Refuse & Recycling Services

860 - Refuse & Recycling Collection Guidelines

The City of Santa Monica uses automated equipment to collect refuse and recycling materials. The 95-gallon refuse containers that are issued to residents by the city may not weigh more 150 pounds when full, and each disposable plastic bag may not weigh over 40 pounds. The recycling containers provided to single-family residences for newspapers, cans, glass and plastics also may not weigh more than 40 pounds each.

Containers should be placed on the street or in the alley on your scheduled refuse collection day with lids opening facing the street and handles pointing toward your home. Containers should be placed at least two feet from other collection containers and objects such as vehicles, poles, walls, fences, trees, street signs.

Refuse, yard-waste and recycling containers and plastic bags must be placed at curbside or in the alley for collection no earlier than 4 p.m. on the day before your scheduled pick-up, and they must be removed by 8 p.m. on the day of collection.

Residents are reminded that hazardous materials such as chemicals cannot be disposed of in any of the containers issued by the city. For information on disposing of these wastes, please refer to Message 854, or call the Hazardous Materials Collection Center at (310) 458-8255. The facility is open 7 a.m. to 1 p.m., Wednesday through Friday, and Saturday from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. For additional information on household hazardous wastes, visit the Environmental Programs Division website.

For collection schedule and container information, please call the Solid Waste Management Division at (310) 458-2223, Monday through Thursday, 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., and on Fridays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. After hours and on weekends, you may leave a message and your call will be returned on the next business day.