San Diego Trash: New Recycling Bins & Final Notices for Non-Compliant Properties

San Diego residents will initiate receiving recent light blue recycling bins this week as the city pushes forward with a controversial overhaul of its waste management system, while simultaneously issuing final warnings to hundreds of property owners still refusing to comply with new service requirements.

The city is delivering the new bins neighborhood by neighborhood, a process expected to continue through early fall. Residents are instructed to discontinue use of their older, darker blue bins once the new ones arrive, with the city planning to collect the older containers for recycling.

Alongside the bin rollout, the city is sending final notices to 850 property owners who were previously receiving city trash service but have been deemed ineligible under the new system. These property owners are being told they must contract with a private hauler or face escalating fines, starting at $200 every two weeks and potentially rising to $1,000 every two weeks, according to city officials.

The moves approach as the city attempts to enforce a solid-waste fee – currently $43.60 monthly – for residential trash and recycling collection, a change approved by the City Council in June 2025 and breaking a 106-year precedent of free city service for single-family homeowners. More than 95% of the 17,246 properties initially identified as ineligible have since transitioned to private haulers, meeting the city’s goal of 90% compliance by the end of last month.

“They’re deadbeats, and they need to pay,” said Jim Madaffer, executive director of the San Diego County Disposal Association, emphasizing the need for compliance with the new regulations. City officials have indicated they may resort to removing city-provided containers as a last resort for those who continue to resist.

The city’s decision to purchase 750,000 gray trash bins and 750,000 light blue recycling bins for $64.7 million last year drew criticism from some who questioned the necessity and environmental impact of replacing functional containers. City officials defended the expenditure, citing the need for tracking chips and a distinct appearance to improve dependability and accountability as the city transitions to a fee-based system.

The rollout of the new bins is also tied to a planned shift to twice-weekly recycling collection, scheduled for July 1, 2027. However, the future of that change is now uncertain, as a ballot measure seeking to repeal the trash fees is gaining momentum.

The Lincoln Club Business League is leading the effort to place a measure on the November ballot that, if approved by a simple majority of voters, would suspend the trash fees from July 2027 through June 2029. The group is leveraging a lower signature threshold for measures repealing taxes and fees, requiring just over 21,000 valid signatures by early August – significantly fewer than the 82,000 needed for most other city measures. If successful, the repeal would reduce city revenue by nearly $100 million annually, further straining the city’s budget.

The city has been working with contracted haulers to ease the transition for property owners, including softening recycling policies to encourage service to multifamily properties, where recycling rates are typically lower. Rehrig Pacific Company, a city contractor, is responsible for recycling the old bins into plastic regrind for use in new products like pallets and railroad ties.