Denver Solid Waste: reviews, rating and service info
Denver Solid Waste Management collects trash, recycling, compost and large items for Denver homes.
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Municipal departmentOfficial websitePublic phone: 720-913-1311Schedule lookupMissed pickup
Denver Solid Waste Management, part of the City and County of Denver, collects trash and compost weekly, recycling every other week on the same day, and large items every nine weeks. Residential customers pay by trash cart size; recycling and compost cost nothing extra. The day depends on the address: look it up on the city’s Collection Schedules page or in the Denver Trash and Recycling app.
Serves: Denver, Colorado; see the Denver trash pickup schedule for pickup days, holidays, bulk rules and drop-off sites.
What they collect and how often
Trash goes in a 35, 65 or 95-gallon cart, and smaller carts cost less. Compost goes in the green cart, which you request through Denver Utilities Online. Recycling goes loose in the purple cart on your A or B week.
Find your collection day
Enter your address on the city’s Collection Schedules page or in the free Denver Trash and Recycling app. Both show your trash day, recycling week, Large Item Pickup date and set-out location, and send email, phone or push reminders.
Set-out rules
Carts go out by 6 a.m. and no earlier than 7 p.m. the night before; trucks do not return for late carts. Leave 2 feet around each cart, clear of cars and overhangs; alley carts need 4 feet. Bag trash, never recycling. Overflow trash is not collected. Store carts on your property between pickups.
Holidays
Six observed holidays close operations and push the rest of that week one day later: in 2026, New Year’s Day, Memorial Day, July 3, Labor Day, Thanksgiving (November 26) and Christmas (December 25). Working holidays, including Indigenous Peoples’ Day (October 12) and Veterans Day (November 11), keep normal collection.
Bulk, brush and special items
Large Item Pickup takes up to 5 items, such as furniture, rugs, exercise equipment and bagged mattresses, plus 10 bags of 32 gallons and 50 pounds or less. Branches go in tied bundles of 4 feet by 4 inches or less, up to 10. Set out by 6 a.m. on your pickup day; items set out on any other day count as illegal dumping. It refuses electronics, appliances, construction materials, tires, paint and batteries. Appliances get a free pickup by appointment through 311.
Hazardous waste, electronics and drop-off
Residents of buildings with seven or fewer units can book a household hazardous waste pickup for a $15 co-payment. The Cherry Creek Recycling and Compost Drop-off, 7400 Cherry Creek S. Dr., near S. Quebec St., takes extra recycling, compost and branches from Denver residents with proof of residency, Tuesday to Friday 9 a.m. to noon and 1 to 4:30 p.m. and Saturday 8 a.m. to noon and 1 to 3 p.m.
Missed pickup and contacts
If a cart was missed for a reason other than a holiday week or a blocked set-out, leave it out and call 311 (720-913-1311 from outside Denver) or file a request in Denver Utilities Online. Customer Care and Billing answers Monday to Thursday 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and Friday until 1 p.m.
What this is not
Private transfer stations in the metro area take trash and large items for a fee; they are not city service. Apartment and condo buildings of eight or more units and businesses hire a licensed hauler; from September 1, 2026, Denver’s Universal Recycling and Composting Ordinance requires them to offer recycling and composting.
On Trashbagging
Denver trash pickup schedule and Colorado (state hub). Guides: paint, lithium-ion batteries, household hazardous waste, mattresses, pizza boxes, Christmas trees.
Context photo: Skyline of Denver, Colorado. Quintin Soloviev, 2026-04-21. CC BY 4.0 · Source. Resized for web.
- Legal name
- City and County of Denver Solid Waste Management
- Operating status
- Active
- Public email
- swmbillinginquiries@denvergov.org
- Headquarters
- Denver, Colorado
- Assignment model
- Municipal service
- Service summary
- Trash and compost weekly, recycling every other week, large-item every 9 weeks (max 5 large items and 10 bags).
- Waste streams
- Trash; recycling; compost; large-item
- Property eligibility
- Denver residential Solid Waste customers.
- Office hours
- Solid Waste Customer Care and Billing: Monday to Thursday, 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.; Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
- Holiday schedule
- www.denvergov.org/My-Property/Recycle-Compost-Trash/Trash-Recycle-Compost-Schedules-and-Reminders
- Primary source
- www.denvergov.org/My-Property/Recycle-Compost-Trash
- Last verified
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Sources
- Trash, Recycle and Compost: frequency, customer care hours.
- Schedules and Guidelines: 2026 holidays, missed pickups.
- Cart Set-Out and Service Guidelines: set-out rules.
- Large Item Pickup: limits, items.
- Trash: cart sizes, branches, appliances.
- Cherry Creek Recycling and Compost Drop-off: address, hours, residency.
- Compost Service Guide: green cart set-out and accepted materials.
- Universal Recycling and Composting Ordinance: buildings of eight or more units.
- Recycling Service: A/B weeks, reminders.
- Managing Hazardous Waste at Home: HHW pickup.
Questions
How often does Denver collect trash, recycling and compost?
How does Denver large-item pickup work?
Does Denver trash pickup change on holidays?
Where do I find my Denver collection schedule?
How do I report a missed pickup in Denver?
Sources and corrections. Each listing links the organization’s official website and its primary source page, with the date we last verified them; contacts and rules are copied from those pages, not from a brand’s advertising. Add a Service if an organization is missing, or Suggest an Edit if a listing is wrong. Submissions are reviewed against the official source before anything is published.