Gray or Black Bin (Trash)
All bags and domestic waste must fit neatly inside the cart with the lid completely flat. Overflowing material or garbage stacked next to the bin will not be collected by automated arms.
Accepted Items
- ✓Unrecyclable snack bags and chip packaging
- ✓Plastic bags, bubble wrap, and structural film layers
- ✓Diapers, sanitary wipes, and bagged pet waste
- ✓Broken house glass, lightbulbs, and household ceramics
- ✓Extinguished and cooled charcoal briquettes or ashes
Blue Bin (Recycling)
Items must be dropped loose directly into the blue container without any plastic bag encapsulation. Rinsing out containers to keep them empty, clean, and dry prevents structural damage to recyclable paper loads.
Accepted Items
- ✓Clean glass bottles and jars
- ✓Aluminum soda cans and steel soup cans
- ✓Rigid plastic containers, jugs, and tubs labeled #1-#7
- ✓Flattened cardboard shipping boxes and clean paperboard
- ✓Newspapers, magazines, junk mail, and office paper catalogs
Do NOT Include
- ✕Loose plastic grocery sacks or heavy bubble wraps
- ✕Polystyrene (Styrofoam) packaging blocks or cups
- ✕Loose shredded paper fragments
- ✕Electronic components or household consumer batteries
- ✕Food-contaminated pizza boxes or greasy wax liners
Yard Waste Bin
Organic waste and yard prunings should be loaded loose into the green container. Do not pack items down tightly, as wedged organic material may fail to empty during automated truck dumping.
Accepted Items
- ✓Lawn clippings, fresh garden weeds, and landscape mulch
- ✓Dry autumn leaves, small twigs, and garden flowers
- ✓Tree limbs under 6 inches in diameter and under 4 feet long
- ✓Household food leftovers, fruit skin, and vegetable scraps
- ✓Meat scraps, bones, dairy cast-offs, and bread crusts
Bulky Item Pickup
Frequency
1 pickup per 12-month rolling period
Placement
Items must be positioned neatly at the street curb edge by 6:00 AM on your confirmed appointment date. Special materials like tires or appliances should be set to one side to facilitate separate recycling truck routing.
Accepted
- ✓ Oversized household furniture (mattresses, couches, tables)
- ✓ Major home appliances (doors removed or securely tied shut for safety)
- ✓ Electronic waste items (televisions, monitors, computers boxed neatly)
- ✓ Automotive passenger tires (maximum of 4 per appointment; rims OK)
- ✓ Clean lumber and tree limbs (maximum 4 inches wide and 5 feet long)
Not Accepted
- ✕ Commercial or business-generated debris
- ✕ Heavy construction items (concrete blocks, bricks, dirt, stones)
- ✕ Glass panels, mirrors, shower doors, or auto glass windows
- ✕ Household hazardous waste (paint cans, solvents, vehicle fluids)
- ✕ Treated wood materials (railroad ties, fence posts, decking beams)
The basic 5 cubic yards allocation corresponds to a pile measuring 8' x 4' x 4'. Residents can set out a maximum of 15 cubic yards per pickup, but volume exceeding the initial 5 cubic yards will incur extra fees.
Holiday Schedule
General Rule
Unlike most municipalities, Sacramento County's residential curbside collection service operates as normal on ALL calendar holidays. There is no holiday delay, meaning your carts must always be set out by 6:00 AM on your standard collection day, regardless of any major holiday observations.
Yard Waste Exception
Organic waste collection follows the exact same holiday timeline as standard residential trash, remaining entirely on schedule throughout the year.
While curbside collection trucks run on schedule, county administrative offices, customer service lines, and hazardous waste drop-off facilities are closed on major holidays.
Observed Holidays
!Contamination Tips
Batteries Ignite When Trucks Compress Trash
Never toss consumer batteries or electronics into your curbside carts or bulk piles. The mechanical compression inside SacGreenTeam collection trucks will crush or puncture batteries, causing severe fires.
Keep Flimsy Plastic Wraps Out of Blue Carts
Flimsy grocery sacks, shrink wrap, and plastic bags wrap tightly around the rotating sorting wheels at the processing station, stalling the line. Drop recyclables in completely loose.
Drown and Cool Used Celebration Fireworks
Before discarding spent or dud fireworks and barbecue coals, you must submerge them in a bucket of water overnight to extinguish all lingering embers. Seal the cooled waste in a bag before tossing it into the gray trash bin.
Seasonal Information
Post-Holiday Tree Recycling
December to JanuarySacramento County hosts free self-serve holiday tree drop-off days in early January at regional stations like NARS and Kiefer Landfill. Residents must strip away all tinsel, stands, lights, and ornaments. Flocked trees are excluded from compost lines.
Self-Serve Community Compost
March to OctoberOrangevale residents can access the county's free Self-Serve Compost Program between mid-March and late October. This rich gardening mulch is crafted directly from the organic green waste collected from local curbside accounts.
Summer Organic Pest Control
June to SeptemberHigh Central Valley summer temperatures accelerate decomposition, causing odors in the green organics bin. Layer food remnants beneath a protective blanket of dry lawn clippings or leaves, and keep container lids tightly sealed.
About Orangevale Waste Management
Orangevale's Unincorporated Residential Waste Framework
As a vibrant unincorporated community within Sacramento County, Orangevale's solid waste, recycling, and organic programs are fully managed by the county's Department of Waste Management and Recycling, widely known as the SacGreenTeam. Rather than using a city-specific department, local properties participate in a comprehensive countywide infrastructure engineered to optimize landfill diversion rates. Curbside routes operate seamlessly through single-family residential neighborhoods, adhering strictly to uniform state environmental requirements and local community standard directives.
Understanding the Standardized Three-Bin Separation System
Orangevale neighborhoods follow California's standardized collection stream system, utilizing rolling carts to segregate materials at the curb. The garbage cart handles standard unrecyclable domestic refuse, while the blue container collects loose, dry recyclables. The green cart functions as the organics collection point. Under county regulations, trash and organic containers are emptied every week, whereas the blue recycling container operates on an alternating bi-weekly (every-other-week) schedule.
Automated Cart Placement Requirements and Neighborhood Courtesy
To ensure reliable automated collection loops, Orangevale residents must place their rolling containers at the roadside curb no later than 6:00 AM on their designated collection day. Carts must be oriented with lids opening toward the street and wheels pushed tightly against the curb edge. Maintaining a strict spacing layout—including at least six feet of clearance from obstacles like parked cars, neighborhood mailboxes, and low tree branches—is mandatory for the safe operation of mechanical truck arms.
State Senate Bill 1383 Compliance for Organic Disposals
In direct compliance with California's SB 1383 mandate, organic waste diversion is fully enforced across Orangevale. The green cart is designated for organic material and accepts daily household food items alongside traditional lawn prunings and dry leaves. Kitchen scraps, leftover meats, bones, vegetable peelings, and coffee grounds must be deposited in this bin rather than hidden in the standard trash, ensuring materials can be safely processed into nutrient-rich regional landscape compost.
Drop-off Facilities
North Area Recovery Station (NARS)
4450 Roseville Rd, North Highlands, CA 95660
Materials Accepted
Kiefer Landfill
12701 Kiefer Blvd, Sloughhouse, CA 95683
Materials Accepted
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I request an appointment for a bulky waste collection in Orangevale?
Orangevale residents can schedule their annual free bulky waste collection in three ways: by calling the county customer service line at 916-875-5555, by filling out the online request form via the official county utilities portal, or by downloading the free SacGreenTeam mobile application.
Where can I safely discard home hazardous waste like paint, cleaners, and automotive oil?
Hazardous home chemicals are strictly banned from all curbside rolling carts. Residents can drop off these materials for free at the North Area Recovery Station (NARS) HHW facility on Roseville Road (open Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday) or bring select items like oil and antifreeze to the Kiefer Landfill ABOP facility.
What is the 'Lid Flipper' program in Sacramento County?
The county conducts random route reviews, known as the Lid Flipper program, where sanitation staff visually inspect the contents of curbside carts. This program provides direct feedback and educational resources to residents to help ensure proper recycling sorting and minimize landfill contamination.
How can I obtain a replacement or fix a damaged collection cart?
If your automated rolling container suffers from a missing lid, split base, or broken wheel, you can arrange a free repair or exchange. Residents can log a service request by dialing 311 (or 916-875-4311), sending an email to [email protected], or filling out the container repair form online.