Weekly Collection Schedule
Official municipal pickup timing for West Carson
Trash Day
Trash collection occurs once weekly, Monday through Friday, depending on your specific street address.
Recycling
Collected weekly on the same day as your regular trash pickup.
Yard Waste
Collected weekly on your regular collection day.
Set Out Time
By 6:00 AM on collection day
Utility Billing & Payments
Manage your local solid waste services
Residential waste and recycling services in unincorporated West Carson are billed quarterly in advance directly through the county franchise hauler.
Billing Cycle
Quarterly
Accepted Methods
Online, Auto-Pay, Phone, Mail, In-Person
Pro Tip / Discount
Free backyard roll-out cart assistance is available for qualifying elderly residents (62+) and individuals with physical disabilities.
Black Bin (Trash)
All refuse must be bagged and placed inside the cart with the lid completely closed. Carts must be set out at the curb by 6:00 a.m. on collection day.
Accepted Items
- ✓Pet waste and kitty litter
- ✓Diapers
- ✓Styrofoam (expanded polystyrene)
- ✓Treated or painted wood
- ✓Non-recyclable plastics
- ✓Broken ceramics and window glass
Blue Bin (Recycling)
Do not bag your recyclables. Place all items loosely into the blue cart. Ensure containers are empty and reasonably clean of residue.
Accepted Items
- ✓Flattened cardboard and clean pizza boxes
- ✓Paper, junk mail, and magazines
- ✓Glass bottles and jars (lids removed)
- ✓Aluminum and tin cans
- ✓Rigid plastic containers (bottles, jugs)
Do NOT Include
- ✕Plastic grocery bags
- ✕Food and liquid waste
- ✕Tanglers (cords, hoses, wires)
- ✕Styrofoam
- ✕Small plastics (utensils, straws)
Yard Waste Bin
Never place plastic bags in the green cart. Food scraps can be tossed in loose or wrapped in newspaper or a plain paper bag to control odors.
Accepted Items
- ✓Grass clippings, leaves, and weeds
- ✓Tree branches and prunings
- ✓Food scraps (meat, bones, dairy, produce)
- ✓Food-soiled paper (napkins, unlined paper bags)
Bulky Item Pickup
Frequency
Two (2) free on-call collections per year
Placement
Call Athens Services at least 24-48 hours in advance to schedule. Place bulky items at the curb by 6:00 a.m. on your designated pickup day.
Accepted
- ✓ Furniture (sofas, chairs, tables)
- ✓ Mattresses and box springs
- ✓ Large appliances (refrigerators, washers)
- ✓ Electronic waste (TVs, computers)
Not Accepted
- ✕ Hazardous waste and wet paint
- ✕ Automotive parts and tires
- ✕ Construction and demolition debris (concrete, dirt)
- ✕ Propane tanks
Additional collections beyond the free annual allotment can be scheduled for an extra fee. Extra bagged green waste or extra bagged trash collections also have specific annual limits before fees apply.
Holiday Schedule
General Rule
If a recognized holiday falls on a weekday, trash, recycling, and organics collection will be delayed by one day for the remainder of that week.
Yard Waste Exception
Organics and recycling services follow the exact same holiday delay schedule as the trash service.
If the holiday falls on a Saturday or Sunday, there will be no delay in your regularly scheduled curbside service.
Observed Holidays
Seasonal Information
Winter Holidays
Late December to Mid-JanuaryAthens Services provides free curbside holiday tree recycling for West Carson residents. Remove all ornaments, lights, tinsel, and stands. Flocked trees cannot be composted and must be disposed of as trash.
Spring and Summer
May to AugustLA County often sponsors annual community curbside cleanup events, allowing residents to easily dispose of excess bagged yard waste, trash, and bulky items without using up their standard annual on-call limits.
Local Tips & Community Info
Local Waste Guidelines for West Carson Neighborhoods
Maintaining a pristine environment throughout West Carson requires strict adherence to local disposal guidelines set forth by Los Angeles County Public Works. Because this community is an unincorporated portion of the South Bay, residential refuse collection is handled by county-franchised haulers. To guarantee your property is serviced without interruption, all designated carts must be wheeled to the curb before 6:00 a.m. on your specific collection morning. Collection crews manage dense residential routes, meaning any containers staged after the truck has passed will not be retrieved until the following week.
Sorting Refuse and Composting Organics
California's Senate Bill 1383 has fundamentally changed how residents manage daily waste, placing a heavy emphasis on organic diversion. Every West Carson household is equipped with a green cart specifically meant for compostable materials, including lawn clippings, weeds, and kitchen food scraps like eggshells and vegetable peelings. Meanwhile, the blue cart is strictly for clean, unsoiled recyclables—think flattened cardboard boxes, rinsed aluminum cans, and empty plastic bottles. Putting trash, liquid waste, or plastic grocery bags into the green or blue containers contaminates the recycling stream and can lead to non-service notices being left on your bins.
Managing Oversized Household Goods
When a standard trash can is simply not large enough to accommodate your debris, residents can take advantage of the county's bulky item pickup program. Whether you are disposing of a broken washing machine, a heavily stained mattress, or an old sofa, you are entitled to a set number of free oversized item collections per calendar year. You must contact your designated franchise hauler at least two business days in advance to schedule the recovery. Leaving large furniture on sidewalks or alleyways without a confirmed appointment is heavily penalized as illegal dumping.
Container Positioning and Neighborhood Etiquette
Properly staging your carts is essential for the automated mechanical arms equipped on modern garbage trucks. Residents should space their black, blue, and green bins at least three feet apart from one another. They should also be kept a safe distance away from parked cars, low-hanging tree branches, and utility poles to avoid accidental property damage during the lifting process. Finally, local ordinances mandate that all empty receptacles must be removed from the public right-of-way by the evening of your collection day, ensuring that street sweepers and neighborhood traffic can pass safely.
Drop-off Facilities
Gaffey Street S.A.F.E. Center
1400 N. Gaffey St, San Pedro, CA 90731
Materials Accepted
EDCO Recycling & Transfer Collection Center
2755 California Ave, Signal Hill, CA 90755
Materials Accepted
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I leave my trash bins out on the curb all week in West Carson?
No. Local municipal codes require that refuse carts only be placed at the curb during the designated collection period. Bins should be set out the night before or early morning of your pickup, and must be returned to your property, out of public view, by 8:00 p.m. on collection day.
How do holiday schedules affect my garbage pickup?
If a major federally recognized holiday falls on a weekday, waste collection routes in West Carson are delayed by exactly one day. For example, a Thursday holiday means Thursday's regular service will happen on Friday, and Friday's service will shift to Saturday.
Where should I take hazardous chemicals like paint and motor oil?
Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) is strictly banned from curbside bins. West Carson residents should transport toxic items like wet paint, motor oil, fluorescent tubes, and harsh cleaning chemicals to a designated Los Angeles County S.A.F.E. Collection Center for proper ecological disposal.