Boston Public Works: reviews, rating and service info

Boston Public Works collects trash and single-stream recycling at the curb in the City of Boston, plus seasonal yard waste and appliance pickups by appointment. The day depends on the address, and some addresses have two a week. Find yours with the Waste Collection Schedule and Search on Boston.gov or the Trash Day app.

Serves: Boston, Massachusetts; see the Boston trash pickup schedule for pickup days, holidays, bulk rules and drop-off sites.

What they collect and how often

Trash and recycling go out on the same collection day and are emptied by separate trucks; some addresses have two collection days a week. Residents buy their own lidded trash barrel; the city supplies 64-gallon blue recycling carts to buildings of six units or fewer. Yard waste is picked up on scheduled weeks from April to December, Christmas trees in the two weeks after Christmas.

Find your collection day

Use the Waste Collection Schedule and Search on Boston.gov with the street number and name only, no unit or ZIP. Write numbered streets as words (“Fourth”) and directions as “E” or “W”. The Trash Day app shows the same calendar, sends reminders and alerts, and has a sorting tool.

Set-out rules

Set containers out after 5 p.m. the night before and by 6 a.m.; earlier risks a ticket. All trash must fit in a lidded barrel, and barrels over 32 gallons need a grab bar. Never put trash in a blue barrel. Tie extra cardboard, 3 feet at most, beside the bin. Yard waste goes in paper bags or stickered YARD WASTE barrels, never plastic.

Holidays

The city’s holiday page says pickups are delayed in some neighborhoods during most holiday weeks, so check the app for your address. Still ahead in 2026: Indigenous Peoples Day (October 12), Veterans Day (November 11), Thanksgiving (November 26) and Christmas (December 25). Evacuation Day and Bunker Hill Day keep the normal schedule.

Bulk, brush and special items

Furniture goes out with regular trash. Mattresses go only by appointment; textiles, banned from the trash, go by a booked curbside pickup or to a drop box. TVs, monitors, fridges, freezers, air conditioners and dehumidifiers need a special collection appointment: 5 items per appointment, 10 a year, fridge doors and food removed. Branches go with yard waste, tied, up to 3 feet long and 1 inch thick. The city refuses construction debris, auto parts and water heaters.

Hazardous waste, electronics and drop-off

Zero Waste Days, 8:30 a.m. to noon, take chemicals, oil-based paint, motor oil, rechargeable batteries, electronics, mercury items, tires and papers for shredding from Boston residents with proof of address. Zero Waste Day drop-offs at 400 Frontage Road run on the Saturdays the city posts on its calendar. Dried latex paint and alkaline batteries go in the trash.

Missed pickup and contacts

Report a missed pickup to Boston 311: dial 311 or 617-635-4500, email 311@boston.gov, or file online or in the app. A missed special-item pickup must be reported within 24 hours or be rebooked.

What this is not

Buildings with more than six units follow the large-building rules: the owner buys trash and recycling containers, and a building with receptacles over 2 cubic yards must hire a private hauler. The city collects no yard waste from those buildings.

On Trashbagging

Boston trash pickup schedule and Massachusetts (state hub). Guides: paint, lithium-ion batteries, household hazardous waste, mattresses, pizza boxes, Christmas trees.

Context photo: Boston Financial District skyline viewed from the harbor. Nelson48, 2006-06-27. Public domain · Source. Resized for web.