Residential Recycling and Solid Waste (2024)

Residential Recycling and Solid Waste Information

The information contained here is primarily for unincorporated Fresno County residents. If you are a resident of Fresno County and live in one of the 15 incorporated cities, some of the information may be different depending on your city. Please select your city icon below to link to your city's solid waste and recycling information.

Clovis	Coalinga	Firebaugh	Fowler	Fresno
Huron	Kerman	Kingsburg	Mendota	Orange Cove
Parlier	Reedley	San Joaquin	Sanger	Selma

In 2006, the County of Fresno began contracting out the hauling of green waste, mixed recyclables and solid waste throughout the county in order to offset the amount of waste going to local area landfills. The County is currently divided into 14 territories and serviced by 8 solid waste and recycling haulers in an Exclusive Service Area Program (ESAP) which helps the County's solid waste going to landfills. This is the current mechanism used to reduce solid waste going to landfills. As a result, this has allowed for the County of Fresno to meet state-mandated diversion goals per capita of 5lbs. per person per day and per employment of 14.2lbs per person per day. We congratulate county residents for helping achieve this milestone! As we continue forward, Fresno County along with other counties in California, are required to meet a state mandated 75% reduction of solid waste by 2020. It is important to do our part to reduce, reuse and recycle!

Why Recycle?

Recycling allows for us to conserve resources. Resources are the materials needed to create an item or material (i.e. aluminum ore is extracted and formed to make a soda can). When too much of a resource is used, it becomes depleted and if the resource is completely used up, we have to find a new source or go without that resource. Much like turning off a light saves energy, or fixing a leaky faucet saves water, recycling allows for us to use already created materials to create new materials. This reduces the demand and need for more landfills, reduces costs on cleaning up harmful substances.

What's in the Bins? - Ready, Set, Sort!

The following is a simple list of what goes in each type of bin or cart found at your home.

Green Waste

• Leaves
• Plants (Potted or in flower beds, living or dead)
• Grass Trimmings
• Branches
• Shrubs, Bushes & Brush
• Wood & Wood Chips (untreated, uncoated)

Interested in organics, green waste or composting?

Recyclables/Blue Waste

• Mixed waste paper (including office/computer paper, egg cartons, grocery bags, shoe boxes, cereal or food boxes, magazines, junk mail, catalogs, phone books, envelopes).
• Newspaper
• Aluminum beverage containers
• Glass Containers
• Plastic bottles and bags
• Cardboard
• Milk, Juice & Soy Cartons
• Scrap Metal
• Steel or Tin Cans

Solid Waste

• Non-Recyclable Garbage
• Styrofoam
• Textiles (carpet, clothing, fabrics)
• Dried Paint Cans
• Empty Aerosol Spray Cans
• Animal Waste (dog, cat, bird, rodent, reptile, pig, chicken, hoof stock)

DO NOT PLACE IN TRASH!

Batteries, Tires, Oil, Fluorescent Lights, Toxic or Caustic Chemicals, Fuel, Drugs, Sharps, Paint

For information on disposal of these Household Hazardous Waste items, click here.

Cart or Bin? Which do I have?

A cart is the plastic trash receptacle used primarily by urban residents. The trash cart body can have a color of grey, black, brown or maroon. The lids for the carts typically are blue for the recycle cart and green for the green waste cart.

A bin is considered a metal trash receptacle ranging in size from one to six cubic yards. Bins vary in color. Refer to the label on the side of the bin to determine its use. If you have a bin that contains four (4) cubic yards or more of solid waste per week, then you are required to have a recycling service as per California State Law AB 341. If you have a single bin and you currently do not have a recycling option, please review this information regarding AB 341 or call (559) 600-4259.

Household Hazardous Waste Disposal

Fresno County offers multiple opportunities to dispose of Household Hazardous Waste (HHW):

• Fresno County has a permanent Household Hazardous Waste Facility located at 18950 W. American Ave, Kerman, CA. For hours of operations, click on the icon at the left.
• We also offer multiple Network sites throughout the county to drop off HHW such as light bulbs, batteries, automotive fluids, sharps, E-waste, and paint. For a list of network sites, click on the icon at the left.
• We offer a Door to Door Program for those that are homebound or disabled. Please call (559) 600-4259 to schedule a pickup.
• For businesses, we offer the Conditionally Exempt Small Quantity Generator (CESQG) program. For more information, click here.

Community Clean-Up Program

Exclusive Service Area Program Haulers throughout Fresno County offer customers the opportunity to participate in an annual community clean-up drop-off event within their hauling territories. For those residents who subscribe to trash service through one of the eight haulers, you will receive a notice in your newsletter or monthly bill. Residents that haul their own waste can contact the County's Resources Division at (559) 600-4259 to obtain a County issued Coupon to present at a community clean-up event near them. Residents may participate in one community clean-up event per calendar year. The amount of waste accepted will not exceed two (2) cubic yards, which is approximately a 3'x3'x6' volume. Items that will be accepted include disposal of large quantity or bulky waste items such as large appliances, e-waste, household furniture, concrete, tree trunks, water heaters, and doors. One Freon appliance per resident per year is allowed. All other Freon appliances will need to be safely and properly drained prior to disposal. Not sure who your ESAP Hauler is? Click Here.

Turning It Around Recycling Directory(PDF,3MB)

This helpful guide is found in the Valley Yellow Pages and Real Yellow Pages phonebook directories under "R" for Recycling. This guide helps direct you to multiple locations across Fresno County that accept recyclable materials that may not be found here. Click the icon on the left to begin Turning It Around!

Tire Programs

Tire Amnesty: Fresno County offers to unincorporated County residents the opportunity to dispose of used passenger tires at Tire Amnesty Drives that occur throughout the year. Residents are allowed to bring up to 9 tires. If residents have more than 10 tires, they can contact Fresno County Department of Environmental Health at (559) 600-3357 or click here.

Tire Disposal: Any county resident is welcome to dispose of their used tires at the American Avenue Disposal Site. The address for this facility is 18950 W American Avenue, Kerman, CA 93630. The cost to dispose of used tires starts as low as $1.50 per tire for passenger vehicle tires. For more additional rates for the disposal of tires, click here(PDF,54KB) for a pricing sheet.

Special Handling and Disposal Programs

Have a question about recycling a mattress? Need to dispose of an old cell phone? This guide gives a breakdown of what and where to drop off, dispose and safe handling of specific wastes.

Exclusive Service Area Program (ESAP) Hauler Information

• Directory of ESAP Haulers(PDF,990KB)
• (PDF,990KB)ESAP Hauler Map(PDF,1MB)
• (PDF,1MB)ESAP Rate Areas(PDF,1MB)

ESAP Rates (Effective 7/1/2020):

• Bins(PDF,626KB)
• Carts(PDF,583KB)
• Special Services(PDF,674KB)
• Community Clean-Up Program(PDF,569KB)

Please call the Resources Division at (559) 600-4259 if you have any questions or need information about the topics listed above. You can also email staff at recycling@fresnocountyca.gov.

For service within the CITY of Fresno call (559) 621-1452.