Gray (35-gallon or 95-gallon "toter") Bin (Trash)
Trash must be placed completely inside the gray toter. Set out by 7:00 a.m. on collection day, but no earlier than sunset the night before.
Accepted Items
- ✓Diapers and pet waste
- ✓Styrofoam and packing peanuts
- ✓Non-recyclable plastics
- ✓Flocked Christmas trees
- ✓Broken ceramics and mirrors
Blue (64-gallon "toter") Bin (Recycling)
Items must be rinsed out, completely dry, and tossed loosely into the blue cart. Never bag your recyclables.
Accepted Items
- ✓Clean cardboard and paperboard
- ✓Glass bottles and jars
- ✓Aluminum and tin cans
- ✓Plastics #1 through #7
- ✓Junk mail and catalogs
Do NOT Include
- ✕Plastic bags or film wrap
- ✕Food-soiled paper or pizza boxes
- ✕Electronic waste
- ✕Styrofoam
Yard Waste Bin
Do not use plastic bags. Place all organic materials, including food scraps and yard debris, directly into the green toter. Residents are provided up to three commingled green carts.
Accepted Items
- ✓Grass clippings and leaves
- ✓Tree trimmings and small branches
- ✓Food scraps (fruits, veggies, meat, dairy)
- ✓Food-soiled paper
Bulky Item Pickup
Frequency
Available on an on-call basis (fee applies).
Placement
Schedule your pickup with EDCO prior to setting items out. Place approved items at the curb by 7:00 a.m. on your scheduled pickup day.
Accepted
- ✓ Furniture (couches, tables, chairs)
- ✓ Mattresses and box springs
- ✓ Major appliances
- ✓ Large household items
Not Accepted
- ✕ Household hazardous waste (paint, oil)
- ✕ Electronic waste (TVs, computers)
- ✕ Construction and demolition debris
- ✕ Dirt, rock, or concrete
A fee applies for each item. The standard bulky item rate is approximately $20.42 per item. Items requiring freon extraction (like refrigerators or AC units) carry a surcharge, costing approximately $61.36 per item.
Holiday Schedule
General Rule
If an observed holiday falls on a weekday, residential collection will be delayed by one day for the remainder of the week.
Yard Waste Exception
The one-day holiday delay applies equally to all carts: trash, recycling, and organics.
If a holiday falls on a Saturday or Sunday, there is no service delay and your regular pickup schedule remains unchanged.
Observed Holidays
!Contamination Tips
Keep Tanglers Out of the Blue Bin
Items like garden hoses, holiday lights, and electrical cords are known as 'tanglers' because they wrap around and jam the gears at the EDCO recycling sorting facility. Put them in the gray trash toter.
Flocked Trees Cannot Be Composted
If you purchase a Christmas tree sprayed with artificial snow (flocking), it cannot go into the green organics toter. The chemicals will contaminate the anaerobic digestion process, so flocked trees must be cut up and placed in the gray trash toter.
No Plastic Bags in the Green Cart
When scraping kitchen food waste into your green toter, do not enclose it in plastic grocery bags or standard trash bags. The Anaerobic Digestion facility cannot process plastic, which will contaminate the entire load.
Seasonal Information
Winter
December - JanuaryEDCO provides curbside holiday tree recycling for two weeks immediately following Christmas Day [1.2.4]. Remove all lights, stands, and tinsel, and cut trees over 4 feet in half. Place the tree inside your green waste cart with the lid closed. After the two-week period, you must cut and bundle your tree with twine.
Spring
March - MayDuring spring cleaning, remember that you can take advantage of the permanent HHW facility on Crosthwaite Circle every Saturday from 9am to 3pm to dispose of old paint, cleaners, and e-waste without an appointment.
Autumn
September - NovemberDuring heavy fall trimming, remember that Poway residents can request up to two additional green waste toters at no extra charge from EDCO to accommodate extra leaves and yard clippings.
About Poway Waste Management
Bimonthly Billing and New Resident Perks
In the City of Poway, standard residential waste collection is billed bimonthly by EDCO Disposal. A highly unique feature of their program is the New Move-In Cardboard service. If you recently moved to Poway, EDCO offers a one-time courtesy pickup for large quantities of broken-down moving boxes, designed to coincide with your first day of standard curbside service.
Anaerobic Digestion for Organic Waste
Poway partners with EDCO to aggressively combat climate change under the SB 1383 mandate. All your kitchen food scraps and yard clippings collected in the green toter are transported to EDCO's state-of-the-art Anaerobic Digestion Facility in nearby Escondido. Here, the organic material is broken down without oxygen to produce both renewable natural gas—which fuels the collection trucks—and nutrient-rich anaerobic compost.
Strict Tote Placement Guidelines
To maintain the beauty of Poway's residential neighborhoods, the city strictly enforces its Municipal Code (Section 8.68.145) regarding cart placement. Residents must not set out their gray, blue, or green toters any earlier than sunset on the day prior to collection. Carts must be ready by 7:00 a.m. on your designated service day and removed from the curb no later than midnight that evening.
Convenient Weekly HHW and E-Waste Facility
Disposing of hazardous materials is exceptionally easy for Poway residents. Unlike many Southern California cities that rely on infrequent, pop-up collection events, Poway hosts a permanent Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) Collection Center on Crosthwaite Circle. Open every Saturday without an appointment, residents can safely drop off paints, pool chemicals, used oil, and electronic waste completely free of charge.
Drop-off Facilities
Poway Household Hazardous Waste Collection Facility
12325 Crosthwaite Circle, Poway, CA 92064
Materials Accepted
EDCO Recycling & Transfer Collection Center
224 S. Las Posas Rd., San Marcos, CA 92078
Materials Accepted
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I cancel my trash service if I don't produce much waste in Poway?
Weekly trash and recycling collection is a City Code requirement for health and safety reasons. However, if you can prove you have a legitimate disposal alternative for both your trash and recyclables, you can apply for an annual exemption by contacting the Poway Public Works Department.
Does Poway offer free bulky item pickups for old furniture?
No, free bulky item pickups are not included in the standard residential rates. Poway residents can schedule a special on-call bulky item pickup with EDCO, but it carries a fee of approximately $20.42 per standard item, and around $61.36 for appliances containing freon.
Where can I safely dispose of an old TV or computer in Poway?
Electronic waste should never go in your gray or blue toters. Poway residents can drop off e-waste, along with other household hazardous waste like paint and batteries, for free at the Poway HHW Facility located at 12325 Crosthwaite Circle every Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
What should I do with my moving boxes when I first move into my Poway home?
EDCO offers a one-time courtesy pickup of large quantities of broken-down cardboard moving boxes for new move-in customers. You must call EDCO at 858-748-7769 to arrange this service, which typically coincides with your very first day of collection.