Long Beach Recycles

Recycling Cart Exchange

New look, same simple recycling! 

In compliance with SB 1383, all Long Beach residents with City-serviced trash, recycling and organics service will have their purple recycling carts exchanged for blue recycling carts starting in February 2026. This will occur as part of the residential recycling contract with WM (formerly known as Waste Management). WM will oversee the cart exchange process. Due to the scale of this effort, WM will utilize a third-party contractor that specializes in this work.

The recycling cart exchange will occur on the customer's regularly scheduled service day. Blue recycling carts will be delivered to all City-serviced customers, and the same size and number of recycling carts will be provided.

To find your service day, click this link to use the City’s Map-It tool. 

This information applies only to City‑serviced residents. Other service providers may not be participating in a cart‑exchange process, as their customers may already have blue recycling carts. For service information about non‑City‑serviced addresses, see the following page:

Multifamily apartments, condos, & businesses serviced by a private hauler

Delivery process

Update: 35-gallon blue recycling carts are expected back in stock in May. If you’ve been waiting for one, your request remains in the queue and will be delivered once inventory is replenished. Please continue using your purple recycling cart in the meantime.

Recycling Cart Exchange Map: Estimated Dates 

Dates are estimates and may change. Map includes only City‑serviced addresses.  

Map Guidance:

Type your address into the search bar. If your location settings are turned on, the map marker will update automatically. If location settings are turned off, adjust the map manually to find your nearest cross streets. You can zoom in using the plus sign and zoom out with the minus sign. From there, select the date closest to your location.

If you have questions or need assistance, contact us at (562) 570-2876.

Delivery instructions

• Place purple recycling carts at your regular service location by 6 a.m., even if they are not full. This ensures all purple recycling carts are removed. Leave all purple recycling carts out and accessible.
• If you forget to place your purple recycling carts out on the day you receive your blue recycling carts, put them out as soon as you remember or on your next regularly scheduled service day.
• Once your blue recycling cart arrives, please stop using the purple one. This helps our crews retrieve the purple carts more quickly.
• There is no need to call the City to request a pick up if you forget to leave your purple recycling cart out on the day your blue recycling cart arrives.
• The entire delivery area will be rechecked by the cart recovery team twice within the same 24-hour period and again the following week to recover remaining purple recycling carts.

Educational resources

• Recycling cart tag
  • English/Spanish
  • Khmer 
  • Tagalog

Purple to Blue Recycling Cart Exchange FAQs

• Why is the City switching from purple to blue recycling carts?

  The State of California’s mandatory Short‑Lived Climate Pollutant Reduction Strategy (SB 1383) requires all communities to use carts with specific colors and labels indicating what materials belong in each cart. All recycling carts in the state must be blue.

• When will I receive my blue recycling cart?

  New blue recycling carts will be delivered by a City contractor over an eight-month period, from February 2026 through October 2026. Purple recycling carts will be exchanged on your regular service day, from its regular location. City-serviced residents should place their purple recycling cart out by 6 a.m. on the regular service day, even if it is not full. This ensures crews can exchange purple carts for blue carts efficiently.
  
  The Recycling Cart Exchange Map on this page can help you find your estimated delivery date for your blue recycling cart. 

• Why is the City switching to blue recycling carts now?

  State law requires Cities to stop purchasing non-compliant cart colors by 2022 but allows Cities time to reach full compliance by 2036. While this requirement is in place, the main reason for moving forward now is that our current contract with WM, the vendor that collects the City's recycling, includes support for this cart exchange process. Completing the transition during this contract term prevents the City from having to take on the full cost later. Additionally, we expect cart costs to continue increasing over time, so completing the swap now, while it is supported under the contract, provides meaningful cost savings.

• Why not keep both purple and blue recycling carts?

  Most cities are making the change citywide due to confusion over having two different recycling cart colors for the same service, and we have already experienced this ourselves, since we have been replacing damaged or missing purple carts with blue recycling carts for some time, resulting in both colors being used for the same service.

• Will my service day change?

  No, your service day will remain the same for all three carts – trash, recycling and organics. You can look up your service day by clicking this link for the City’s MapIt tool.

  Recycling carts will be exchanged on your regular service day. City-serviced residents should place their purple recycling cart out at their regular service location by 6 a.m. on service day, even if it is not full. This ensures crews can exchange purple recycling carts for blue recycling carts during the transition.

• What if my neighbor received their blue recycling cart but I did not?

  Continue using your purple recycling cart and set it out on your service day. Crews will exchange carts over a six-month period. Your cart may be at the edge of a route, which could result in it being exchanged on a different week.

  If your purple recycling cart was picked up but no blue recycling cart was delivered within 24 hours, leaving you without a recycling cart, click this link, Request a Cart, to use the online form and select “Replace my missing cart.”

• What if I received a blue recycling cart but my purple recycling cart wasn’t picked up?

  Place your purple recycling cart at your regular service location. The entire delivery area will be rechecked by the recycling cart recovery team twice within the same 24‑hour period and again the following week on the regular service day to recover any purple carts that were not set out earlier. 

  There is no need to call the City if you forget to leave out your purple recycling cart on the day your blue recycling cart arrives. Simply set it out later that day or on your next service day.

• What can go in the new blue recycling cart?

  There is no change to the recycling guidelines. The same items previously accepted in the purple recycling cart can be placed in the blue recycling cart. The City's Recycling Guidelines can be view by clicking the link. 

• Will my service cost more with the new cart?

  There is no additional cost to swap your purple recycling cart for the new blue recycling cart. You will receive the same number and size of carts you currently have; only the color and design will change.

• What if I want a different size or an additional recycling cart?

  During the recycling cart exchange period, all requests for different‑size or additional recycling carts will be postponed until July 2026 and then completed in the order received. Those requests can be placed by clicking the link to access the using the cart request form. 

• What will happen to the purple recycling carts?

  All purple recycling carts will be collected and returned to the manufacturer for recycling. The materials will be responsibly processed and reused to produce new carts. To learn how the cart manufacturer recycles the carts, visit their website by clicking this link, Sustainable Waste Management Solutions | Rehrig Pacific. 
  

• What if I already have a blue recycling cart, will I get a new one?

  No. If you already have a blue recycling cart, it will not be exchanged unless it is damaged or stolen.

Recycling FAQs

• Why should I recycle?

  Recycling prevents usable material from going to waste and conserves our natural resources. For example, the purple recycling carts that you use to collect your recyclables are made of 40% recycled plastic. The State of California set an ambitious goal of preventing 75% of waste from going to landfills by 2020 through multiple methods, one of which is increased recycling.  

• What can I put in my recycling cart?

  Please see our recycling guidelines to find out what should and should not go into your recycling cart. 

• What day is my collection?

  Find your collection day. If you would like to call us instead, please call our Customer Service line at (562) 570-2876.

• What time does my cart need to be out for service?

  Place your carts out for service by 6:00 AM on your service day and bring them in within 12 hours of being serviced.

• Where should I place my cart for collection?

  You should place your recycling and trash carts on the street, with approximately two feet of space between them and other objects.

• If my cart is not full, should I set it out anyway?

  No. It is not necessary to roll out your cart if you feel you have enough room to get you through the next week.

• Who collects the recyclables?

  The City contracts with Waste Management, Inc. for the collection of recyclable materials. Waste Management takes the recyclables to Potential Industries, a Materials Recovery Facility in Wilmington, where they are sorted and prepared for the market place.

• Why do I have to pay for recycling?

  The charge to residents for recycling service is minimal in comparison to trash, but with the trucks, workers, facilities needed to pick up and process recyclables, there is still a cost for the service.

• I do my own recycling/ I don’t recycle. Why am I charged for recycling?

  By Municipal Code, all City serviced accounts are charged for trash/recycling collection service. The cost of the service is evenly distributed, with everyone paying the same amount for recycling. Even if you do your own recycling, the truck comes down your street or alley, and any recycling you set out will be collected.

• What about scavengers?

  If you see someone scavenging through recycling carts, call the Long Beach Police Department at (562) 435-6711 or use our online report form.

• My recycling and/or refuse is too big. Are there other cart sizes?

  32 gallon and 64-gallon carts are available. If you’d like to request one, call our Call Center at (562) 570-2876 or use our online form.