We're remote, so garbage and refuse disposal is different than it is in town. Here's how it works... what to do and what not to do.

Basics: your choices are to engage a private service that picks up garbage or select a County approved provider such as Santa Clara County has done.  Or bag your garbage and transport it to the dump or another approved garbage receiving site.

It will not win you points if you carry bagged garbage into town to a businesses' commercial dumpster, or sneak a piggyback on a neighbor's containers or someone's in town.

No matter what,  garbage temporarily stored outside your home needs to be in tamperproof containers. Every creature in the Santa Cruz Mountains loves to get into garbage. From mice and rats to raccoons, foxes and dogs.  So you need to ensure the lids on containers are secure and able to stay tight even if the container is turned over. A plastic garbage bag left outside is almost guaranteed to get ripped open and contents strewn everywhere  

Santa Clara County has a new provider for garbage service. Someone with knowledge of them please fill in here.

Back to Mountain Living Basics page.