Black Bin (Trash)
All household garbage items must fit completely inside the black cart with the lid flat down. Overflowing barrels or bags piled on top will attract skipped service notices or extra fees.
Accepted Items
- ✓Unrecyclable snack wraps and multi-layer chip bags
- ✓Opaque or dark plastic bags and heavy wrapping film
- ✓Diapers, personal sanitary wipes, and hygiene items
- ✓Broken window glass fragments, mirrors, and home ceramics
- ✓Food-contaminated packaging heavily soiled with grease
Blue Bin (Recycling)
All dry recyclable items must be placed into the blue container loose, empty, dry, and entirely unbagged. Trapping clean recyclables inside grocery sacks will cause sorting plant rejection.
Accepted Items
- ✓Clean aluminum beverage cans, steel soup tins, and metal lids
- ✓Glass bottles and food containers of all colors (rinsed empty)
- ✓Rigid plastic bottles, jugs, and tubs labeled #1 through #7
- ✓Flattened dry cardboard boxes and clean paperboard packaging
- ✓Newspapers, magazines, mail inserts, and catalogs
Do NOT Include
- ✕Loose plastic grocery bags or flimsy plastic films
- ✕Polystyrene (Styrofoam) foam blocks, peanuts, or cups
- ✕Food-contaminated pizza boxes or greasy wax sheets
- ✕Electronic components or consumer household batteries
- ✕Loose shredded paper fragments (must be contained in a paper bag)
Yard Waste Bin
Yard trimmings and green debris must be mixed loose. For food waste collection, residents are permitted to use CLEAR petroleum plastic or CLEAR bioplastic bags so route inspectors can visually confirm contents. Uncoated paper bags are also fully acceptable loose.
Accepted Items
- ✓Grass clippings, fresh lawn thatch, and garden weeds
- ✓Dry garden leaves, shrub prunings, and flowers
- ✓Tree limbs under 3 inches in diameter and 3 feet in length
- ✓Household food leftovers, vegetable peelings, and fruit cores
- ✓Meat fragments, poultry bones, dairy scraps, and bread crusts
- ✓Food-soiled paper towels, paper plates, and greasy napkins
Bulky Item Pickup
Frequency
On-Call Service Tiers Available
Placement
Items must be positioned neatly at the street curb edge (not blocking active traffic lanes or public sidewalks) by 6:00 AM on the day of your approved collection appointment. For safety reasons, you must remove all appliance doors from units like refrigerators before curbside placement.
Accepted
- ✓ Large household furniture (sofas, mattresses, tables, armchairs)
- ✓ Major household appliances (refrigerators, washers, dryers, water heaters)
- ✓ Electronic waste boxed or stacked safely
- ✓ Oversized green waste bundles or extra packed boxes
Not Accepted
- ✕ Household hazardous waste (liquid chemicals, wet paints, motor oil)
- ✕ Loose unbundled building renovation debris (concrete, bricks, dirt blocks)
- ✕ Automotive passenger components or vehicle tires
- ✕ General loose trash bags left stacked uncontained
Standard accounts should verify their exact annual free bulk limits and current per-item charges for extra loads directly with Athens customer service.
Holiday Schedule
General Rule
When an observed major calendar holiday occurs on a scheduled weekday, the residential collection route for that day and all remaining pickup days for the rest of that week will be delayed by exactly one business day. Regular Friday routes are adjusted to Saturday.
Yard Waste Exception
Green organic waste and recycling collection schedules follow the identical one-day delay structure implemented for regular trash during holiday service shifts.
If one of these major observed calendar holidays falls naturally on a Saturday or Sunday, standard weekday residential collection loops continue without any service delays.
Observed Holidays
!Contamination Tips
Strict Visibility Requirements for Organics Baggies
If you elect to bag kitchen food scraps for your green barrel, you must use completely CLEAR bags. Opaque plastic, black garbage bags, or dark green liners are forbidden; route inspectors must be able to visually verify the contents from the street line.
Excluding Fibrous Botanicals from Compost Carts
Temple City strictly bans palm fronds, yucca leaves, and bamboo from the green organics cart. Their high-strength stringy fibers wrap around and stall municipal composting grinders, so place these elements into your black trash barrel.
Keep Plastic Film Wrap out of Blue Containers
Flimsy grocery sacks and thin cling wraps turn into major tanglers on sorting conveyor belts at recovery plants. Keep blue bin items completely loose and direct flimsy shopping bags to your black trash barrel.
Seasonal Information
Summer Heat Compost Mitigation
June to SeptemberHigh Southern California summer temperatures accelerate biological breakdown, creating odors and attracting flies in green bins. Layer raw kitchen food scrap bags underneath a protective layer of dry garden trimmings and keep container lids tightly sealed.
Post-Holiday Christmas Tree Collection
December to JanuaryAthens Services provides complimentary residential curbside collection for natural Christmas trees following the holidays. All tinsel, metallic stands, lights, and ornaments must be completely stripped. Trees treated with artificial flocking or fire retardants are barred from composting and must be thrown in the trash.
Autumn Foliage Sweep Preparation
October to DecemberDuring peak fall cleanup months, avoid over-packing your green barrel too tightly. If yard debris consistently overflows the container capacity, contact Athens Services to adjust cart sizes or explore auxiliary green barrel options.
About Temple City Waste Management
San Gabriel Valley Waste Solutions in Temple City
The City of Temple City manages residential solid waste extraction, specialized curbside recycling loops, and community organics diversion via an exclusive franchise agreement with Athens Services. Operating under modern regional sustainability guidelines, the default single-family framework includes automated rolling containers to optimize neighborhood aesthetics and pickup speed. Subscription tiers are dynamic, offering varied monthly fees based purely on the physical layout size of the black landfill barrel chosen by the homeowner.
The Three-Container Sorting System Framework
Temple City neighborhoods rely on a standardized three-cart color scheme designed to simplify source-separation right at the street side. Households receive a black bin for unrecyclable refuse, a blue barrel for clean commingled packaging, and a green container dedicated to organic lawn components and everyday plate leftovers. To align fully with modern collection standards, all three streams are emptied on the exact same neighborhood route loop once every week.
Curbside Placement Regulations and Mechanical Clearance
To ensure reliable collection loops by automated mechanical loaders, Temple City residents are required to position their containers at the street edge before the arrival of route vehicles. Carts must stand upright in the street lane with handles and wheels oriented directly back toward the home property line. Homeowners must respect explicit automated truck parameters by maintaining a clear distance around individual containers and permanent roadway fixtures like utility poles and parked vehicles.
California Senate Bill 1383 Composting Compliance
In strict compliance with California's landmark SB 1383 climate reduction mandates, organic waste sorting is fully integrated into the local routine. The green residential cart functions as a comprehensive biological stream, authorized to take plant trimmings alongside raw household food leftovers, meat scraps, poultry bones, dairy cast-offs, and food-soiled paper products. Diverting these materials from traditional landfills helps reduce regional greenhouse gas generation.
Drop-off Facilities
Athens Services Corporate & Customer Care Team
15045 Industry Ave, La Puente, CA 91746
Materials Accepted
Los Angeles County HHW / Electronic Waste Mobile Events
Varies (Rotates through regional locations like San Gabriel Valley hubs)
Materials Accepted
Frequently Asked Questions
How do Temple City residents arrange for a bulky item pickup?
Residents can schedule large-item pickup by calling Athens Services directly at 855-557-1007 or completing the digital 'Request Services' web form on the Athens site. Refrain from putting out any items until a customer service representative has confirmed your active booking window.
Can I use standard plastic trash bags inside my green organic container?
Yes, but they must be completely CLEAR so the contents inside are fully visible. Dark, opaque, or black trash bags are strictly prohibited. Note that while clear plastic and bioplastic bags are accepted for cleanliness, Athens will tear them open at the facility to compost the organic food matter inside, and the bags themselves are thrown out.
Where can I safely discard home hazardous waste items like old paint and consumer batteries?
Hazardous products, e-waste, chemicals, and tires are strictly banned from all curbside automated carts. If hauler staff spots these in your trash, your bin will be tagged and left uncollected. Residents must utilize regional Los Angeles County Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) mobile collection events or drop-off centers for free, safe processing.
Can I drop off palm fronds or bamboo into my green yard waste container?
No. Temple City explicitly bars palm fronds, yucca leaves, and bamboo from the green organics barrel. Their high-strength fibers jam regional processing grinders, so they must be thrown into your standard black trash barrel.