Trash, Recycling, and Organics Enclosures

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City Code (9.290) requires that all commercial and industrial businesses must subscribe to garbage services. State Mandates AB 341 Mandatory Commercial Recycling & AB 1826 Mandatory Commercial Organic Recycling requires that businesses must divert recycling and organics from the landfill. Businesses that sell, donate or divert recycling or organics must report their annual diversion information to the city. For more information regarding reporting requirements see Commercial & Industrial Services.

The Trash, Recycling & Organics Enclosure Guidelines (Enclosure Guidelines) is a resource to help business owners, property managers, designers, architects, engineers, and planners determine: level of trash and recycling service needed by the business, size of the enclosure by the level of service, identify design standards, and be compliant with health and safety requirements. The Enclosure Check-List includes items that may impact your project.

Enclosure Guidelines

Determining Enclosure Size
1. Maximize Collection Efficiency
  The automated collection trucks used by the hauler to achieve maximum efficiency when the number of times the driver gets out of the truck is minimized. Properly designed enclosures allow the driver to “stab” bins without physically moving them when bins are used for collection. Additionally, the collection system is most efficient and economical if trucks only need to service a site once per week. The goal is to size enclosures to be large enough to contain one week’s volume of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW)*, recyclables, and organics when possible.
2. Minimize Contamination
  Enclosures must be designed to make it convenient for those using the various containers (tenants, employees, and property owners) to place trash, recyclables, and organics in the correct containers with minimum effort. Containers should not be placed in front of each other to avoid restricting access. Rather, containers should “wrap” the perimeter of the inside of the enclosure whenever possible to allow access to each container.
3. Determine Service Needs for Trash & Recycling Generators
  - Specifications for Collection Container (carts, dumpsters, bins and compressors)
  - Sample enclosure layouts from Table A - C below are illustrated in Exhibits EN1 - EN 13
  - Table A - Trash & Recycling O
4. Determine Service Level for Trash, Recycling & Organics (Food) Generators
  - Table B - Trash, Recycling & Organics (Without Grease)
  - Table C - Trash, Recycling & Organic Waste with Oil/Grease Containers
Design and Compliance Requirements
1. Construction & Enclosure Design - Determine the best location, show access, turning radius, height, identify materials, gate, determine need for roof, signage, and utilities.
2. Regulations: Stormwater, Pollution Control, Public Health & Fire
3. Safety & Crime Prevention - Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) principals.