San Diego junk disposal rules

Environmental Services’ general collection page is the rulebook for City-serviced homes. Never in any bin: liquids; hot coals, ashes, or lit cigarettes; building and construction debris; furniture, appliances, or auto parts (including items over 50 pounds); unwrapped sharps; household hazardous waste (paint, solvents, oil, pesticides, pool chemicals, fuels); needles; and universal waste (batteries, electronics, fluorescent bulbs, mercury devices). Those bans protect collectors, trucks, and groundwater. They are also how fires start in the packer.

Trash is weekly in the gray cart, organics weekly in green, recycling every other week in blue. Holiday weeks slide one day later when the City is closed (New Year’s Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas — confirm the current year on the collection-schedule page). Missed carts that were out by 6 a.m. and legal get a return; overflowing banned bulky items do not.

Miramar Landfill (5180 Convoy St) is open Monday–Saturday 7 a.m.–4 p.m. (self-dumping vehicles until 4:30 p.m.), closed Sundays and listed holidays. Fees depend on vehicle, waste type, weight, and City vs non-City origin. All loads must be covered. Appliances, TVs, universal waste, e-waste, and HHW must be handled before you enter the trash deck. Random load checks pull about 44,000 pounds of hazardous material a year off the incoming stream.

Household hazardous waste for City residents is free by appointment at 5161 Convoy St, currently Wednesday and Saturday 9 a.m.–3 p.m., proof of residency required, generally up to 15 gallons or 125 pounds. Book through Get It Done / sandiego.gov/hhw. South Bay cities and unincorporated residents use other HHW sites (including the South Bay facility for several south-county cities). Business waste is not household HHW.

Illegal dumping is a code and environmental problem. Get It Done is the City reporting tool. Fred’s follows the same sorting rules the City posted: we recycle mattresses, metal, and e-waste when they qualify, we refuse paint and chemicals, and we do not leave your pile in an alley. Posted rates already include dump and recycling fees. Text a photo if you want the legal path without driving Convoy Street.