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Residential Services
Marin Sanitary Service provides weekly garbage, recycling and compostables (food scrap, yard waste and food-soiled paper) collection services to residential customers (defined as households of less than four units) in San Rafael, San Anselmo, Ross, Kentfield, Kent Woodlands, Fairfax, Greenbrae, Larkspur and other unincorporated areas of Central Marin County. We currently service more than 30,000 residential accounts, almost one third of the population of Marin.
We’re dedicated to a better Marin, and work to promote recycling and diverting waste from our landfills in order to conserve natural resources and to reach our goal of zero waste. We’re not only a local business, we live here too.
NEW TO OUR SERVICES?
Download our Residential Getting Started Guide and learn about our services and resources available to you.
SET UP, CHANGE OR STOP SERVICE
Starting Service
- Fill out this form or call MSS customer service.
- Service days are established by service address. They cannot be selected by the customer. To ensure that carts on the property and ready to use, MSS should be notified at least a week before the move in date.
- If you are renting and are not the person(s) responsible for paying the bill, you will not be allowed to start service. If this is the case, please contact your property manager to have them arrange for service set-up or closure.
Close Out Service
- Fill out this form or call MSS customer service.
- The last day of collection is scheduled on your service day. For example, if Monday is your service day the account will be processed for closure on the upcoming Monday or any Monday following.
- If you have extra bags for collection and or bulky items to be collected, MSS will need to know this so proper billing can take place.
- If you are renting and are not the person(s) responsible for paying the bill, you will not be allowed to stop service. If this is the case, please contact your property manager to have them arrange for service set-up or closure.
GET STARTED
Our customer support representatives are available Monday through Friday between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. at (415) 456-2601.
IT’S THE LAW
Per California law, compostables (food scraps, plant debris & food-soiled paper) and recycling must be removed from garbage containers.
BILLING
Residential customers are billed quarterly for garbage, recycling, and compostables collection services. Rates are determined by the size and number of landfill carts you have.
If you have questions about your bill, please contact customer support at (415) 456-2601.
MOVING GUIDE
Moving can produce a lot of extra waste so we put together this quick reference guide to help you reduce, reuse, and move more sustainably.
SERVICE OPTIONS
Residential customers enjoy a basic bundled service package that includes Garbage, Recycling and Compostables (food scrap, yard waste and food-soiled paper) collection services for one low rate.
Our residential 3-cart program provides one cart for garbage (landfill), one 64-gallon, split-cart for recycling, and one compostables cart for yard waste and food scraps/food soiled paper.
These are your options for residential carts:
Garbage (landfill) carts are available in 20, 32, 64 and 96-gallon sizes. You may upsize your garbage cart or add an additional cart for an increased monthly rate.
Recycling split-cart containers are available in a 64 gallon size.
Compostables carts are available in 32-and 64-gallon sizes. Additional recycling and organics carts are available for a small monthly fee.
When you set up service, a customer support representative will review the cart and size options with you. See the “Cart Sizes” section below for more information.
COMPREHENSIVE HAULING SERVICES FOR ONE LOW RATE
Split-Cart Recycling
Recycling bottles, cans, and containers on the brown side and paper products on the blue side.
Compostables
Recycle yard trimmings, kitchen scraps and food-soiled paper in the green cart so they can be composted into rich soil amendment.
Landfill / Garbage
Everything put in the garbage goes directly to landfill.
CART SIZES
Marin Sanitary Service offers residents the following cart sizes for each commodity type. All containers have sturdy handles and wheels making the curbside set out process more convenient. Please see Curbside Set Out Rules below for information about putting your carts out for collection.
When you set up service, a customer support representative will review the cart and size options with you. If you wish to change a cart size, please contact customer support at (415) 456-2601.
The 20 and 32 gallon carts appear to be the same size; however, the bottom of the 20 gallon cart has a raised bottom.
Please note that dimensions are approximate and based on the manufacturer may vary slightly from those listed.
MISSED COLLECTION
Missed collections must be reported within 48 hours of the service day. MSS will make every effort to return that same day if the miss is reported by noon on the service day or the following day if the miss is reported after noon on the day of service. Any misses reported after 48 hours will be subject to a fee for collection.
Contact us to report a missed collection. You may also call our office at (415) 456-2601.
DAMAGED OR MISSING CARTS
To report a damaged or missing cart, contact us or call our office Monday-Friday between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. at (415) 456-2601.
VACATION HOLD
Going on vacation? To put a temporary stop on your service, please notify us with your stop service date and return date. If you are away for a minimum of two weeks, your account will be credited for interruption of service; however, we must be notified in advance.
No more than one hold per cycle (3 months) is allowed. To set up a vacation hold, contact us or call our office at (415) 456-2601.
CURBSIDE SET OUT RULES
Timing
Marin Sanitary Service provides weekly Garbage, Recycling and Compostables (food scrap, yard waste and food-soiled paper) collection services to residential customers. Place all carts at the curb the night before your service day or before 6:00 a.m. the day of service. Fairfax residents should place carts at the curb the night before pick-up.
Don’t Overfill Your Cart
Cart and dumpster lids must close completely. Environmental regulations dictate that cart lids must be closed at all times to prevent spillage. Carts that are overloaded with lids open and/or overweight will be charged an additional fee. Carts that are consistently overloaded and not closed may indicate the need to upgrade to the next larger container size. You’ll find container size options here, or you may call customer service department for available cart options at (415) 456-2601.
Remove any weights, bungee cords or ropes that were used to secure the lids of carts on your pick-up day. These can cause problems with the equipment and undue delays for the driver. We are not responsible for loss of bungee cords, ropes, etc.
Our carts are designed to be picked up by our fully automated or semi-automated tipper arms on our collection trucks. This specialized arm allows for the weight of the cart to be lifted by the truck and not the driver, which helps keep the driver safe and the routes efficient. Customers who use their own containers for extra yard waste and/or recyclables MUST follow certain rules to have the materials collected (see Extras, Clean-ups, Bulky Items & Other Services).
How to Put Your Carts Out
All our carts have sturdy handles and wheels making the curbside set out process more convenient.
Place carts at curb or within three feet from the street. Avoid blocking walkways and bike lanes if possible.
Place carts two feet apart and five feet away from cars, mailboxes, telephone poles, etc.
Make sure wheels and handles are facing away from the street at the curb to help prevent carts from being tipped over as they are serviced by our fully or semi-automated collection systems.
What Our Fully-Automated Trucks Mean for You
In an effort to increase the speed of collection and to prevent injuries to our drivers, we are transition to a fully-automated truck fleet. This short video shows you how our trucks work. We think they’re pretty nifty, and hope you do too!
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