Albert Lopez
Planning Director
Planning

ALAMEDA COUNTY'S WASTE PROGRAM


Alameda County's Waste Program, a program of the Community Development Agency (CDA), oversees solid waste collection and organics waste reduction and recycling in the unincorporated areas of Alameda County (excluding the Castro Valley Sanitary District and the Oro Loma Sanitary District). CDA is responsible for ensuring that the County's Waste Program is administered in compliance with local, State, and Federal regulations.

The County's Waste Program is implemented under the Alameda County Solid Waste Collection and Organic Waste Reduction Ordinance and the Alameda County Solid Waste Collection and Organic Waste Reduction Regulations, which also serve as the County's enforceable mechanism in response to the regulations promulgated by CalRecyle for implementation of Senate Bill (SB)1383, the Short-lived Climate Pollutants(SLCP) Organic Waste Reduction Regulations (also called the "SB1383 Regulations".)

Waste Collection Service Map for Unincorporated Alameda County

Click areas on the map below to show the approved hauler for that area.

Enter your address or APN, click within the parcel and select the arrow at the top to display the basic requirements and approved hauler (if any) for that location.

Interactive Waste Collection Service Map for Unincorporated Alameda County


Mandatory Curbside Collection Service

The Alameda County Solid Waste Collection and Organic Waste Reduction Ordinance and County Regulations, which became effective January 1, 2022 in compliance with SB 1383, require all businesses and residences in the County's Waste Program Jurisdiction to subscribe to curbside collection service for trash, recycling, and compost via an Authorized Hauler, unless a waiver has been granted. Businesses and residences are required to participate in curbside collection by placing materials in designated containers, and by not placing Prohibited Container Contaminants in collection containers.

Authorized Haulers

An Authorized Hauler is a company that has been approved by the County to haul Solid and/or Organic Waste in the County's unincorporated Waste Program Jurisdiction.

Unincorporated Livermore Area:

Other Unincorporated Areas:

The remainder of the County's unincorporated Waste Program Jurisdiction is not currently under an agreement with a particular hauler. The County is in the process of authorizing additional haulers. (See Waste Collection Service Map)

If you are located in an unincorporated portion of Alameda County served by Oro Loma Sanitary District or Castro Valley Sanitary District, please contact your sanitary district directly to learn more about authorized haulers in your area.

Self-Hauling

Unincorporated Alameda County Self-Haul Certification Program

In compliance with Alameda County's Solid Waste Collection and Organics Waste Reduction Ordinance and Regulations, Generators of waste may Self-Haul their own waste.

Commercial Businesses:

Commercial Generators that choose to Self-Haul garbage in lieu of curbside collection should contact the County Waste Program by email: Waste.Program@acgov.org or by phone: 510-670-6555.

Unincorporated Commercial Generators that choose to Self-Haul Recyclable and/or Organic waste in lieu of curbside collection, must request Self-Haul authorization through StopWaste's Certification of Recycling Service (CRS) website: www.StopWaste.org/rules-CRS

Commercial Generators that choose to Self-Haul Recyclables or Organics shall comply with the following:

  1. The Commercial Generator must be approved by StopWaste as a Self-Hauler.
  2. The Commercial Self-Haul Generator shall Source Separate all recyclable and organic waste generated on-site in a manner consistent with Sections 18984.1 and 18984.2
  3. The Commercial Self-Haul Generator shall haul source separated Recyclables and/or Organics to a solid waste facility operation, activity, or property that processes or recovers source separated wastes.
  4. The Commercial Self-Haul Generator shall keep a record of the amount of organic waste delivered to each solid waste facility, operation, activity, or property that processes or recovers organic waste; this record shall be subject to inspection by the jurisdiction.

Commercial Waivers: Commercial Businesses that generate minimal amounts of Recyclables or Organics may qualify for a De minimis Waiver for that specific material. To request a Commercial De minimis Waiver go to: www.StopWaste.org/rules-waivers

If you are not sure if you have a Commercial waste account, please contact your hauler.

Residential: Unincorporated Residential Self-Haul Generators that choose to Self-Haul must request Self-Haul authorization through the Alameda County Waste Program.

Compliance with SB 1383 through self-haul and on-site diversion methods will be challenging due to limited food scrap and recyclable material facilities. Subscribing to weekly curbside collection, with self-haul as a supplement is the best path to compliance. If you still wish to request a Residential Self-Haul Authorization, please Email your request to: Waste.Program@acgov.org or by phone: 510-670-6555.

Please include your address, email, phone and details of your waste generation and diversion activities. The Alameda County Waste Program will review all Residential Self-Haul Authorization requests and will respond with the additional verifications that we will need to verify your compliance with SB 1383.

Enforcement

In compliance with SB1383 Regulations, the County Waste Program will enforce provisions of Alameda County's Solid Waste Collection and Organics Waste Reduction Ordinance and Regulations through monitoring and inspections.

The County Waste Program is ready to assist all Unincorporated businesses and residents in gaining compliance with SB 1383. Businesses and residents who fail to subscribe to the required waste collection services, or to be approved as an Authorized Self-Hauler, will be subject to enforcement, including escalating penalties.

Composting and Recycling to Fight Climate Change

Properly sorting your food scraps and other compostable materials not only helps fight climate change, it's the law. State law (SB1383) now requires residents and businesses to keep compostable and recyclable materials out of California's landfills. When compostable materials like food scraps and plant trimmings break down in a landfill, they produce methane, a potent greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change. By composting and recycling, you're helping to reduce methane emissions and create a healthier planet.

For more information on methods for the prevention of organic waste generation, recycling organic waste on-site, sending organic waste to community composting, and other requirements and resources regarding organic waste, please visit: www.stopwaste.org

It's easy to compost and recycle properly. Here's how:

Compost: food scraps, dirty paper containers, paper towles & tissues, plants, and wood Recycle: paper, plastic, metal, and glass

Edible Food Recovery

To address local food insecurity and to reduce the climate impacts of landfill disposal of food, CalRecycle requires local jurisdictions to establish an edible food recovery program. Large food generating businesses like markets, food distributors and event spaces must arrange and contract for the collection of edible food.

For more information about edible food recovery in Alameda County, please visit https://www.stopwaste.org/rules-food-recovery.

A list of Food Recovery Organizations in Alameda County is available from StopWaste at https://resource.stopwaste.org/food-recovery-organizations.

infographic showing that 1 in 5 californians are food insecure. CA throws away more than 6 million tons of food waste every year. CA disposed of approximately 24 tons of organic waste in 2018. Organic waste is the largest waste stream in CA, greenwaste 7%, woodwaste 9%, other organics 9%, foodwaste 13%, paper 14%, non organic waste 48%

Questions and Complaints

Questions and complaints regarding the Alameda County Waste Program may be sent by email or US Mail to the following addresses:

Email: Please use our email form

*This inbox is for questions related to solid waste and recycling in the unincorporated Alameda County Waste Program Jurisdiction, which does not include any Cities or Sanitary Districts. If you are having issues related to your curbside waste or recycling account, please contact your waste hauler directly. If you are located in a City or Sanitary District, please contact your City or Sanitary District directly.

US Mail:
Community Development Agency Planning Department
Attn: Waste Program
224 W Winton Ave, Suite 111
Hayward, CA 94544

StopWaste - Alameda County Waste Management Authority

The County is a member of StopWaste, the regional Alameda County Waste Management Authority (WMA). StopWaste provides County residents with many solid waste benefits, including community outreach and education. StopWaste partners with the County on waste reduction efforts and in the administration of State Laws such as SB1383. For more information about preventing organic waste generation, recycling organic waste on-site, sending organic waste to community composting, and more, visit www.stopwaste.org.

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