Garbage, Recycling and Compost Service by City in Silicon Valley (2026)

Moving in and need to start trash service, or just want to know who picks up your carts? In Silicon Valley it depends on the city: most cities and towns sign a franchise with one hauler, a few split the work, and San Jose assigns haulers by area. Here’s who collects garbage, recycling and compost at single-family homes in each of the 31 cities we cover, with a link to each city’s own page.

The short answer

• Recology San Mateo County serves Belmont, Burlingame, East Palo Alto, Foster City, Hillsborough, Menlo Park, Redwood City, San Carlos and San Mateo.
• West Valley Recycles serves Campbell, Los Gatos, Monte Sereno and Saratoga, through the West Valley Solid Waste Management Authority.
• GreenWaste serves Atherton, Los Altos Hills, Palo Alto, Portola Valley and Woodside.
• San Jose splits the work by area and stream: Garden City Sanitation (garbage) and California Waste Solutions (recycling) in Downtown, North, East and South San Jose; GreenTeam of San Jose in West San Jose; GreenWaste Recovery for yard trimmings citywide.
• Unincorporated pockets are served by county-franchised haulers, not the city’s, even with a city mailing address.

Santa Clara County

San Mateo County

San Jose, area by area

The City of San Jose assigns haulers by address; its Utility Services Lookup shows yours. As the City lists them:

• Garden City Sanitation: garbage in Downtown, North, East and South San Jose.
• California Waste Solutions: recycling, junk pickup and used motor oil and filter collection in Downtown, North, East and South San Jose.
• GreenTeam of San Jose: garbage, recycling, junk pickup and used motor oil and filter collection in West San Jose, and service for apartments and condos.
• GreenWaste Recovery: yard trimmings and street sweeping in every area.

All four agreements run 2021–2036, per the City.

Good to know, city by city

• Campbell: Through the West Valley Solid Waste Management Authority; the city page still uses the former name, West Valley Collection & Recycling.
• Los Altos Hills: The Town’s franchise runs to June 30, 2034.
• Los Gatos: Through the West Valley Solid Waste Management Authority.
• Monte Sereno: Through the West Valley Solid Waste Management Authority.
• Mountain View: The City’s Utility Billing handles service orders and billing.
• Santa Clara: Split service: Mission Trail Waste Systems for garbage and yard trimmings, Recology South Bay for recycling; carts and billing through the City’s Municipal Utilities.
• Saratoga: Through the West Valley Solid Waste Management Authority.
• Atherton: GreenWaste replaced Recology San Mateo County on January 1, 2021.
• Foster City: Recology San Mateo County since 2011.
• Millbrae: Not Recology: Millbrae’s franchise is with South San Francisco Scavenger.
• Portola Valley: A 10-year franchise approved November 13, 2019.
• Redwood City: Since January 1, 2026, Recology (not the City) bills single-family homes, quarterly.
• San Bruno: Recology San Bruno is a separate company from Recology San Mateo County.
• Woodside: GreenWaste has served the Town since 1996.

How to start service

• Call the hauler or the city. In some cities the hauler bills you directly; in others the city bills trash with water or other utilities. The city page linked above says which.
• Buying a home? The carts usually stay with the house, and you open or transfer the account in your name; ask the city or hauler how, and whether the seller’s account was billed through the city.
• Bulky items and household hazardous waste have their own programs; the same city pages explain them.

How we checked

Each hauler comes from the city’s or town’s own website, the hauler’s site or RethinkWaste (the South Bayside Waste Management Authority), read on October 29, 2026. Contracts change: when a city signs a new franchise, the hauler on this page can change, so the city’s page is the final word for your address.

Moving here?

We’ll help you line up the utilities, the move-in details and the home itself. Call (408) 373-1660 or (650) 383-8606, or book a call. Commissions are negotiable, and we offer bundled services, so ask us what’s included.