Weekly Collection Schedule
Official municipal pickup timing for Manhattan Beach
Trash Day
Varies by neighborhood zone (Monday through Friday)
Recycling
Same day as trash pickup (weekly)
Yard Waste
Same day as trash pickup (weekly)
Set Out Time
By 7:00 AM on collection day
Utility Billing & Payments
Manage your local solid waste services
Residential solid waste and recycling services are contracted through Waste Management (WM) and billed directly by WM rather than on your city water bill.
Billing Cycle
Monthly
Accepted Methods
Online, Auto-Pay, Phone, Mail
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
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.
Local Tips & Community Info
Waste Management Protocols for Manhattan Beach
Coastal preservation is at the heart of Manhattan Beach's community standards, which is why residential waste collection is strictly regulated. Waste Management (WM) acts as the exclusive hauler for all single-family homes and multi-family dwellings in the city. On your assigned collection morning, carts must be wheeled out to the curb or the edge of your alleyway no later than 7:30 a.m. To ensure the mechanical arms of the WM trucks can grasp the containers safely, residents must leave a minimum of two feet of clearance between each bin. Keep them well away from parked cars, utility poles, and fences. Once the trucks complete their route, municipal ordinances require homeowners to pull their empty containers out of the public right-of-way by the end of the day.
Strict Sorting: The Organics and Recycling Mandate
Living by the ocean means local environmental impacts are highly visible, prompting Manhattan Beach to enforce stringent sorting rules under state law SB 1383. Your green cart is dedicated entirely to organic waste, which includes all kitchen food scraps, coffee grounds, and yard trimmings. The blue cart is your recycling vessel for clean paper, flattened cardboard, glass, and rigid plastics. Importantly, Manhattan Beach has strict anti-plastic bag ordinances; you must never bag your recyclables, as film plastics jam the sorting facility's machinery. Everything else that cannot be composted or recycled, such as pet waste, diaper products, and styrofoam packaging, must be disposed of in the gray trash cart.
Free Bulky Item Pickups for Residents
Upgrading your coastal home often leaves you with old couches, broken patio furniture, or obsolete appliances that simply will not fit into a standard gray bin. Fortunately, Waste Management provides Manhattan Beach residents with an excellent bulky item collection program. Every household is entitled to three free pickup events per calendar year, and you can discard up to three large items per event. You must call WM customer service at least 48 hours prior to your normal trash day to get on the route schedule. Leaving items on the curb without a confirmed appointment is a violation of local municipal codes.
E-Waste and Household Hazardous Toxins
Protecting the Santa Monica Bay requires keeping toxic chemicals out of standard landfill loads. Items such as motor oil, leftover paint, harsh cleaning solvents, pool chemicals, and electronic waste must never be tossed into any of your three WM carts. Instead, Manhattan Beach residents are encouraged to use the Los Angeles County S.A.F.E. Collection Center located at the Hyperion Water Reclamation Plant in nearby Playa del Rey. This permanent facility accepts dangerous household fluids and electronics safely and at no cost to the resident.
Holiday Schedule Adjustments
Your regular weekly pickup will occasionally be delayed due to major holidays. Waste Management recognizes six primary holidays: New Year's Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day. If one of these holidays lands on a weekday, all neighborhood collections for the rest of that week are pushed back by exactly one day, with Friday pickups moving to Saturday. If the holiday falls on a weekend, your standard weekday schedule will proceed without any interruptions.
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
Who is responsible for residential garbage collection in Manhattan Beach?
Waste Management (WM) is the contracted solid waste, recycling, and organics hauler for all residential properties within the City of Manhattan Beach.
Are plastic grocery bags allowed in the blue recycling bin?
No. Plastic bags and film plastics are strictly prohibited in the blue recycling carts as they severely damage sorting equipment. Recyclables should be placed loosely in the bin.
How many times a year can I request a large item pickup?
Manhattan Beach households can request up to three free bulky item collections per calendar year, with a maximum of three items allowed per scheduled pickup.