Trash & Recycling

The information on this page is for residential trash service only. Business owners, please visit the Commercial Trash and Recycling page.

Trash Collection

The City has a franchise agreement with Athens Services to provide trash and recycling services for all residential and commercial customers in Temple City.

To start or stop trash service, or for questions about your trash bill, please contact Athens directly at (888) 336-6100.  Additional information about Athens services is available on the Athens website or by calling Athens.

Trash is collected once per week. Please view the Trash Service Schedule to see when the trash is collected in your neighborhood.

Trash collection service is not provided on the following holidays: New Year’s Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day. Trash will be collected the day after your regularly scheduled pick-up day. Please see this flyer for more information on how your trash service may be affected on holidays. 

Trash cans may be placed curbside starting at 5 p.m. the day before collection and should be placed no later than 6 a.m. on collection day. All cans must be removed no later than 10 p.m. on the day of trash collection.

Separating Waste

Per State Law, customers must separate trash into three separate containers provided by Athens: regular waste, yard/green waste, and recyclables. Containers come in three sizes: 32-gallon, 64-gallon, or 96-gallon. The default containers provided by Athens are 64-gallons, please contact Athens if you would like to downgrade or upgrade your containers.

Click here for more information on what goes into each container. 

  1. BLACK CONTAINERS
  2. GREEN CONTAINERS
  3. BLUE CONTAINERS

Black containers are landfill containers, which are for non-recyclable trash such as bathroom waste, candy bar wrappers, ceramics/porcelain, chip bags, cigarette butts, diapers, disposable gloves, foam to-go containers and cups, juice pouches, packaging peanuts, palm fronds, paper or boxes soiled with grease or food residue, pet waste, succulents and cacti, yucca leaves and other solid waste materials considered to be no longer of use.

Hazardous Waste

Hazardous waste materials include but are not limited to paints, pesticides, fertilizer, pool chemicals, motor oil, and other petroleum products, pharmaceuticals, electronic appliances and computers, fluorescent light bulbs and tubes, batteries, and tires.

Hazardous waste cannot be placed in the trash.  If Athens staff identifies hazardous waste in household trash, it will be tagged as hazardous and will not be collected. Please visit the Household Hazardous Waste page for information on how to properly dispose of hazardous waste.

Bulky Items

Larger bulky items such as appliances and furniture can be placed curbside (not in the street) for disposal on the first scheduled pickup day of the week.  For safety reasons, please secure or remove all appliance doors before placing curbside.

Note: For multifamily properties, bulky item service must be requested in advance. A one-time bulky item pickup fee will be added to the trash service bill. If your trash service is provided by your landlord or property manager, please contact them to arrange for a bulky item pickup. Dumping items on public or private property without scheduling a pickup is considered illegal dumping and is subject to citation.

Please note that electronic waste (e-waste) and household hazardous waste are not picked up by Athens and must be properly disposed of.

To schedule a pick-up, please call Athens Services at (855) 557-1007, or complete a Request Services form and select “Bulky Item Pick-Up.”

Illegal Dumping

Dumping of any waste on a street, alley, public or private property, or in a trash bin belonging to someone else is illegal. Any person illegally dumping waste is subject to citation. Illegal dumping includes but is not limited to any of the following items:

  • Appliances and electronics
  • Furniture and mattresses
  • Hazardous materials
  • Garbage or recyclable items of any kind
  • Construction materials
  • Plants and yard waste
  • Dirt, sand, and rocks
  • Animal carcasses