'Tis the season of more celebrations, and more chances to reduce food waste together!

Follow these tips to reduce food waste during your holiday celebrations:

• Share leftovers with guests and neighbors: Have your guests BYO (Bring Your Own) containers to take home leftovers.

• Store produce to last: Print a Produce Storage Guide for your kitchen or visit our website to learn tips on how to store produce. Proper produce storage can help save you money and trips to the grocery store!

• Plan menus and make a shopping list: A little planning goes a long way. Take inventory of what you have at home before each shopping trip.

• Donate excess food to a local organization: Do you have food to spare? Share with your community and donate to a local organization in need. Visit our website for a list of Long Beach organizations that accept donated food.

Separate your food scraps when preparing meals to help create a greener community.

Place these items in your organics (green) cart:

• Meat, eggs, bones, and shells 
• Coffee grounds 
• Bread and pasta 
• Cheese 
• Expired or spoiled food without packaging 
• Vegetables and fruits 
• Food-soiled paper (napkins, paper towels, pizza boxes)

Need a special pickup? Reporting illegally dumped items? Want to exchange your cart? Was there a missed collection?

✅ Use our online forms; no phone call needed.

Visit the Service Request Navigator Page to request a special pickup, report dumped items, request a cart exchange, or report a missed collection.

📣 Collection tip:

Please make sure your carts are out by 6:00 AM and left out until 6:00 PM on collection day. If they are still not collected after 6:00 PM, you can submit a missed collection form, but make sure to keep your carts out and accessible.

Find the answer at the bottom of this email!

In observance of Thanksgiving, many City of Long Beach facilities will be closed on November 27th and November 28th, and some services will be impacted.

🚛 ♻️ Refuse/Recycling/Organics 

Refuse, recycling, and organics will be collected as scheduled.

🧹💨Street Sweeping

There will be no scheduled street sweeping or enforcement of street sweeping violations on November 27th and November 28th. Street sweeping will resume its regular schedule on Monday, December 1st.

🚗 Parking Enforcement

Read your parking meter: Citywide parking violations, including parking meters, will be enforced on November 27th and November 28th, unless the meter states “Exempt on Holidays.” The days and hours of enforcement are displayed on the meters.

📞The Customer Call Center will be closed on November 27th and November 28th.

Please help keep toxic chemicals out of our neighborhoods and environment! Household hazardous waste cannot be disposed of in the trash or any curbside cart.

Long Beach residents have access to household hazardous waste drop-off events at no cost.

Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) includes, but is not limited to:

• Lightbulbs
• Electronics
• Paint
• Pool and garden chemicals
• Medications
• Batteries

HHW & E-Waste Collection Events:



Gaffey Street S.A.F.E. Center Drop-Off

1400 N. Gaffey St., San Pedro Saturdays and Sundays, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Signal Hill EDCO HHW Drop-Off

2755 California Ave., Signal Hill

2nd & 4th Saturdays, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

E-Waste ONLY:



Conservation Corps Long Beach (CCLB) E-Waste Drop-Off Site*

340 Nieto Ave., Long Beach

Every Saturday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Conservation Corps Long Beach (CCLB) E-Waste Pickup*

Contact CCLB to schedule a free e-waste pickup by calling 562-577-2555 or 562-639-1446.

*CCLB accepts e-waste ONLY and does NOT accept used oil, tires, or other household hazardous waste.

The correct answer is E., all of the above!

Spoiled food, food-soiled paper (like napkins, paper towels, and pizza boxes), fruit and vegetable peels, and bones can all be placed in your green cart.