Gray Bin (Trash)
Place your gray cart at the curb by 5:00 a.m. on your designated collection day. Ensure the lid is fully closed and the cart is kept clear of vehicles and mailboxes.
Accepted Items
- ✓Standard household garbage
- ✓Diapers and pet waste
- ✓Styrofoam (polystyrene)
- ✓Treated or painted wood
- ✓Broken ceramics and glassware
- ✓Snack wrappers and chip bags
Blue Bin (Recycling)
Do not bag your recyclables; keep all items loose in the blue cart. Rinse containers lightly to remove heavy food residue.
Accepted Items
- ✓Plastics #1 through #7 (bottles, jugs, and tubs)
- ✓Clean paper, newspaper, and magazines
- ✓Flattened corrugated cardboard and paperboard
- ✓Glass bottles and jars (all colors)
- ✓Aluminum and tin cans
- ✓Empty and completely dry paint cans (lids off)
Do NOT Include
- ✕Food waste and liquids
- ✕Styrofoam
- ✕Loose plastic bags
- ✕Window glass and mirrors
- ✕Hazardous waste and batteries
Yard Waste Bin
Never mix food scraps into the green yard waste cart. Place all yard trimmings loosely in the green cart. Place all food scraps loosely inside the 6-gallon brown pail without using plastic or compostable bags, and set the pail at least 2 feet away from the larger carts.
Accepted Items
- ✓Leaves, grass clippings, and weeds (Green Cart)
- ✓Small branches and prunings (Green Cart)
- ✓Meat, fish, poultry, and bones (6-Gallon Brown Pail)
- ✓Fruits, vegetables, and dairy products (6-Gallon Brown Pail)
- ✓Coffee grounds and eggshells (6-Gallon Brown Pail)
Bulky Item Pickup
Frequency
Up to four items per year
Placement
You must schedule your 'On Call' pickup by contacting Customer Service at 831-420-5220 or emailing [email protected]. Do not place items on the curb until your appointment is confirmed.
Accepted
- ✓ Couches and sofas
- ✓ Dressers and bookcases
- ✓ Chairs and desks under 100 pounds
- ✓ Large household appliances
Not Accepted
- ✕ Household hazardous waste
- ✕ Pianos
- ✕ Dirt, concrete, or construction debris
- ✕ Liquid paint
The first four items are collected for free each year. Non-account holders or those exceeding the four-item limit will be charged an additional bulky item fee.
Holiday Schedule
General Rule
The Resource Recovery Facility is closed on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, and New Year's Day. If one of these holidays falls on a regular weekday, curbside collection for the remainder of that week will be delayed by one day.
Yard Waste Exception
This one-day delay applies to all collection streams, including the gray, blue, and green carts, as well as the brown food scrap pail.
Ensure your carts and pails are placed at the curb by 5:00 a.m. on the adjusted holiday collection day.
Observed Holidays
!Contamination Tips
Keep Plastic Bags Out of the Blue Cart
Unless all your clean film plastic is stuffed tightly into a single tied plastic bag (the 'bag your bags' method), do not place loose plastic grocery bags in your recycling cart, as they tangle the facility's sorting machinery.
No Bags in the Food Scrap Pail
The city's food waste processing system cannot handle bags of any kind. Never line your 6-gallon brown pail with plastic, paper, or 'compostable' bags. All food scraps must be placed loosely into the pail.
Batteries Cause Truck Fires
Never toss batteries (especially lithium-ion) into your gray or blue carts. However, single-family residents can safely recycle household batteries by placing them in a clear, sealed plastic bag directly on top of the blue recycling cart lid on collection day.
Seasonal Information
Winter
JanuaryCurbside holiday tree recycling is available for single-family residents from January 2 through January 24. Trees must be unbagged, un-flocked, and stripped of all ornaments and stands. Cut any trees taller than 6 feet in half.
Summer
July to SeptemberTo prevent pests and odors in your 6-gallon food scrap pail during warmer months, try freezing your food waste throughout the week and transferring it to the outdoor pail on the morning of your collection day.
About Santa Cruz Waste Management
Santa Cruz Municipal Resource Recovery System
The City of Santa Cruz Public Works Department independently manages its residential refuse and recycling through the Resource Recovery division. Unlike neighboring unincorporated areas serviced by private haulers, Santa Cruz utilizes its own municipal fleet to collect household waste. The city operates a comprehensive curbside program that requires residents to sort waste into a gray cart for landfill trash, a blue cart for mixed recyclables, a green cart for yard trimmings, and a specialized brown 6-gallon pail exclusively for kitchen food scraps.
Dedicated 6-Gallon Food Scrap Collection Pail
In order to meet California's aggressive SB 1383 organics diversion mandates, the City of Santa Cruz has implemented a unique food scrap collection strategy. Because the local yard waste processing facility focuses strictly on mulch production, food waste cannot be mixed into the standard green yard cart. Instead, single-family residents are provided a small, animal-resistant 6-gallon brown pail. Residents must collect food scraps—including meat, bones, dairy, and coffee grounds—and place the pail on the leading edge of their larger carts on collection day. The collected food mash is eventually processed into biodiesel, fertilizer, or converted into biogas at the local wastewater treatment plant.
Convenient 'On Call' Bulky Item Service
Santa Cruz residents who pay their own municipal utility bill benefit from a highly flexible 'On Call' bulky item pickup program. Instead of waiting for designated community clean-up weeks, eligible account holders can schedule free curbside collections whenever they need them. Residents can have up to four large items picked up simultaneously or schedule single-item pickups up to four times per calendar year. This service easily handles cumbersome items like sofas, dressers, and appliances, drastically reducing illegal dumping in local coastal habitats.
Tackling Contamination at the Resource Recovery Facility
A significant challenge for Santa Cruz’s recycling efforts is 'wishcycling'—the act of tossing unrecyclable items into the blue bin hoping they will be recycled. Contaminants like loose plastic bags, styrofoam, and greasy pizza boxes threaten the viability of the city's recycling streams, costing millions annually and resulting in entire loads being sent to the Dimeo Lane landfill. The Resource Recovery Facility strongly encourages residents to keep recyclables loose, clean, and dry to preserve the integrity of the collected materials.
Drop-off Facilities
Santa Cruz Resource Recovery Facility & Recycling Center
605 Dimeo Lane, Santa Cruz, CA 95060
Materials Accepted
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I put my food scraps into the green yard waste cart?
No. Unlike other cities in the county, the City of Santa Cruz processes yard waste strictly into mulch. All food scraps must go into your separate 6-gallon brown pail, which is collected weekly by a dedicated truck.
What time do my carts and food scrap pail need to be at the curb?
All automated carts (gray, blue, and green) and your 6-gallon brown food scrap pail must be placed at the curb by 5:00 a.m. on your designated collection day. Ensure the small brown pail is at least 2 feet away from the larger carts.
How do I schedule a bulky item pickup for an old couch?
If you are the municipal utility account holder, you can schedule a free 'On Call' bulky item pickup by calling Customer Service at 831-420-5220. You are eligible for up to four free bulky items per year.
Where can I dispose of old paint and household chemicals?
Hazardous materials cannot go in your curbside bins. You can drop off Household Hazardous Waste for free at the Resource Recovery Facility (605 Dimeo Lane) on Saturdays only, between 7:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m.