Is there trash pickup on Christmas 2026? Which of 42 US cities and counties skip or slide and which run as usual.
There is no national rule for trash pickup on Christmas. Of the 42 cities and counties covered here, 34 skip or move collection for Christmas Day, December 25, 1 runs as usual, and 7 publish the change in a notice or leave it to the hauler. The table gives each place’s own rule and its official calendar; the day for your street is whatever that calendar shows.
Photo: A December morning on Stevens Street in Lowell, Massachusetts, with a city trash cart at the curb. Emw, 2011-12-08. CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source. Resized for web.
Who slides and who runs as usual on Christmas
| City | What happens on Christmas Day, December 25, 2026 | Official calendar |
|---|---|---|
| Phoenix | Friday routes on Saturday, December 26. Transfer stations open 6 a.m. to noon on Christmas Eve, closed Christmas Day | Holiday Collection Schedule |
| Glendora | Friday routes move to Saturday | Athens holiday schedule |
| Los Angeles | Friday bins on Saturday, December 26. S.A.F.E. Centers closed December 24 to January 3 | LASAN Holiday Collection Delays |
| San Diego | Friday routes on Saturday, December 26. Landfill, Recycling Center and mattress site closed | City of San Diego holiday schedule |
| San Francisco | No collection; Recology lists the new schedule as TBD. Transfer Station closed; HHW Facility closed December 25 and 26 | Holiday Calendar |
| San Jose | No collection; Friday pickups move to Saturday, December 26 | Collection & Setouts |
| Denver | Solid Waste closed; Friday collection one day late. Cherry Creek drop-off closed Friday and Saturday | 2026 holiday list |
| Middlebury | Transfer station closed Christmas Day; open Christmas Eve 7 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. | 2026 hours and holiday schedule |
| Hillsborough County | No collection; service resumes on your next regular day. Facilities closed; Christmas Eve facilities close at 2:30 p.m. | Holiday Curbside Collection Schedule |
| Jacksonville | Friday pickups move to Saturday, December 26. All other routes run as normal | Holiday Schedules |
| Miami-Dade County | No garbage pickup; it resumes on your next regular day. Friday recycling routes go on Saturday, December 26. Trash and Recycling Centers closed | Observed County Holidays |
| Atlanta | One-day delay: Friday routes on Saturday, December 26 | Solid Waste Holiday Collections |
| Honolulu | No collection; gray carts stay at the curb until serviced, blue and green carts wait for the next scheduled pickup. Drop-off sites closed | Holiday Ōpala Alerts |
| Chicago | No garbage and no recycling in any zone; keep carts accessible all week | Holiday Garbage Schedule |
| Indianapolis | Not on the city’s list on its page; check the holiday list before Christmas week | holiday list |
| Wichita | Each hauler sets its own; ICT Trash moves Friday routes to Saturday. Ask your hauler. Brooks Landfill closed | ICT Trash holiday schedule |
| Lafayette | Friday routes collected Saturday. Extra bagged garbage beside the cart is collected after the holiday | AWS Holiday Schedule |
| Boston | Delayed in some neighborhoods; check the Trash Day app. Christmas tree collection starts Monday, December 28 | City of Boston Holidays |
| New Bedford | Friday routes on Saturday, December 26 | Holiday Schedule |
| Minneapolis | Friday pickup delayed one day. South Transfer Station closed | 2026 holiday schedule |
| Saint Paul | No collection; Friday moves to Saturday, December 26 | 2026 Collection Calendar |
| Joplin | When Republic observes it: no pickup Friday; Friday’s homes Saturday. The city posts each change in its News Flash | City of Joplin News Flash |
| New York City | Sanitation holiday: no collection; in 2025 routes resumed the next day. DSNY posts the notice about a week ahead | 2026 Sanitation holidays |
| Newburgh | No collection; changes posted on the homepage | 2026 Holiday Schedule |
| Charlotte | Friday collection on Saturday, December 26. County centers closed December 25 and 26 | 2026 Holiday Collection Schedule |
| Columbus | No trash pickup. Friday recycling and yard waste on Saturday. Convenience centers closed | Find My Collection Day |
| Painesville | No service Friday; Friday route collected Saturday, December 26 | Major Waste Holiday Schedule |
| Portland | No collection; Friday pickups on Saturday, December 26. Metro closed | Garbage service basics |
| Philadelphia | No pickup; Friday collection runs one day behind | City holidays and closures |
| Knoxville | No pickup; Friday routes run Saturday, December 26. Convenience centers close at 1 p.m. on Christmas Eve | 2026 Recycling Schedule |
| Nashville | Friday routes on Monday, December 21; Christmas Eve routes run as usual. Convenience centers closed | New Collection Schedule |
| Austin | Friday collections on Saturday, December 26 | Residential Services |
| Boerne | No collection on the holiday; the city posts the shifted day for Friday routes | Garbage and Recycling |
| Dallas | Many city holidays change nothing; Sanitation Services posts an advisory on its homepage when service moves | Sanitation Services homepage |
| El Paso | The city announces each holiday change in a news release shortly before the holiday; in 2025: no collection December 25 and 26, gray bins collected Saturday, December 27 | My Collection Day |
| Fort Worth | Friday routes on Saturday, December 26. Drop-Off Stations closed. Two extra bags free on the first pickup after | 2026 Holiday Collection Schedule |
| Houston | Set in a city notice before the day; in 2025 routes ran one day later | Holiday Schedule |
| San Antonio | The 2026-27 schedule is posted by early November; in 2025-26 Thursday moved to Friday and Friday to Saturday | Holiday Schedule |
| Falls Church | No change; Wednesday pickup as usual | Holiday service schedule |
| King County (unincorporated) | WM: Friday moves to Saturday. County stations and hazardous waste sites closed | WM holiday schedule |
| Seattle | Friday routes on Saturday, December 26. Transfer stations and hazardous waste facilities closed | At Your Service blog |
| Washington, DC | Friday routes on Saturday, December 26 | Slide Guide |
How to read a holiday week
Friday routes move to Saturday. Christmas 2026 falls on a Friday, so in a one-day-slide city nothing moves before the holiday: Monday to Thursday pickups keep their days and Friday’s routes are served on Saturday, December 26. Phoenix, Los Angeles, Seattle and Washington, DC all work this way. Nashville moves Friday routes the other way, to Monday, December 21.
Skipped with no make-up day. Hillsborough County and Miami-Dade County skip Christmas garbage pickup, and it resumes on your next regular day; Miami-Dade still moves Friday recycling to Saturday. In Honolulu gray carts stay at the curb until crews reach them, while blue and green carts wait for the next scheduled pickup.
Private haulers and the one exception. Where a private hauler serves your street, as in Wichita or unincorporated King County, the hauler’s own notice is the rule. Falls Church is the one place here where Christmas week changes nothing.