Many California homeowners have to deal with sorting their garbage into three containers: one for trash, one for recyclables and another for organic waste. If you accidentally put the wrong item in the wrong bin, one Southern California city wants you to know there could actually be consequences.
Brea, a suburb of Los Angeles in Orange County, shared a post on social media Thursday showing a city worker inspecting randomly selected waste containers in an undisclosed neighborhood.
For violations, the worker leaves a tag on the container that says, “OOPS! We noticed something wrong in your cart,” and notes the problem.
“A few examples of contamination include putting a plastic bag in the recycle container, food in the trash container, and an aluminum can in the organics container,” the city wrote.
A city worker in Brea, California, inspects trash bins for violations. December 2025. (City of Brea)
Brea says the inspections are required under California Senate Bill 1383, a 2016 law that mandates organic waste recycling (and enforcement) to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Homeowners could be assessed contamination or noncompliance fees starting at $50, the city said.
Reaction to the social media post was – by and large – critical of the city’s enforcement efforts.
“My tax dollars pay for this? Wow,” wrote one user. Another added, “Are there no bigger issues in the city to deal with? I feel like this should be on the bottom of the list of things that need attention.”
Some users pointed out that random people, not just homeowners, sometimes place items into the bins.
“Because we can control when people walk by and dump their crap into our containers… why not invest that time and money in actually educating people on what belongs where and why, because clearly people have no clue,” one user wrote.
The violation notice placed on trash bins in Brea, California. December 2025. (City of Brea)
A 2023 report from the Little Hoover Commission oversight panel found that California’s legally mandated organic waste recycling program was fraught with problems, not reducing harmful emissions as intended, and should be put on hold or scrapped entirely.
CalRecycle, which manages the program, countered that pausing it would “threaten years of climate progress” and jeopardize millions of dollars in investments.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTLA.