Black Bin (Trash)
All household garbage should be secured in bags before placing it in the black cart. Bins must be rolled curbside by 6:00 AM on scheduled collection mornings with lids completely closed.
Accepted Items
- ✓Single-use plastic bags, wraps, films, and black plastic packaging
- ✓Polystyrene and Styrofoam packaging blocks, cups, and trays
- ✓Disposable baby diapers and sanitary wipes
- ✓Mylar snack wrappers, chip bags, and juice pouches
- ✓Broken window glass, mirrors, and home ceramics
- ✓Bagged pet waste and kitty litter
Blue Bin (Recycling)
Do not bag recyclables; place all items completely loose, empty, rinsed, and dry inside the blue container.
Accepted Items
- ✓Clean, flattened cardboard and paperboard packaging
- ✓Mixed office paper, junk mail, catalogs, and newspapers
- ✓Glass bottles and jars (emptied and rinsed)
- ✓Aluminum and steel beverage or food cans
- ✓Rigid plastics marked with recycling symbols #1 through #7
Do NOT Include
- ✕Loose plastic shopping bags or film wraps
- ✕Styrofoam blocks or food packaging
- ✕Garden hoses, extension cords, or wire hangers (tanglers)
- ✕Heavily soiled cardboard or greasy pizza boxes
- ✕Alkaline or rechargeable batteries
Yard Waste Bin
Keep organic materials loose in the green cart. No plastic bags of any kind, dirt, rocks, concrete, animal feces, or treated wood are allowed in this cart.
Accepted Items
- ✓Kitchen food scraps (raw/cooked meat, bones, dairy, fruits, vegetables)
- ✓Food-soiled paper towels, napkins, and greasy pizza boxes
- ✓Grass clippings, tree leaves, weeds, and garden flowers
- ✓Prunings and brush branches under 4 inches in diameter
Bulky Item Pickup
Frequency
2 free curbside collections per calendar year
Placement
Place your scheduled bulk items at your curbside by 6:00 AM on your pre-arranged collection day, clear of sidewalks and vehicles.
Accepted
- ✓ Up to 2 cubic yards of bagged or boxed solid waste (approx. 12 garbage bags, under 60 lbs)
- ✓ One major home appliance (washing machine, dryer, refrigerator)
- ✓ One bulky furniture item (mattress set, couch, up to 4 rimless tires)
- ✓ One electronic waste item (computer monitor, television, microwave)
Not Accepted
- ✕ Liquids, chemicals, and hazardous waste
- ✕ Dirt, sand, rocks, sod, and concrete
- ✕ Any individual item exceeding 5 feet in length
The two annual curbside bulk pickups are free. Pickups exceeding these allocations or involving oversized commercial items can be scheduled for an additional fee.
Holiday Schedule
General Rule
Recology San Mateo County operates normal collection schedules on almost all federal holidays throughout the year. The only exceptions are Christmas Day and New Year's Day. If your scheduled collection day falls on one of these two holidays, your pickup is delayed by exactly one day for the remainder of that holiday week.
Yard Waste Exception
All trash, recycling, and organic collection schedules follow the same holiday adjustment.
If Christmas Day or New Year's Day falls on a Saturday or Sunday, there is no change to standard weekday collection routes.
Observed Holidays
!Contamination Tips
Keep Plastic Film Out of the Blue Recycling Cart
Never toss loose plastic bags, bubble wrap, or stretch film into your blue cart. These soft materials wind tightly around the mechanical sorting rollers at processing centers, halting processing lines.
Pizza Boxes Go Green, Not Blue
Cardboard pizza boxes that are stained with food grease, oils, or leftover cheese cannot be processed as clean paper. Always place food-soiled pizza boxes directly in your green organics cart to compost them cleanly.
Never Include Pet Feces in Organics
Do not put cat litter, dog feces, or animal droppings in the green organics container. Pet waste contains harmful bacteria that survive standard commercial composting temperatures, ruining the safety of municipal soil output.
Seasonal Information
Stormwater Guarding and Leaf Control
October - DecemberSan Carlos' mature tree canopy produces heavy leaf fall in autumn. Sweep loose leaves directly into your green organics cart. Never blow or pile leaves into street gutters or adopt a storm drain to help clear neighborhood grates, as loose foliage blocks storm sewer drains and causes local street flooding.
Post-Holiday Christmas Tree Recycling
JanuaryUndecorated, natural Christmas trees are collected curbside between January 2nd and January 31st on your regular collection day. Remove all ornaments, lights, stands, and tinsel. Cut trees over 8 feet in length in half and place them directly next to your green organics bin.
About San Carlos Waste Management
San Carlos' Advanced Environmental Refuse Architecture
In the vibrant Peninsula community of San Carlos, California, curbside solid waste, organic composting, and recycling operations are managed through an exclusive franchise agreement with Recology San Mateo County. In collaboration with RethinkWaste (the South Bayside Waste Management Authority), this program is strategically tailored to maximize resource recovery and protect the local watershed. Because the regional Shoreway Environmental Center is located directly within San Carlos city limits at 333 Shoreway Road, local waste diversion, public education, and self-hauling logistics are incredibly efficient.
Mandatory Organic Waste Sorting Under California SB 1383
In alignment with California's SB 1383 environmental mandate, all San Carlos residents must separate organic waste from standard landfill trash. The weekly green-lidded compost cart is designed to combine yard trimmings with household food scraps, including raw or cooked meat, bones, and dairy, along with food-soiled paper products like paper plates, greasy pizza boxes, and paper towels. Diverting these organics from landfills to regional processing centers significantly lowers methane emissions while generating clean commercial-grade compost.
Convenient Curbside Spent Battery and Device Recycling
To eliminate the risk of chemical combustion in collection vehicles and safeguard the Bay, San Carlos provides a highly convenient weekly curbside recovery system for universal household waste. Single-family households can recycle spent batteries and old cell phones right at their curb. By taping the terminal ends of alkaline or rechargeable batteries to prevent short circuits, sealing them alongside retired cell phones in a clear zip-top bag, and placing it directly on top of the black landfill cart lid on service morning, residents participate in safe municipal diversion.
Curbside Used Motor Oil and Filter Collection
To protect local stormwater drains and bay ecosystems from hazardous pollutants, San Carlos residents can recycle used automotive engine oil and filters directly at the curb on their regular service morning. Homeowners can request up to five free 1-gallon plastic oil jugs and up to five zippered plastic filter bags at no additional charge. Simply leave the filled, sealed containers next to your blue recycling cart during weekly service.
Drop-off Facilities
Shoreway Environmental Center (Transfer Station & Public Recycling)
333 Shoreway Road, San Carlos, CA 94070
Materials Accepted
Frequently Asked Questions
How do single-family homes schedule their free bulky item collection in San Carlos?
San Carlos single-family residents can schedule their two free annual on-call curbside cleanups by downloading the Recology App, submitting a contact form online, or calling Recology San Mateo County customer service at 650-595-3900.
Where can San Carlos residents get free organic compost?
San Carlos residents can pick up free, high-quality organic compost year-round at the Shoreway Environmental Center located at 333 Shoreway Road. Shovels and bags are available on-site.
How can I safely recycle cell phones and batteries in San Carlos?
Tape the metal terminals of rechargeable lithium batteries and place them, along with any unwanted cell phones, inside a clear zip-top plastic bag. Set this sealed bag directly on top of your black landfill cart lid on your regular collection morning.
Are compostable plastic bags allowed in the green organics bin?
No. Recology San Mateo County does not accept compostable or biodegradable plastic bags in the green organics container. Food scraps and yard waste must be placed loose inside the green cart, or wrapped in plain paper bags or newspapers to prevent contamination.