, regular Monday through Friday neighborhood collection routes remain completely unaffected.
Observed Holidays
!Contamination Tips
Filter Prohibited Plastics from Blue Carts
Manhattan Beach strictly bans plastics #3, #4, #6, and #7 from the recycling cart. Utensils, plastic film, and Styrofoam must be directed straight into the gray landfill cart to prevent facility contamination.
Keep Plastic Out of Green Composting Carts
Never bundle organic food items inside plastic or compostable/biodegradable grocery bags. They do not break down at commercial composting centers and will contaminate the local mulch batch.
Isolate Invasive Flora Elements
Do not throw palm fronds, yucca leaves, ice plant, sod, or large stumps into the green organics bin. Their stringy fiber builds up and stalls municipal grinders; place them in the gray bin instead.
Seasonal Information
Post-Holiday Tree Recycling Loop
December to JanuaryNatural Christmas trees are collected curbside from December 26 through mid-January. Residents must strip away all tinsel, stands, lights, and ornaments. Trees exceeding 7 feet must be cut in half. Flocked trees are handled separately and cannot be mulched.
Post-Holiday Overflow Windows
December to JanuaryDuring the designated post-Christmas window, the city temporarily allows residents to place additional paper bags of trash, recycling, or green organics directly next to full carts on their regular service morning without incurring extra fees.
Summer Heat Marine Odor Mitigation
June to SeptemberHigh ocean-breeze humidity combined with summer heat speeds up kitchen waste decomposition in green carts. Layer raw plate scraps underneath a dry blanket of lawn clippings or old newspaper to minimize flies and odors.
About Manhattan Beach Waste Management
Manhattan Beach's Coastal Eco-Vision and Waste Partnership
The City of Manhattan Beach maintains a clean coastal environment through its exclusive municipal franchise agreement with Waste Management (WM). Operating under strict ocean-safe protocols, residential sanitation routines are integrated with local street sweeping loops to prevent loose litter from draining into Santa Monica Bay. Single-family homes receive synchronized automated curbside services designed to achieve California's aggressive landfill diversion standards while respecting the architectural tight lines of dense beachside neighborhoods.
Navigating the Three-Stream Cart Framework
Every standard household account in the city utilizes a precise three-container separation framework. Individual single-family billing tiers are directly scaled based on the volume and size of the primary gray trash container, whereas the blue recycling and green organics barrels are provided at no extra cost. All three rolling carts are serviced on the exact same neighborhood day each week, forcing source-separation to occur before collection trucks arrive at the curb.
Strict Set-Out Regulations and Neighborhood Courtesy
Automated collection systems depend entirely on precise street cart configurations. Bins must be rolled out by 7:30 AM on collection morning to ensure route coverage and deter illegal scavenging. Carts must sit on level pavement facing the roadway with the wheels tucked tightly flush against the curb line, allowing a critical boundary radius around surrounding property fixtures, utility boxes, and parked vehicles so hydraulic arms can empty them safely.
Innovative Doorstep Hazardous Waste Elimination
To eliminate the logistical burden of transporting toxic materials to regional county yards, Manhattan Beach integrates the specialized 'At Your Door Special Collection' benefit into standard baseline rates. Single-family residential account holders can book unlimited scheduled doorstep collections for difficult items like unused paint cans, old solvents, automotive kits, and electronics. Technicians deliver specialized containment bags directly to the home, ensuring clean residential storage and secure extraction.
Drop-off Facilities
Hyperion Treatment Plant S.A.F.E. Center
7660 West Imperial Highway, Gate B, Playa Del Rey, CA 90293
Materials Accepted
Manhattan Beach City Hall Lobby (Drop-off Kiosk)
1400 Highland Ave, Manhattan Beach, CA 90266
Materials Accepted
Frequently Asked Questions
How do Manhattan Beach residents schedule a free bulky waste pickup?
Residents can schedule their three annual free bulk appointments by calling Waste Management directly at 310-830-7100 or managing requests via the online portal dashboard at My WM. Items must be curbside by 7:30 AM on the confirmed pickup morning.
What is the proper way to recycle household batteries in the city?
Batteries cannot go into curbside bins. Residents can either schedule a free home doorstep collection via the WM 'At Your Door' program (800-449-7587) or drop them into specialized cylindrical collection containers located inside the lobbies of City Hall, the Fire Department, or Public Works Administration.
How can I safely discard medical sharps and syringes?
Sharps must never be thrown into trash or recycling bins. Manhattan Beach residents can call Waste Management at 310-830-7100 to request a free 'Mail-Back Sharps Kit.' The kit includes a puncture-resistant container and a pre-paid mail-back box to return full sharps safely through the US Mail.
What are the specific plastic recycling limitations in Manhattan Beach?
Due to strict regional sorting rules, only rigid plastics stamped with a #1, #2, or #5 symbol are accepted inside the blue curbside recycling container. All other plastics, including grocery sacks (#4) and Styrofoam (#6), must be tossed into the gray trash bin.