Raleigh Garbage Pickup Schedule & Recycling Rules, North Carolina

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Raleigh garbage pickup: collection days, recycling and bulk waste rules.

The Raleigh garbage pickup schedule comes from the city’s Solid Waste Services department, for single-family homes. Garbage and yard waste go out every week and recycling every other week, all on the same weekday. Enter your address in Raleigh Reuse to see your day and your recycling week. What trips people up: carts go out by 6 a.m. and must be off the curb by 7 p.m. the day after pickup, or a $150 fee can follow.

• Who collects: City of Raleigh Solid Waste Services ↗, curbside garbage, recycling and yard waste for single-family homes inside city limits
• Your pickup day: depends on your address; your garbage pickup schedule is in the Raleigh Reuse web tool ↗ and app, or on Find Your Services ↗
• Holiday changes: posted for each address in Raleigh Reuse; city offices close November 26 and 27 and December 24 to 28, 2026
• Missed pickup: file the Missed Collection form ↗ or call 919-996-3245, and leave carts out from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Contact: Solid Waste Services Customer Care, 919-996-3245 (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Thursday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.); SWS@raleighnc.gov
• Official website: City of Raleigh: Landfill and Reuse ↗

Photo: The North Carolina State Capitol in downtown Raleigh. Warren LeMay, 2017-07-29. CC0 · Source. Resized for web.

How the Raleigh pickup schedule works

Every cart goes out on one weekday set by your address. The garbage, recycling and yard waste fees are on the monthly City of Raleigh utility bill, next to water and sewer.

• Set carts out the night before or by 6 a.m. on collection day. City code allows carts at the curb from noon the day before until 7 p.m. the day after collection.
• Put carts on the curb, not in the street, 5 feet from cars, mailboxes and light poles, with the handles toward your house and the lid open no more than 12 inches.
• Bag garbage before it goes in the cart. Recycling goes in loose, never bagged.
• Only city-issued carts are emptied. The trucks are automated with one driver, so a bag set beside the cart stays behind: keep it for next week or take it to a Wake County convenience center at no charge.
• Store carts out of sight from the street between pickups.
• Snow, ice or a hurricane can delay routes; Raleigh Reuse sends weather notices.

Curbside carts serve single-family homes. Apartment complexes, condominiums and townhome communities get recycling drop-off areas instead of a curbside recycling cart. Downtown businesses in the Central Business District have their own collection schedule and fees.

If no one in your home can roll a cart to the curb, the Needs Assistance Program offers backyard service; call 919-996-3245 for the doctor’s verification form. Crews still will not go onto porches, behind fences or gates, into garages or up steps.

What goes in the Raleigh recycling cart

Recyclables go loose and clean in the blue cart. The Waste Wizard in Raleigh Reuse answers single items.

• Yes:
  • plastic bottles, tubs, jugs and jars, such as detergent, milk, drink, dairy, dish soap and condiment containers, with lids on and no pumps
  • glass bottles and jars, emptied, rinsed and with the lid back on
  • metal food and drink cans, such as pet food, tuna, soda, fruit and soup cans
  • flattened cardboard boxes and cereal boxes
  • juice cartons and chip cans
  • disposable coffee cups
  • paper towel and toilet paper rolls
  • envelopes, magazines, newspaper and paper
  • brown paper grocery bags
• No:
  • plastic bags and plastic wrap
  • aerosol cans
  • batteries of any kind, including car and lithium batteries
  • aluminum foil
  • plastic cups, plastic lids and straws
  • Styrofoam and packing peanuts
  • shredded paper
  • cords, hoses, wires and other tanglers
  • household glass and ceramics
  • clothing and textiles
  • diapers
  • electronics
  • food-tainted items
  • hazardous and medical waste
  • scrap metal and scrap wood
  • tires
  • toys

Screw plastic caps back onto bottles: a loose cap falls through the sorting screens and is thrown out. A second recycling cart, 65 or 95 gallons, is available for a one-time fee, and you can swap the standard 95-gallon cart for a 65-gallon one.

Yard waste and leaves

Yard waste has gone out every week since September 8, 2026, when the city ended vacuum leaf collection; our story on the change covers the leaf options and free bags. Yard waste may go to the curb from noon the day before your collection day.

• Yes:
  • yard waste loose in the lime green city cart, never bagged inside it
  • biodegradable paper yard bags, 15 a week at most, each under 25 pounds
  • stick bundles tied with natural jute twine, 5 a week at most, each no longer than 5 feet, no wider than 18 inches and under 50 pounds
• No:
  • plastic bags of any kind, including compostable ones
  • logs and limbs more than 6 inches thick or 5 feet long
  • stumps
  • rocks, dirt and old mulch
  • yard waste from contracted jobs or land clearing
  • Christmas trees, which have their own curbside pickup from late December through February

The garbage and recycling carts never take yard waste. For more than one week’s worth, book a Special Load or haul it to the Yard Waste Center, listed below with the drop-off sites.

Bulk trash pickup in Raleigh

Raleigh picks up furniture, appliances and electronics only by appointment. Call 919-996-3245 with your name, address, phone number and a list of the items; the call decides whether it is a Bulky Load, a Special Load or an E-waste pickup. Items set out before you schedule can bring a fine. Only homes with city curbside garbage service can book, and businesses cannot.

• Bulky Load, $35: household items too big for the garbage cart, up to 4 cubic yards (about 6 feet long, 3 feet wide and 4 feet high), with no limit on the number of loads.
• Special Load, $70: appliances, exercise equipment and overflow garbage or yard waste, also up to 4 cubic yards.
• E-waste, free: up to four corded or electronic items a week, collected on Tuesdays only.

The fee goes on your next utility bill and is charged by the full load. Cancel by noon on the business day before to get a refund. Set items on flat ground at the curb in front of the home, 5 feet from mailboxes, poles and cars; crews do not collect from alleys. Townhomes without a front driveway use the end of their parking space.

• Accepted:
  • furniture such as couches, love seats and recliners (Bulky Load)
  • mattresses and box springs (Bulky Load)
  • bed frames and area rugs (Bulky Load)
  • bicycles without tires (Bulky Load)
  • grills with the propane tank removed (Bulky Load)
  • push mowers and lawn equipment with the fuel drained (Bulky Load)
  • refrigerators, freezers, ranges, washers and dryers (Special Load)
  • treadmills and rowing machines (Special Load)
  • extra bags of garbage and paper bags of yard waste (Special Load)
  • TVs, computer monitors, microwaves, toasters, lamps and vacuum cleaners (E-waste)
• Refused:
  • cardboard boxes
  • batteries
  • glass, windows, mirrors, shower doors and tabletops
  • tires, including bicycle tires
  • car parts
  • remodeling debris such as toilets, sinks, cabinets, countertops, flooring and carpeting
  • sheetrock, concrete, brick, stone and pallets
  • treated lumber
  • limbs over 5 feet long or 6 inches thick, and stumps
  • loose leaves
  • chemicals and hazardous waste

Raleigh garbage pickup holidays

Raleigh posts the curbside change for each holiday in Raleigh Reuse, address by address, and in city alerts shortly before the day. City offices close on Veterans Day, Wednesday, November 11, 2026, when the Yard Waste Center stays open. At the last Christmas and New Year’s Day closings, both on Thursdays, Thursday routes ran on Friday and Friday routes on Saturday.

Wake County’s household hazardous waste sites close on Thanksgiving Day, at noon on Christmas Eve, on Christmas Day and on New Year’s Day.

Hazardous waste, electronics and drop-off sites

Household hazardous waste goes to Wake County’s sites, which take it from Wake County residents only, never from businesses or company vehicles. Bring proof of Wake County residency and stay in your vehicle. They take household, rechargeable and up to six lead-acid batteries, gasoline and diesel in pourable containers of 5 gallons or less, pesticides, weed killer and pool chemicals, corrosive cleaners, solvents and thinners, oil-based paint, latex paint up to 10 gallons, fluorescent bulbs (tubes limited to 12, boxed), mercury thermometers, household fire extinguishers and propane tanks up to 20 pounds. They refuse ammunition, explosives, asbestos, medical waste and needles, prescription medicine, refrigerants, spray foam tanks and professional-use products. Motor oil, filters and antifreeze go to a Multi-Material Recycling Facility instead.

Electronics go on the city’s free Tuesday e-waste pickup or to a Multi-Material Recycling Facility.

• Raleigh Yard Waste Center, 900 N. New Hope Road, Raleigh, NC 27610. Monday to Friday 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.; Saturday 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wake County residents with non-commercial loads, weighed at the scale house: $55 a ton, $27.50 minimum, cards only (Visa, Mastercard or debit) since August 1, 2026. Takes grass, leaves, brush, pine straw, shrubbery trimmings, limbs, logs, stumps and hay; sells mulch and compost. No pallets, commercial loads, treated or painted wood, dirt-covered stumps, sod, dirt, construction debris, garbage or food waste, and no load bigger than a single-axle, non-dumping trailer 5 by 8 by 2 feet.
• North Wake Household Hazardous Waste Facility, 9037 Deponie Drive, Raleigh, NC 27614. Saturdays only, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., as a temporary collection after a January 2025 fire damaged the main storage building. Wake County residents only.
• South Wake Household Hazardous Waste Facility, 6150 Old Smithfield Road, Apex, NC 27539. Monday to Saturday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wake County residents only.
• East Wake Household Hazardous Waste Facility, 5051 Wendell Blvd., Wendell, NC 27591. Saturday and Sunday only, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wake County residents only.
• North Wake Multi-Material Recycling Facility, 9029 Deponie Drive, Raleigh, NC 27614. Monday to Saturday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., for Wake County residents and businesses. Takes antifreeze, motor oil and filters (no drums), appliances, clean flattened cardboard, cell phones, cooking oil, CDs, DVDs and tapes, corded electronics, scrap metal and up to 10 wooden pallets.

Fees and billing

City Council sets the solid waste fees each year in the budget. Since July 1, 2026, a Raleigh home with curbside service pays $28.50 a month on the city utility bill, whether or not it uses the recycling and yard waste service.

Each home may have up to two carts of each type. The recycling fee also pays for electronics recycling, recycling in parks and rechargeable-battery drop-off at neighborhood fire stations. For a utility payment plan, email customercare@raleighnc.gov. Moving out? Carts belong to the city: leave them in the rear yard or garage.

Missed pickup, damaged carts and new carts

1. Check your day and any holiday or weather change in Raleigh Reuse.
2. Check the cart for an educational tag explaining why it was skipped; carts must be at the curb by 6 a.m.
3. Report it once: the online Missed Collection form ↗, open 24 hours, or 919-996-3245. An online report needs no phone call.
4. Leave the carts at the curb from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. and allow two business days; if they are still full, call Customer Care.

For a broken or stolen cart, call 919-996-3245. A supervisor checks it, and wear and tear or damage during service is fixed or replaced free; vandalism and abuse are not. Replacement carts may be gently used. New homes get one garbage, one recycling and one yard waste cart free once you have moved in; carts are not delivered to vacant houses.

Set-out rules and fines

Violations of Part 7 of the Raleigh City Code are investigated on complaint, in the order received.

• Carts, bags and bundles out before noon the day before, or still out after 7 p.m. the day after collection: a $150 administrative fee can apply.
• Collection violations: a warning the first time, a $250 fee the second, and $500 for the third and each one after.
• Contamination, the wrong material in a cart: a warning the first time, then $500 each time.
• Burning leaves, shrubs or limbs is not allowed without special permission from the Fire Code Official.
• To report a violation or appeal a notice, call Solid Waste Services Code Compliance at 919-996-3245.

Materials with their own rules

• Household hazardous waste: Wake County’s sites, residents only; North Wake is open Saturdays only.
• Paint: oil-based and up to 10 gallons of latex paint at a county site; small amounts of dried latex paint go in the garbage cart.
• Lithium-ion batteries: never in the blue cart; the county sites take them with the terminals taped.
• Mattresses: a $35 Bulky Load.
• Christmas trees: whole at the curb from late December through February, never in the yard waste cart.
• Tires: never collected by the city, not even in a Bulky Load.
• Aerosol cans and propane tanks: aerosol cans stay out of the blue cart; propane tanks up to 20 pounds go to a county household hazardous waste site.

More in North Carolina

• Charlotte trash pickup and recycling rules
• North Carolina trash and recycling rules
• Holiday changes by city
• Bulk pickup rules by city
• Missed pickup contacts by city
• Trash service cost by city
• Drop-off locations by city