A single-family residential property or a multi-family residential property, located on a public street, with up to four residences on a single lot, that meets City requirements for collection by City forces.

Eligible properties must meet all of the following criteria:

• Residential properties with one to four residences on a single lot.
• Properties that are not mixed-use or commercial properties.
• Properties located on a public street and serviceable on a public street.
• Properties with sufficient space to store containers needed to hold all trash, recycling and organics generated by the property between collections.

Ineligible properties include:

• Residential properties with five or more residences on a single lot.
• Mixed-use and commercial properties.
• Properties located on private streets or within gated communities.
• Properties whose access requires the crossing of a private street or is serviced on a private street, even if the property address is on a public street.
• Properties with insufficient space to store enough City-issued containers needed to hold all trash, recycling and organics generated by the property between weekly collections.
• Properties in a housing complex where some of the properties do not meet the City’s eligibility requirements. To qualify for City service, all properties in a complex need to be eligible for City service.

All eligible properties must complete their transition to a private Franchise Hauler by their assigned deadline, which will be mailed to the property owner prior to the assigned deadline. After this deadline date, properties that fail to select their new franchise hauler or file an appeal online by the deadline and do not maintain adequate waste collection service may be subject to enforcement actions, including Notices of Violation and Administrative Citations.

If you do not transition to a private Franchise Hauler by your assigned deadline, there may be service interruptions for your property and your property may be subject to Notices of Violation and Administrative Citations by City Code Compliance Officers. It is important to ensure your new service is in place before the deadline to avoid any service disruptions.

All transitions are scheduled to occur over the next several months. We understand that transitioning to a new private Franchise Hauler takes time. We’re operating in a phased approach across the City to ensure the transition process is as smooth and efficient as possible for all communities. Coordinating waste collection requires careful planning, especially to ensure routes, schedules, and resources are well-aligned. By focusing on communities one at a time, the City and our Franchise Hauler partners can provide better support and quickly address any concerns or challenges that may arise during the transition.

The last day for City collection of trash, recycle and organic waste containers will be determined based on the start date of your new service with your Franchise Hauler. Your Franchise Hauler will communicate your property’s sign-up for service with the City and ensure the start of their collection aligns with the end of your City-provided collection. A postcard will be sent the property leading up to the final collection to ensure residents are aware of the upcoming changes and City containers are left out for removal.

The City of San Diego has a non-exclusive franchise system, which allows properties ineligible to receive City collection service to have a choice of more than one private waste hauler because the system is open to competition to all haulers that enter into an agreement with the City. The City does not assign or set service rates for privately-serviced residences and businesses. The City of San Diego will mail notices to the property owner of properties not eligible for City residential waste collection service with instructions of how to transition to private hauler service including a list of the City approved private Franchise Haulers. You may view the list of approved private Franchise Haulers.

When choosing a hauler, consider factors such as their service offerings, container options, customer service, and pricing. Keep in mind your pickup frequency needs and available storage space to ensure your trash, recycle and organic waste containers fit on your property and do not overflow. It is recommended to obtain quotes and receive on-site technical assistance from multiple haulers to make an informed decision.

Please refer to our Step by Step Guide. A summary of steps can be found below:

1. Review the list of approved private Franchise Haulers.
2. Contact haulers for quotes and choose one based on your property’s needs.
3. Set up service for trash, recycling and organic waste.
4. Leave City containers out on the new hauler’s service start date.
5. Inform residents or tenants of service changes.

Your service must include:

• Trash/Refuse (weekly pickup)
• Recycling (at least bi-weekly pickup)
• Organic waste recycling (weekly pickup)

Every trash container must be paired with both recycling and organic waste containers at each collection point.

The City conducted an assessment of all residential properties and notified those that were ineligible based on specific criteria.

Your HOA is required to make this transition to private Franchise Hauler service if your property falls under one or more of the following ineligibility conditions.

• Residential properties with five or more residences on a lot.
• Mixed-use and commercial properties.
• Properties located on private streets or within gated communities.
• Properties whose access requires the crossing of a private street or is serviced on a private street, even if the property address is on a public street.
• Properties with insufficient space to store enough City-issued containers needed to hold all trash, recycling and organics generated by the property between weekly collections.
• Properties whose entire complex does not meet the eligibility requirements for City collection, and some residences in the complex require the use of a private hauler. If even one residence requires a private hauler, then the entire complex must use a private Franchise Hauler.

If your home received an ineligible notification letter from the City and is part of an HOA, it means your complex does not qualify for City trash service. In these cases, the entire HOA complex must transition to a private Franchise Hauler for consistent and efficient service. Please contact your HOA Board to be involved with decisions and assist with the transition to a hauler that best fits your needs.

Option 1: Individual service for each unit:

• One trash container
• One recycling container
• One organic waste recycling container

Option 2: Centralized collection: Designated location(s) with communal shared access to collect and store all trash, recycling and organics containers (i.e. enclosures, trash chutes/rooms, etc.). Each designated location must have at minimum, one trash, one recycling and one organic waste recycling container.  

The entire complex must have Option 1 or 2 for all three services and cannot have a combination of the two options.

View the City’s Container and Signage Guidelines

The City of San Diego sent these letters to property owners based on data received from the County of San Diego. HOA information was not available, and we recommend sharing this information with your HOA so decisions can be made and service can be provided uniformly throughout the HOA.

The City conducted an assessment of all residential properties and notified those that were ineligible based on specific criteria. Your property may be ineligible based on one or more of the following ineligibility conditions.

• Properties whose access requires the crossing of a private street or are serviced on a private street, even if the property address is on a public street.
• Properties with insufficient space to store enough City-issued containers needed to hold all trash, recycling and organics generated by the property between weekly collections.
• Properties where some residences in the complex are not eligible for service and require the use of a private hauler. If even one residence requires a private hauler, then the entire complex must use a private Franchise Hauler.

Please contact your HOA Board to help coordinate the transition to a hauler that best serves your community.

The City conducted an assessment of all residential properties and notified those that were ineligible based on specific criteria. Your property may be ineligible based on one or more of the following ineligibility conditions.

• Mixed-use and commercial properties.
• Properties whose access requires the crossing of a private street or is serviced on a private street, even if the property address is on a public street.
• Properties with insufficient space to store enough City-issued containers needed to hold all trash, recycling and organics generated by the property between weekly collections.
• Properties where some residences in the complex are not eligible for service and require the use of a private hauler. If even one residence requires a private hauler, then the entire complex must use a private Franchise Hauler.

Please contact your HOA Board to help coordinate the transition to a hauler that best serves your community.

The City estimates appeals may take up to four weeks to be processed. The result of the appeal will be emailed to the submitter.