Sacramento County Waste Management and Recycling

Sacramento County waste management and recycling services include curbside garbage collection, recycling, food scrap and yard trimming collection, bulky waste appointments, and public disposal facilities. This article explains which service applies to your property, how to sort household materials, where to take items that cannot go in a cart, and which office handles collection problems, billing, business requirements, and construction debris.

Which Agency Serves Your Property?

The Sacramento County Department of Waste Management and Recycling provides residential curbside services in unincorporated Sacramento County. Its residential program generally excludes multifamily apartment complexes and mobile home parks served by commercial franchised haulers. A Sacramento County location alone does not establish that a property receives County residential collection.

The cities of Sacramento, Elk Grove, Citrus Heights, Folsom, Rancho Cordova, Galt, and Isleton have separate waste collection arrangements. Before requesting a cart, reporting missed collection, or scheduling bulky waste pickup, establish which service covers your property. The County’s residential services page explains its service area and provides access to city service information.

The official Sacramento County Waste Management and Recycling website is the main entry point for residential programs, commercial requirements, disposal facilities, and service updates. County tools use your home address to provide collection information, so enter the address of the property receiving service.

Collection Days and Service Requests

Weekly and Every-Other-Week Collection

County residential customers receive garbage and organics collection every week. Recycling is collected every other week. Garbage and organics carts are available in 30-, 60-, and 90-gallon sizes; recycling carts are available in 60- and 90-gallon sizes. The standard residential service also includes weekly curbside collection of used motor oil, used oil filters, and used cooking oil.

The Collection Calendar and Sweeping Schedule tool provides address-specific collection dates and street sweeping information where applicable. Select the calendar icon and enter your address. You can also request reminders by text, email, or phone. Monthly street sweeping is a separate service from cart collection, so use the schedule rather than assuming both occur on the same day.

The free SacGreenTeam mobile app provides collection calendars, reminders, bulky waste scheduling, and missed-service reporting. Both the website and app include the “How Do I Get Rid Of…” search tool. Enter an item name to see its recycling or disposal options, especially when the item does not clearly belong in a cart.

Missed Collection and Cart Changes

For a missed collection, the County distinguishes between a cart that was out on time and one the customer forgot to set out. Report a cart that was at the curb by 6 a.m. on its regular collection day through the missed-service form or Sacramento County 311 Connect. For a forgotten cart, contact Consolidated Utilities Billing and Service instead.

Consolidated Utilities Billing and Service also handles cart delivery, replacement, repairs, exchanges, size changes, overflow service, billing questions, and bulky waste appointments. Customer service hours are Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., excluding holidays. Customers who need a disability exemption form can request it from this office.

The Department’s general waste education staff handle questions about organics, recycling, and disposal. Their office hours are Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., excluding holidays. Directing a billing or cart request to utilities customer service, rather than treating it as a general sorting question, helps put the request with the office responsible for acting on it.

Sorting Garbage, Recycling, and Organics

Garbage Cart Materials

The garbage cart is for household waste that is accepted in neither recycling nor organics collection. Examples include plastic bags and film, chip bags, candy wrappers, foam packaging, diapers, pet waste, clothing, shoes, blankets, hoses, cords, and clothes hangers. Coated paper and cartons also belong in garbage under the County’s curbside rules.

Garbage carts cannot contain liquids, hazardous waste, electronic waste, recyclables, or organics. Rocks, dirt, bricks, sod, and other heavy or bulky materials are also prohibited. An item’s small size does not make it acceptable: a battery or electronic device still requires a separate disposal method.

Cooled, semi-solid cooking grease, such as bacon grease, lard, or vegetable shortening, may go in garbage. Scrape it into a reused container or bag first. Liquid oil does not belong in a cart. Hot ashes, coals, and fireworks must never be placed in garbage; these materials can ignite a cart, collection truck, or disposal facility.

Recycling Must Be Loose and Dry

The County’s curbside recycling instructions accept clean paper, flattened cardboard and paperboard, glass bottles and jars, plastic bottles and containers, and metal cans. Containers must be empty and dry. Labels and lids may remain attached.

Put recyclables directly into the cart without bags. Empty remaining liquid and scrape or shake out food residue before placing containers inside. Flatten cardboard so it fits loosely and falls freely when the cart is emptied. Packing a large box tightly into the cart can prevent collection even when the cardboard itself is recyclable.

Plastic bags, plastic wrap, padded plastic envelopes, foam, and packing peanuts are not accepted in curbside recycling. A recycling symbol on thin plastic packaging does not override these restrictions. Hoses, cords, chains, hangers, clothing, and blankets are also excluded because they can become tangled in processing equipment.

Food scraps, food-soiled materials, liquids, coated paper, and cartons do not belong in recycling. Batteries, paint, propane tanks, needles, and other hazardous materials require separate handling. Keeping these materials out protects both the recyclable load and collection equipment.

Food Scraps and Yard Trimmings

The former green waste cart is now the organics cart. County residential customers must separate food scraps, food-soiled paper, and yard trimmings from garbage. Older carts may not actually be green; use the cart previously used for yard trimmings.

Accepted food scraps include fruit and vegetable peelings, pits, seeds, meat, bones, shells, cheese, bread, cereal, pasta, eggshells, and spoiled food. Accepted food-soiled paper includes uncoated paper plates, napkins, paper towels, coffee filters and grounds, tea bags, paper bags, and greasy pizza boxes. Yard materials include leaves, grass, prunings, branches up to four inches in diameter, and clean wood scraps.

Remove packaging, produce stickers, twist ties, rubber bands, and plastic wrap before collecting food scraps. Empty food out of its container, then sort the packaging separately. A plastic food container and the food inside it may need two different carts.

The weekly organics collection page explains acceptable liners and excluded materials. Paper bags and compostable bags meeting the County’s BPI-certified ASTM D6400 requirements may be used for food scraps. Ordinary plastic bags are prohibited. Compostable plastic cups and utensils are also prohibited, even though qualifying compostable collection bags are allowed.

Keep pet waste, litter, liquids, oil, grease, coated paper, cartons, foam, glass, metal, and plastic out of organics. Treated, painted, stained, or oiled wood is unacceptable. Yard trimmings should go into the cart loose.

Kitchen Pails and Odor Control

A kitchen container makes it easier to separate scraps while preparing meals. Drain excess liquid, empty the container frequently, and refrigerate or freeze scraps when useful. In the outdoor cart, layer food scraps with yard trimmings or paper. Put the cart out for weekly collection and do not add pesticides.

Eligible County residential customers can obtain one free two-gallon kitchen pail per household while supplies last. Bring a utility bill or service guide showing the property address. Pails are available through the County’s distribution locations, including Consolidated Utilities Billing and Service. This distribution is for customers in unincorporated Sacramento County; the named cities operate their own pail distribution arrangements.

Backyard composting does not eliminate the County’s organics collection requirement. Customers can use the curbside cart for accepted materials they do not manage in a home composting system, such as meat, bones, cheese, and greasy pizza boxes.

Bulky Waste Pickup Appointments

Included Service and Size Limits

Standard County residential service includes one bulky waste appointment every 12 months for up to five cubic yards of acceptable material. The 12-month period begins on the date the service is used; it does not reset on January 1. The County describes the included amount as approximately a pile eight feet long, four feet wide, and four feet high.

Additional appointments and material above five cubic yards carry additional charges. The maximum acceptable amount for one pickup is 15 cubic yards. Review the bulky waste pickup requirements before making an appointment, since appointments may fill quickly and the service does not accept every large household item.

Accepted materials include furniture, mattresses, and other qualifying household items too large for the garbage cart. A spa or hot tub must be cut into quarters. Pipes, lumber, and tree or shrub trimmings cannot exceed four inches in diameter and five feet in length.

Appliances, electronics, qualifying fluorescent tubes, clean lumber or trimmings, and tires require special identification when scheduling. Place these materials to one side of the main pile because a separate truck may collect them. Appliances must be empty; remove or securely tape or tie large appliance doors closed. Put smaller electronic devices together in a cardboard box. Tire pickup is limited to four tires, with rims allowed.

Excluded materials include business waste, concrete, dirt, rocks, bricks, tree stumps, heavy automotive objects, glass panes, mirrors, liquids, hazardous waste, and treated wood. Materials accepted in regular curbside carts are also excluded from bulky pickup.

Placement and Appointment Changes

Set materials out by 6 a.m. on the appointment day, but no earlier than 24 hours before pickup. Place the pile in front of your property on the same side of the street, one foot from the curb or pavement edge, on a flat, hard surface.

Keep materials six feet away from vehicles, fences, mailboxes, basketball hoops, and other objects. Leave sidewalks, traffic lanes, and gutters clear. The collection area needs 14.5 feet of overhead clearance, so avoid utility lines and tree limbs.

Appointments may be requested online, through the SacGreenTeam app, or through utilities customer service. To add special set-out items, cancel, or reschedule, speak directly with a customer service representative at least one day before the appointment. Email and voicemail do not satisfy the County’s appointment-change requirement.

Hazardous Waste and Battery Disposal

Household hazardous waste belongs in none of the three curbside carts. Batteries, paint, cleaners, pesticides, fluorescent bulbs, gasoline, and similar materials need an appropriate drop-off facility. Batteries can cause fires when crushed in collection trucks.

The County’s household hazardous waste drop-off directory provides a map with facility hours and accepted materials. Enter your address and review the individual facility information. Residential household hazardous waste drop-off is free, but acceptance varies by location.

The North Area Recovery Station Household Hazardous Waste Facility accepts a broad range of household hazardous materials, including paint, antifreeze, gasoline, chemicals, pesticides, batteries, and fluorescent or compact fluorescent bulbs. Its hours are Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., excluding Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day.

Kiefer’s ABOP and Special Waste Facility accepts antifreeze, batteries, oil, paint, and limited other wastes. It operates Tuesday through Saturday, 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., and closes on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day. These hours differ from the landfill’s hours.

Business hazardous waste follows a separate process. Businesses qualifying as Very Small Quantity Generators must make advance appointments and pay applicable fees for accepted materials at the County facilities. A residential free-drop-off program should not be treated as a business disposal appointment.

Landfill and Recovery Station Visits

Facility Hours and Payment

Kiefer Landfill and North Area Recovery Station accept household waste from the public, businesses, and private haulers, along with certain recyclables and hard-to-handle materials. Customers do not have to reside in Sacramento County. Some residential items qualify for free drop-off, but restrictions apply; do not assume an entire mixed load is free.

Kiefer Landfill’s disposal information covers accepted materials, fees, and operating restrictions. The landfill opens Monday through Friday from 6:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and weekends from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Arrive at least 15 minutes before closing. It may close early if its permitted daily vehicle limit is reached.

On Thanksgiving, Kiefer closes at 2 p.m. On Christmas and New Year’s Day, it closes at 2 p.m. when the holiday falls on a weekday and remains closed all day when the holiday falls on a weekend.

North Area Recovery Station opens weekdays from 6:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. and weekends from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Arrive at least 15 minutes before closing. It closes on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day. Its hazardous waste facility operates on the separate schedule described above.

Both general disposal facilities accept cash, credit cards, and checks. Businesses may apply for a County account through Consolidated Utilities Billing and Service.

Load Preparation and Unloading

Cover or secure your load before travel, and leave tarps in place until reaching the tipping area. At the facility, stop at the scale house, pay required fees, and follow signs and staff directions for unloading. Recyclables must go in their designated areas.

Separate green waste, clean wood, and other recyclables from household garbage while loading your vehicle. Green waste and clean wood must be delivered to the designated composting area. Remove green waste from bags, and separate treated, painted, stained, or oiled wood from clean wood. Additional fees may apply when customers refuse the required separation.

Of these two County facilities, only Kiefer Landfill accepts treated wood waste, such as railroad ties and treated fence posts. Do not bring treated wood to North Area Recovery Station expecting it to be accepted with clean lumber.

Before bringing equipment or products for disposal, remove fluids and removable batteries and take those materials to a household hazardous waste facility. Products with built-in batteries must go through an electronic waste program. These preparation requirements also help prevent a load from containing incompatible materials at the unloading area.

Residential Rates and Proposed Changes

The County’s residential collection rates and fees page identifies current charges and proposed adjustments. Its current standard monthly rates are $36.63 for a 30-gallon garbage cart, $41.03 for a 60-gallon cart, and $49.85 for a 90-gallon cart, each with one recycling cart and one organics cart.

The County has proposed rate changes beginning January 1, 2027. The proposal would also increase included bulky waste service from one to two appointments within a rolling 12-month period. These are proposed changes, so customers should not schedule a second pickup on the assumption that it is already included.

The public hearing is scheduled for December 8, 2026, at 2 p.m. A written protest must include the property owner’s or customer of record’s printed name and original signature, the property address or Assessor’s Parcel Number, and a statement opposing the proposed increase. Only one protest per affected parcel may count.

Mailed protests must be received by December 7, 2026, rather than merely postmarked that day. In-person written protests may be delivered during the December 8 hearing before it closes. Email, fax, photocopies, and submissions without an original signature are not accepted as written protests. Public comments are separate from formal written protests; follow the delivery instructions on the rates page.

Eligible customers may receive monthly rebates through the Solid Waste Lifeline Rate Assistance Program. Consolidated Utilities Billing and Service handles eligibility and billing questions. The proposal would increase the existing $10 rebate by $1 annually for five years beginning in 2027 if approved.

Businesses, Multifamily Properties, and Construction

Commercial Collection and Compliance

The Department regulates commercial solid waste collection and recycling requirements in unincorporated Sacramento County. Businesses must subscribe to weekly garbage collection, weekly organics collection, and recycling collection at least monthly. The County commercial waste program provides compliance assistance and information about franchised haulers.

Commercial and multifamily questions go to the Commercial Solid Waste Team. Provide the service address, business name, and phone number when requesting assistance. The team handles compliance requirements, waivers, collection program concerns, and bulk requests for tenant kitchen pails or educational materials. Its hours are Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., excluding holidays.

Construction Debris Documentation

The Construction and Demolition Debris Program handles its own requirements and documentation. When contacting the program, provide your permit number and phone number. Completed Waste Management Plan and Waste Log forms may be submitted by email to WasteLog@SacCounty.gov.

A construction permit number serves a different purpose from a residential garbage account number. Send construction documentation to the debris program rather than submitting it as a cart service request. Program assistance is available Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., excluding holidays.

Illegal Dumping and Scavenging Reports

Report illegal dumping through Sacramento County 311 Connect using its app, online reporting system, or phone service. This reporting process is separate from making a bulky waste appointment for your own property.

The County also directs reports of scavenging from curbside recycling carts to 311. Removing another person’s recyclables from a curbside cart is prohibited under Sacramento County Code Section 6.20.160. Callers outside unincorporated Sacramento County can use the full 311 contact number shown below.

Offices and Facility Contacts

Consolidated Utilities Billing and Service
10481 Armstrong Ave., Suite 210, Mather, CA 95655
Kiefer Landfill
12701 Kiefer Blvd., Sloughhouse, CA 95683
Kiefer ABOP & Special Waste Facility
12701 Kiefer Blvd., Sloughhouse, CA 95683
North Area Recovery Station
4450 Roseville Road, North Highlands, CA 95660
NARS Household Hazardous Waste Facility
4450 Roseville Road, North Highlands, CA 95660
916-875-5555

Commercial Solid Waste Team
916-874-4200

Construction and Demolition Debris Program
916-875-4049

Sacramento County 311 Connect
3-1-1
916-875-4311
TDD: 7-1-1 or 916-875-7105