One Of California’s Most Beautiful Cities Suddenly Has A Major Trash Problem

More than a century after it was codified into local law, one of California’s biggest cities has axed its public promise of free trash pickups for residents. And now, thousands of property owners are scrambling to secure their own pickup arrangements.

San Diego’s new trash fee has been in the works for years. Originally approved in 2022 via Measure B, which amended a 1919 rule known as the People’s Ordinance that forbade the collection of waste removal fees, as of July 1, 2025, the new law allows the city to charge for its trash services to “eligible” households. The fee is $43.60 a month, or approximately $523 per year for 95-gallon bins, according to the city’s website.

Eligible properties are defined as single-family residential properties or multi-family properties on a public street that have no more than four residences in one lot. That language covers the majority of the 1.4 million citizens of San Diego, California’s second-largest city, but not all.

Households and properties that don’t meet the city’s requirements are on their own.

The ineligible properties include lots with more than five residences, businesses, gated or private properties, and housing complexes, according to the city website. On Monday, the San Diego-Union Tribune reported that 21,000 properties are set to become “ineligible” for city-provided trash pickup, and only about 4,300 of those have secured a deal with a private waste removal vendor. That could leave thousands of area properties (many of them large apartment complexes and other multi-family dwellings) with no one to pick up their trash.