New Resident Guide

The Costa Mesa Sanitary District collects residential trash and recyclables from your curbside once per week. To find out when your trash day is, please visit our Collection Day webpage. Your standard service includes the following trash carts:

• Mixed Waste Carts: Up to two (2) 64-gallon Mixed Waste Carts (smaller carts are available upon request)
  • Accepted: plastic, glass, aluminum, tin, clean paper, cardboard, Styrofoam, and miscellaneous landfill waste
  • Not accepted: yard and food waste
• Organics Recycling Carts: Up to two (2) 64-gallon Organics Recycling Carts (smaller carts are available upon request)
  • Accepted: grass, leaves, weeds, prunings, flowers, small branches, fruits, vegetables, meat, seafood, bread, dairy, coffee grounds/filters/tea bags, cooking fats/oils/grease, food-soiled paper products (napkins, paper towels, greasy pizza box, etc.), and brown paper or compostable bags
  • Not accepted: palm fronds, bones from meat and fish, food wrappers and packaging, pet waste, wax or plastic-coated paper products (milk/juice cartons, fast food/to-go containers, etc.), compostable foodware (plates, cups, utensils, etc.), non-organic materials (plastic, glass, metals, Styrofoam, cardboard, etc.)

   

Set Up New Service:
Property owners must contact the District to initiate trash service for newly built properties. To set up a new trash account, please contact the District to determine the prorated fee amount and make a payment over the phone or pay online. If an existing property is sold, the trash service and fees will automatically be transferred to the new owner through the property tax bill.

On collection day, place your trash carts at the curb no later than 6:00 a.m. with the handles and wheels facing towards the home. Place the carts side-by-side approximately 1 foot apart and at least 3 feet from any obstructions (i.e. parked cars, trees, etc.). In select areas, trash collection occurs in a public alley. Trash carts may be placed in the alley for collection, as long as doing so does not create an obstruction to the passage of vehicles.

After collection, trash carts must be removed from the curb or alley by midnight of the day of collection. They must then be stored in the rear or side yard of the property, so as to be out of view from the street.

Two-Cart Recycling System Flyer:
(click to enlarge)

There is no trash collection on the holidays listed below:

• New Year's Day
• Memorial Day
• Independency Day
• Labor Day
• Thanksgiving Day
• Christmas Day

If the holiday falls on a Saturday or Sunday, trash will be collected on your normal collection day with no delays to your pickup. If the holiday falls during the work week, collection for the remainder of the week will be delayed by one day. For example, if Independence Day falls on a Monday, and your normal collection day is on Thursday, your pickup for that week will be on Friday. 

In addition to the weekly curbside collection services, solid waste customers are eligible for the following special collection programs:

• Large Item Collection: up to three (3) Large Item Pickups per calendar year
• Household Hazardous Waste Collection: Up to three (3) Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) pickups per calendar year
• Christmas Tree Recycling: curbside collection

The Green Guide is a resource for residents that are looking to reduce waste, increase household recycling, and safely dispose of different types of waste. We encourage you to download the guide by clicking on the links below.

• Download the Green Guide PDF (English)
• Descargue el Guía Verde Aquí  (Spanish)

If you have any trash related questions or requests, please use the following resources: