Waste and Recycle Process

Weekly pick-ups are scheduled throughout Brea neighborhoods using a three-bin system. The green bin is for clean recycle materials such as paper, cardboard, aluminum and glass. The brown bin is for plant materials that can be composted. The black bin is for all other regular waste materials.

Learn more about different types of waste by selecting from the topics at the left.

Here is a checklist for What Goes Where.

Republic Services (Brea’s waste hauler) observes the following holidays:  New Year’s Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day.  If your pickup day falls on one of these holidays, it will be delayed by one day. For example, Labor Day falls on Monday, September 7, so your collection day that week will be delayed by one day, with Friday collections being collected on Saturday. Please see Republic Services Holiday Schedule for detailed information.

Did you ever wonder what happens to waste and recycle material once it is picked up? Here is a video so you can see the process once the bins are emptied at your home or business. Brea Disposal is operated as part of Republic Services. Visit their website for more information.

Here are some other videos showing aspects of the waste and recycle process.

Residential Recycling Video

Industrial Waste & Recycling

Life Cycle of Waste