Is there trash pickup on Columbus Day 2026? Which of 42 US cities and counties slide on October 12 and which don’t.
There is no national rule for trash pickup on Columbus Day. Monday, October 12, 2026 is a federal holiday that many cities list as Indigenous Peoples’ Day, and most of them keep collecting. Of the 42 cities and counties here, 8 skip or slide collection, 26 run as usual, and 8 publish no rule for the day or leave it to the hauler. The table gives each place’s own rule and its official calendar.
Photo: A New York City Department of Sanitation garbage truck turning onto Broadway in the evening. Sam LaRussa, 2018-12-25. CC BY 2.0 · Source. Resized for web.
Who slides and who runs as usual
| City | What happens on Columbus Day, October 12, 2026 | Official calendar |
|---|---|---|
| Phoenix | None; transfer stations closed | Holiday Collection Schedule |
| Glendora | Not one of the six holidays Athens observes; every other date keeps the regular schedule | Athens holiday schedule |
| Los Angeles | None; City offices closed | LASAN Holiday Collection Delays |
| San Diego | None: only six holidays change City collection, and this is not one of them | City of San Diego holiday schedule |
| San Francisco | None | Holiday Calendar |
| San Jose | None: collection runs on every holiday except Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day | Collection & Setouts |
| Denver | None; working holiday | 2026 holiday list |
| Middlebury | Transfer station closed, as on every Monday | 2026 hours and holiday schedule |
| Hillsborough County | No rule published on the page: check the official calendar | Holiday Curbside Collection Schedule |
| Jacksonville | None: collection changes only for Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day | Holiday Schedules |
| Miami-Dade County | None | Observed County Holidays |
| Atlanta | None, regular schedule | Solid Waste Holiday Collections |
| Honolulu | None: every holiday except Christmas Day and New Year’s Day is a regular collection day | Holiday Ōpala Alerts |
| Chicago | No garbage citywide; no recycling in zones 2 and 4; zones 1, 3, 5 and 6 recycle as normal. Keep carts accessible all week | Holiday Garbage Schedule |
| Indianapolis | No rule published on the page: check the official calendar | holiday list |
| Wichita | No citywide rule; each hauler runs its own routes. ICT Trash observes six holidays, and this is not one of them; other customers ask their hauler | ICT Trash holiday schedule |
| Lafayette | None: AWS suspends collection only on New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas | AWS Holiday Schedule |
| Boston | Delayed in some neighborhoods; no yard waste that week. Check your address in the Trash Day app | City of Boston Holidays |
| New Bedford | Monday through Friday routes each run one day late; Friday on Saturday | Holiday Schedule |
| Minneapolis | None | 2026 holiday schedule |
| Saint Paul | None: not one of the seven holidays that delay collection (New Year’s Day, Memorial Day, Juneteenth, the Fourth of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas) | 2026 Collection Calendar |
| Joplin | No rule published on the page: check the official calendar | City of Joplin News Flash |
| New York City | Sanitation holiday. In 2025: no collection; Monday routes from Tuesday. DSNY announces each holiday’s changes about a week ahead | 2026 Sanitation holidays |
| Newburgh | Monday routes on Tuesday, Tuesday routes on Wednesday; no bulk or yard waste Wednesday; Thursday and Friday unchanged | 2026 Holiday Schedule |
| Charlotte | None | 2026 Holiday Collection Schedule |
| Columbus | No trash pickup; trash colors rotate one day, Gray Tuesday to Gold the next Monday. Recycling and yard waste as usual; details | Find My Collection Day |
| Painesville | None: Major Waste observes six holidays, and this is not one of them | Major Waste Holiday Schedule |
| Portland | None: Christmas Day and New Year’s Day are the only days without collection | Garbage service basics |
| Philadelphia | No pickup; the rest of the week runs one day behind | City holidays and closures |
| Knoxville | Regular day: only Thanksgiving and Christmas stop curbside collection | 2026 Recycling Schedule |
| Nashville | None: a Monday holiday changes nothing | New Collection Schedule |
| Austin | None: only New Year’s Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas move collection | Residential Services |
| Boerne | Normal collection day: WM collects on every holiday except Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day | Garbage and Recycling |
| Dallas | No rule published on the page: check the official calendar | Sanitation Services homepage |
| El Paso | No rule published on the page: check the official calendar | My Collection Day |
| Fort Worth | None: only Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day change collection | 2026 Holiday Collection Schedule |
| Houston | No rule published on the page: check the official calendar | Holiday Schedule |
| San Antonio | No rule published on the page: check the official calendar | Holiday Schedule |
| Falls Church | No change: in 2026 no holiday changes residential collection | Holiday service schedule |
| King County (unincorporated) | WM: no change. County stations open. Republic Services and Vashon Disposal announce their own changes | WM holiday schedule |
| Seattle | None | At Your Service blog |
| Washington, DC | Monday routes on Tuesday, October 13; the rest of the week slides through Saturday | Slide Guide |
How to read a holiday week
The one-day slide. Nothing is collected on the holiday, and every pickup from then to the end of the week moves one day later, with Friday’s routes served on Saturday. On a Monday holiday that moves the whole week. Philadelphia and Washington, DC both work this way on October 12.
Only the routes that land on the holiday move. Some places shift only the pickups the holiday pushes aside and leave the rest of the week alone. Newburgh moves Monday routes to Tuesday and Tuesday routes to Wednesday, and Thursday and Friday keep their days. Nashville moves a Tuesday-to-Friday holiday’s routes to the Monday of that week, so a Monday holiday changes nothing there.
No change. Most programs here collect as usual on Columbus Day. Denver calls it a working holiday, and Seattle runs every holiday normally except Thanksgiving, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. Drop-off sites can still close: Phoenix’s transfer stations do.