Chino Hills City Council members on Oct. 28 reviewed proposed adjustments to residential waste collection routes that Waste Management says would rebalance service days and reduce duplicate truck visits across the city.

The route rebalancing would affect about 4,879 of the city’s roughly 20,122 residential customers, Waste Management staff and city analysts said. The company told the council it wants to reduce the heavy volumes on Mondays and Fridays, improve predictability of pickup windows and cut truck travel miles and associated street wear.

The proposal would move specific neighborhoods to new service days. Examples discussed during the presentation included moving Carbon Canyon from Wednesday to Monday (except for the Sleepy Hollow area, which would remain on Wednesday); changing Lake Los Serranos Mobile Home Park from Tuesday to Wednesday; and shifting Fairfield Ranch from Friday to Thursday. The company said it will provide a customer lookup tool so residents can enter their address to see whether their service day changes.

Why it matters: Waste Management said Mondays and Fridays are currently the busiest service days and have higher driver callouts, which can lead to later or missed pickups. City staff said optimizing routes should reduce late pickups, compressed truck schedules, and duplicate truck visits to the same neighborhoods in a week.

Discussion and council direction: Council members and residents pressed for clarity on maps, neighborhood boundaries and timing. Several council members asked that route changes not begin in December because holiday travel and visitor activity make that month difficult for residents to adapt. Waste Management indicated it could consider moving the change to Jan. 1, 2026, and councilmembers expressed consensus in favor of a post‑holiday start. Council also requested clearer maps that avoid splitting small neighborhoods across different service days, and confirmation that affected customers would receive at least 30 days’ notice through mailers, emails, phone calls and the city website.

Operational details provided: Staff said Waste Management would cover signage costs related to a street sweeping change in Fairfield Ranch, and would provide three weeks of courtesy pickups following the switch for residents who forget to set out containers on their first new service day. The presentation said Monday stops would be reduced from 4,421 to 3,505, Tuesday stops would increase from 3,436 to 4,297, Wednesday stops would increase from 3,471 to 4,264, Thursday would change slightly from 4,252 to 4,239, and Friday would fall from 5,542 to 3,717 — figures the presenter tied to the planned rebalancing.

Formal outcome / next steps: The item was informational; the council did not take formal regulatory action but directed staff to work with Waste Management to schedule implementation outside the December holiday window (council members requested an early‑January 2026 target), produce neighborhood‑level maps that avoid splitting blocks where possible, and confirm customer notification methods and timing. Staff will return with final materials and an implementation timeline for council review.

Community context and follow up: Staff emphasized that changes are allowed under section 4.70.12 of the city’s solid waste franchise agreement, which permits revision of collection schedules with appropriate notification and city approval that “shall not be unreasonably withheld.” Waste Management said the company will provide a customer lookup tool and multiple notification channels. Councilmembers noted the change affects roughly one quarter of customers and asked for robust outreach.