What CALGreen asks for
CALGreen is Part 11 of California's building code; the 2025 edition took effect January 1, 2026. Sections 4.408.1 (residential) and 5.408.1 (nonresidential) require at least 65% of nonhazardous C&D waste to be recycled or salvaged for reuse, or a more stringent local ordinance. Diversion is counted by weight or by volume, not both. A low-rise home can instead show it landfilled no more than 3.4 lb per square foot of building area; other projects 2 lb. Excavated soil and land-clearing debris are left out of the percentage.
In practice every city asks for the same three things in its own format: a plan before the permit (what you'll divert and where it goes), proof during the job (weight tickets and receipts), and a final report before the building is finaled or the deposit comes back. The statewide rules, sections and exceptions are in our C&D recycling guide.
City by city
From each city's own C&D page for the cities and communities we serve. Click through for the full rule and its source.
| City | Diversion | How it's tracked | Deposit | Weight tickets |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dana Point | 75% (above CALGreen) | City plan and report | Yes | Required |
| Laguna Beach | Per city plan | Green Halo | Yes | Required |
| San Juan Capistrano | 65% | City plan and report | Yes | Per city rules |
| Anaheim | 65% (CALGreen) | Ask the building department | — | — |
| Costa Mesa | 65% | City plan and report | Not stated | Required |
| Fountain Valley | 65% | City plan and report | Not stated | Required |
| Fullerton | 65% (CALGreen) | Ask the building department | — | — |
| Garden Grove | 65% | City plan and report | Yes | Required |
| Huntington Beach | 65% (CALGreen) | Ask the building department | — | — |
| Irvine | Per city plan | City plan and report | Yes | Required |
| Ladera Ranch | 65% | OC Waste & Recycling C&D Program | Not stated | Per city rules |
| Laguna Hills | 65% | City plan and report | Yes | Required |
| Laguna Niguel | 65% | City plan and report | Yes | Required |
| Lake Forest | 65% | Green Halo | Not stated | Per city rules |
| Mission Viejo | 75% (above CALGreen) | City plan and report | Not stated | Per city rules |
| Newport Beach | 65% (CALGreen) | Ask the building department | — | — |
| Orange | 65% (CALGreen) | Ask the building department | — | — |
| Rancho Mission Viejo | 65% | OC Waste & Recycling C&D Program | Not stated | Per city rules |
| Rancho Santa Margarita | 65% | City plan and report | Yes | Required |
| San Clemente | Per city plan | City plan and report | Not stated | Per city rules |
| Santa Ana | 65% | Green Halo (coming) | Not stated | Per city rules |
| Seal Beach | 65% (CALGreen) | Ask the building department | — | — |
| Trabuco Canyon | 65% | OC Waste & Recycling C&D Program | Not stated | Per city rules |
| Tustin | 65% | Green Halo | Yes | Required |
| Westminster | 65% | City plan and report | Not stated | Required |
| Yorba Linda | 65% | City plan and report | Not stated | Per city rules |
No city C&D summary on file yet for Anaheim, Fullerton, Huntington Beach, Newport Beach, Orange, Seal Beach; CALGreen's 65% applies to covered projects there. "Not stated" means the city page we read didn't mention a deposit, not that there isn't one.
The 75% cities: Dana Point and Mission Viejo
Dana Point requires covered construction, demolition and encroachment-permit projects to divert at least 75% of C&D debris by weight (Municipal Code 6.12.040). You file a Waste Reduction and Recycling Plan before the permit, post a security deposit set by council resolution, and report actual tonnage with weight tags within 60 days of completion. Residential work under 150 sq ft and re-roofs without a tear-off are exempt. Note that the rule reaches projects that only need an encroachment permit.
Mission Viejo requires 75% of the C&D waste from covered projects to be diverted from landfill (Ordinance No. 04-225). The city's forms offer disposal options with a self-certification form; its Option 3 needs a C&D Waste Diversion Plan and a Waste Recycling and Disposal Report Summary.
75% is harder than it sounds on a remodel, because diversion is counted in tons. In the diversion calculator's worked example, keeping the concrete clean gives 67.8%; put the same concrete in with the mixed debris and it drops to 16.3%. On a 75% job, keep every heavy material in its own load.
Green Halo cities
Green Halo is the online system some cities use to take the plan and the tickets. Where it's used, you upload as the job goes rather than handing in a stack at the end.
- Laguna Beach: demolition, new construction, additions, remodels and re-roofs with a tear-off submit a Waste Disposal Plan through Green Halo, then pay a refundable deposit ($1,000 for demolition and new construction, $750 for additions, $500 for remodels and renovations, $250 for re-roofs with tear-off) plus a $55 non-refundable administrative fee. Keep every weight tag and gate receipt and upload them as you go.
- Lake Forest: Ordinance No. 320 requires at least 65% from covered projects; projects are tracked in Green Halo, and the city posts a three-step guide to getting the C&D refund.
- Tustin: a Waste Reduction and Recycling Plan before the permit, weight tickets uploaded to the city's Green Halo portal throughout the job, and a Final Project Report. When a deposit is required there's a $242 application fee, and the deposit comes back after sign-off once 65% is shown.
- Santa Ana: applies CALGreen's 65% and says Green Halo tracking is coming.
Deposits and deadlines
A C&D deposit is refundable, but it's cash tied up until the city accepts your report, and a missed deadline can forfeit it. Budget for it in the bid.
| City | Deposit | Report and deadline |
|---|---|---|
| Irvine | $1.00 per sq ft, capped at $50,000 | Post-Project Final Report with every weight ticket and receipt |
| Laguna Hills | Residential $0.30 per sq ft ($100 to $3,750); commercial $0.50 ($250 to $7,143); $46.04 plan fee | Receipts and weight tags marked C&D and from Laguna Hills, within 60 days of final inspection |
| Rancho Santa Margarita | 3% of permit valuation ($500 to $10,000) | Report Summary with all weight tickets and receipts within 60 days of final sign-off |
| Laguna Niguel | $1,000 for new buildings and demolitions, $750 for additions, $500 for non-residential alterations, $250 for non-residential re-roofs | Weight tickets and a diversion report, or recyclers' weight tickets |
| San Juan Capistrano | Deposit (amount not stated on the program page) | Final report within 60 days of completion, or the deposit is forfeited |
| Garden Grove | Administrative fee and security deposit | Upload tickets two weeks before final inspection; refunds take about 6 to 8 weeks |
| Unincorporated OC | Not stated | Compliance Work Plan up front; C&D Final Compliance Report to OC Waste & Recycling before the project can be finaled |
Dana Point, Laguna Beach and Tustin are above. Amounts and deadlines are the cities' own, as published when we read them; check the program page before you bid.
Weight tickets: what the city wants to see
A weight ticket is the scale record of a load. Cities are specific about what it has to show:
- Fountain Valley: the facility, the tonnage, Fountain Valley as the origin, and a C&D code.
- Costa Mesa: weight tickets showing the waste came from Costa Mesa and was processed as C&D, turned in before final inspection. The city also says asphalt, concrete, excavated soil and land-clearing debris should be 100% diverted.
- Laguna Hills: receipts and weight tags marked C&D and from Laguna Hills.
- Yorba Linda: the hauler's receipts, disposal manifests or recycling reports, to the Building Department before final inspection.
San Clemente adds a practical warning in its own words: "the local Prima Deshecha landfill is not a recycling center." Loads you want to count as diverted have to go to a facility that recycles them.
Our tickets, and what your city accepts
Every Eco Waste bag pickup ticket shows the job address and the bag's scale weight, and invoices go out by job address, so you can track tons by job. Cities decide what they accept, and some want the receiving facility's own weight tag. Tell us the city before the job starts and ask what we can provide for its report.
A checklist for a permitted job
- Before the permit: find the city's C&D program on its service area page, file the plan, and post the deposit.
- Before the first load: ask your hauler what paperwork comes back, and whether the city wants facility weight tags.
- During the job: keep concrete, dirt, brick, metal and green waste out of the mixed debris. Save every ticket, and upload as you go in Green Halo cities.
- At the end: add up the tons in the diversion calculator and file the report inside the city's deadline (60 days in several cities).
For the debris side of the bid, the remodel debris budget calculator estimates tons and cubic yards from the takeoff. For hauling on your jobs, see job-site service for contractors.