Recycling rules in Thousand Oaks, CA

📍 Athens Services · 3-cart program

Who collects your recycling in Thousand Oaks, CA

Residential curbside collection in Thousand Oaks, CA is provided by Athens Services under an exclusive franchise, so every household on the route gets the same carts and the same accepted-items list. Households get three carts — a blue cart for recyclables, a green cart for food scraps and yard trimmings, and a black cart for everything else.

That third cart isn't optional: California's SB 1383 requires organic-waste collection statewide, which is why food scraps have their own cart here instead of going in the trash.

How recycling works in Thousand Oaks, CA

Thousand Oaks consolidated its residential collection under a single hauler in 2022. The City Council awarded Athens Services an exclusive 15-year citywide franchise in March 2021, with service starting January 1, 2022 — replacing the long-running split between Waste Management (G.I. Industries) and E.J. Harrison. One company now handles residential, commercial, and street sweeping.

• Thousand Oaks is a three-cart city under California's SB 1383 organics mandate: recycling, organics (green), and trash.
• Food scraps go in the green organics cart with yard trimmings, not in the trash cart.
• The franchise covers the incorporated city. Surrounding unincorporated Ventura County pockets are served by other haulers, so a neighbor just outside the city limits may have a different company and different cart colors.

Common mistakes in Thousand Oaks, CA

• If you moved from an unincorporated county area, don't assume your old hauler's accepted-items list applies — the city franchise changed in 2022.
• Food scraps in the trash cart is the most common post-SB 1383 error in California.

Sources: toakstrash.org · toaks.gov · waste360.com — checked 2026-08-22

The quick answer for Thousand Oaks, CA

Plastic bottles & jugs	♻️ Blue cart	Empty; keep the cap on.
Aluminum & steel cans	♻️ Blue cart	Give them a rinse.
Flattened cardboard	♻️ Blue cart	Clean, dry sections only.
Glass bottles & jars	♻️ Blue cart	Lids off.
Food scraps	🌱 Green cart	Fruit, veg, leftovers, bones.
Greasy pizza box	🌱 Green cart	A clean box can be recycled instead.
Plastic bags & film	🗑️ Black cart	Store drop-off is better.
Batteries	⚠️ Hazardous	Never curbside — tape the terminals.

This is the short list. The full A–Z of what is and isn't recyclable is on what can I recycle? — or scan the item and get the answer for Thousand Oaks, CA directly.

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Thousand Oaks, CA recycling FAQ

Why did Thousand Oaks change trash companies?

The City Council voted in March 2021 to award Athens Services an exclusive 15-year citywide franchise, consolidating what had been a split between Waste Management (G.I. Industries) and E.J. Harrison. Athens service began January 1, 2022.

Can you recycle plastic bags in Thousand Oaks, CA?

Not in your blue cart. Bags and film wrap around the sorting equipment at the facility Athens Services uses, which is why they're excluded almost everywhere. Take clean, dry bags back to a grocery-store drop-off, or put them in your black cart.

What do I do with batteries in Thousand Oaks, CA?

Batteries never go in any of your Thousand Oaks, CA carts — not the blue cart, not the black cart. They're household hazardous waste and a genuine fire risk in the truck. Tape the terminals and take them to a local e-waste or household-hazardous-waste drop-off.

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Still not sure?

Rules vary by material and by hauler, and the sorting line is strict — one wrong item can contaminate a whole load. When in doubt, point your camera at the item for a verdict, or check the official Athens Services guide.