Collection Program
Multi-Family Collection Program
Our Multi-Family Collection Program provides easy and efficient waste management for multi-family residences. The program offers a variety of specialized carts to ensure proper disposal and recycling practices.
Collection carts for all multi-family residences are:- Brown Food Scraps dedicated carts (centralized/shared service) or a Gray Garbage/Food Scraps split cart (cart service).
- Blue Recyclables Split Cart or Bin.
- Green Yard Trimmings Cart or Bin.
- Gray Garbage/Food Scraps split cart (cart service) or Gray Garbage single-stream carts and bins (centralized/shared service).
- Kitchen Pail.
Recyclable Cart and Bins Guidelines
What goes in the recyclable containers split cart compartment or dedicated containers cart?
Empty & clean
- Glass Bottles & Jars
- Aluminum & Metal
- food & beverage cans
- aerosol cans (empty)
- foil and scrap metal pieces (up to 30 pounds per item)
- Plastics Containers Labeled 1-7
- bottles, jars, tubs & trays
What goes in the paper/fibers split cart compartment or dedicated paper/fiber cart/bin?
Any recyclable paper that tears, including:
- aseptic boxes (juice, soup & soy milk)
- dairy cartons
- catalog, magazines, junk mail & phone books
- corrugated cardboard & paper boxes (large/multi pieces should be flattened and/or cut)
- newspaper (including inserts)
- shredded paper (contained in a paper bag or box)
Note: No Plastic Bags (please contain multiple bags in one bag & tie shut). No Film Plastic/Shrink Wrap, No Foam/Styrofoam®, No Pressurized Tanks.
Yard Trimmings Cart Guidelines
Your Green Yard Trimmings Cart or Bin is for yard trimmings and clean wood only. (Food scraps and food-soiled paper belong in the food scrap compartment of your Garbage/Food Scraps split cart or dedicated Food Scraps Cart/Bin,)
What goes in the green yard trimmings cart?
• flowers & leaves
• ivy & weeds
• grass clippings
• small branches (less than 6” in diameter)
• tree stumps (smaller than 16” in diameter)
• untreated dimensional lumber (less than 24” long)
Please Remember: No Glass, Metal, Styrofoam® or Plastic, Aseptic Boxes, Liquid Fat, Oil or Grease, Food, Food-Soiled Paper, Pet Litter or Feces, Dirt, Rock, Concrete, Brick or Treated Wood
Brown Food Scraps Cart Guidelines
Feel free to use a paper or clear plastic bag to collect your food scraps and food soiled paper before disposing of them in the food scraps compartment of your Gray Garbage/Food Scraps Split Cart or your Brown Food Scraps Dedicated Cart/Bin.
What goes in the food scraps & food-soiled paper compartment?
All Fresh, Cooked & Moldy Food Scraps Including:
- peels, pits & rinds
- dairy products
- bread, pasta & other grains
- coffee grounds & tea leaves
- meats & bones
- fruit & vegetables
- Food Soiled Paper
- soiled newspaper & kraft paper bags
- paper plates & cups
- napkins & paper towels
- paper takeout containers
The Handy Kitchen Pail
Use it to store your food scraps until you empty it into the Brown Food Scraps Dedicated Cart or the food scraps side of your Gray Garbage/Food Scraps Split Cart/Bin.
- Can be stored under the sink or on the kitchen counter.
- Line with newspaper, kraft bags, paper towels or plastic bags.
- Rinse with warm soapy water when needed.
Gray Garbage Cart or Bin Guidelines
Your Garbage Collection Program may include a Gray Garbage/Food Scraps split cart (cart service) or Gray single-stream carts and bins (centralized/shared service).
What goes in the garbage container?
Non-Recyclable Glass and Non-Recyclable Paper.
Non-Recyclable Plastics NOT marked with 1 – 7, Including: film plastic/plastic bags/shrink wrap, foam/Styrofoam®
Other: clothes hangers, diapers & personal hygiene items, pet feces (please bag), plastic straws, small rugs & mats, shoes, clothing, toys (that cannot be donated) and wood (painted or stained)
Notes: No Organic or Recyclable Materials, Dirt or Concrete, Paint, Batteries, Fluorescent Bulbs, Poison, or other Household Hazardous Waste (HHW)
40% of Food in America Is Wasted
The City of Milpitas joins the cities of San José, Stanford, Sunnyvale and Santa Clara to sort food scraps.
Over time, keeping food scraps out of the landfill will help reduce environmental impacts-such as greenhouse gas emissions and odor.