Philadelphia Trash Pickup Schedule & Recycling Rules, Pennsylvania

States & Cities › Pennsylvania › Philadelphia

Philadelphia trash pickup: collection days, recycling and bulk waste rules.

The Philadelphia trash pickup schedule is set by the City’s Department of Sanitation, which collects trash and recycling once a week, on the same day, from properties with six units or fewer. Your weekday comes from the City’s collection day lookup. Dense parts of North and South Philadelphia and Center City get a second, trash-only day. What trips people up: the set-out time moves with the season, and Center City has its own shorter window.

• Who collects: Philadelphia Department of Sanitation, for properties with six units or fewer and qualifying condos and co-ops
• Your pickup day: depends on your address; Find your trash and recycling collection day ↗, and StreetSmartPHL ↗ shows where trucks have been today
• Holiday changes: no pickup on City holidays, and the rest of that week runs one day late; City holidays and closures ↗
• Missed pickup: after 7 p.m. on your collection day, call 311 or use the missed pickup form ↗
• Contact: 311, or 215-686-8686 from outside Philadelphia
• Official website: Department of Sanitation: Trash and recycling ↗

Photo: Center City Philadelphia skyline seen across the Delaware River. Famartin, 2025-04-12. CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source. Resized for web.

How the Philadelphia pickup schedule works

The Department of Sanitation collects from inhabited properties that are separate tax parcels with six units or fewer, and from stores and professional offices in those buildings. Everything set out must be separated into trash and recyclables. Trash goes out in your own cans or bags, and recycling in a City bin or a marked household container.

• Weekly trash limit. A single-family home sets out four cans or eight bags; a property with two to six units, or with a business, six cans or 12 bags. Two bags count as one can, and yard waste counts toward the limit. Recycling has no limit.
• Weight. No bag or container may weigh more than 40 pounds when full.
• Set-out window. From October 1 to March 31, after 5 p.m. the night before and by 7 a.m. on collection day; from April 1 to September 30, after 7 p.m. and by 7 a.m.
• Center City. Between Vine and Bainbridge streets, from the Schuylkill to the Delaware, the window is 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. in fall and winter and 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. in spring and summer.
• Not served. Buildings with more than six units (unless a qualifying condo or co-op applies ↗), gas and service stations, body and auto repair shops, manufacturers and wholesalers, and any property that already has private collection.

Your pickup day. Enter your address on the City’s collection day page ↗. Trucks work all day, so PickupPHL on StreetSmartPHL ↗ shows whether your block has been done.

Twice-a-week trash in parts of Philadelphia

Phase I started December 2, 2024, from Callowhill Street to Pattison Avenue between the Schuylkill Expressway (30th Street) and Delaware Avenue. Phase II added two North Philadelphia areas on January 5, 2026: Vine Street to Hunting Park Avenue between Broad Street and the Schuylkill River, and Vine Street to Glenwood Avenue between Broad Street and the Delaware River.

Recycling goes out only on the regular day; recyclables mixed into second-day trash draw a fine. Each household may set out up to eight bags or four 32-gallon containers and two compactible items per collection. There is no second pickup in a week with a City holiday.

What goes in the Philadelphia recycling bin

Philadelphia recycling is single-stream and goes out every week on your trash day. Empty, rinse and dry containers, leave lids and caps on, and set everything out loose in a bin, never in a bag or a cardboard box. The City’s recycling guide (PDF) ↗ prints on one page.

• Yes:
  • newspapers and inserts, magazines and catalogs, out of plastic sleeves
  • junk mail, envelopes, writing and scrap paper
  • paper bags and paper cups
  • phone books and paperback books
  • non-metallic greeting cards and gift wrap
  • plastic containers labeled 1, 2 or 5, including hard takeout containers
  • detergent, shampoo, pump and spray bottles
  • aluminum, steel and tin cans
  • empty paint cans and empty aerosol cans
  • aluminum or steel baking trays
  • milk, juice, wine and soup cartons
  • flattened shipping boxes and clean pizza boxes
  • paper towel rolls, cardboard egg cartons and dry food boxes
  • glass bottles and jars
• No:
  • plastic bags and bagged recycling
  • food and greasy or food-soiled paper and cardboard
  • disposable plates and takeout containers
  • Styrofoam and packing peanuts
  • batteries and electronics
  • needles and syringes
  • clothes hangers
  • tissues, paper towels and napkins
  • pots, pans and ceramics
  • wood
  • shredded paper
  • hardback books

For items the bin refuses, the City’s recycling and donation finder ↗ lists drop-off and donation options.

Yard waste, leaves and Christmas trees

Yard waste goes out with the trash and counts toward the weekly trash limit. Cut wood and tree pieces to 4 feet, then bundle and tie them. The six sanitation convenience centers take clean yard waste in paper bags only.

The 2026 Philly Leaf Recycling Program runs from Monday, November 2, to Saturday, December 19, and the leaves go to the Fairmount Park Organic Recycling Center for compost. Bagged leaves set out with the trash are collected but not composted. Check your area on the map at Recycle fall leaves ↗.

Mechanical leaf collection: rake leaves into the street by 7 a.m. on your area’s day, do not bag or pile them, and move your car off the street if you can.

Bagged leaf drop-off: Saturdays November 7 and 21 and December 5, 12 and 19, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Use large brown paper bags, with no brush, tree limbs or trash. Sites include Jardel Recreation Center, Fox Chase Recreation Center, Happy Hollow Recreation Center, Clark Park and Malcolm X Park; the City’s page lists all of them. The convenience centers also take bagged leaves.

A Christmas tree set at the curb is collected as trash, not composted. To recycle it, take it untied and undecorated to a City drop-off site or a convenience center during the Department of Sanitation’s Christmas Tree Recycling Program, which ran January 5 to 17 last season. Private pickup services listed on the City’s Dispose of Christmas trees ↗ page charge $20 a tree.

Bulk trash pickup in Philadelphia

With regular trash: each household may set out up to two large items on its collection day, such as a sofa, wooden-frame furniture, or a mattress or box spring sealed in plastic. Toilets and fiberglass bathtubs also go out with the trash. An unwrapped mattress is not collected and can bring a fine.

By appointment: the Department of Sanitation’s Bulk Collection Program ↗ picks up what regular trucks leave behind, for households in homes and buildings of up to six units. Larger buildings and commercial properties hire a private hauler.

• Accepted:
  • major appliances such as air conditioners, water heaters and refrigerators, doors removed
  • metal-frame furniture, left intact
  • large toys
  • flat-screen TVs
  • passenger car tires without rims, four at most
  • metal bathtubs
• Refused:
  • household trash
  • mattresses
  • hazardous, flammable or explosive materials
  • auto parts
  • construction or demolition materials
  • toilets

Booking and set-out work like this:

1. Book online up to a month ahead: four items per appointment and one appointment per household per week. Slots are first come, first served, and new dates open after midnight each day.
2. Write the four-letter pickup code from your confirmation email on each item.
3. Put items at your normal collection point the evening before (not before 5 p.m. in fall and winter or 7 p.m. in spring and summer) and by 7 a.m. Crews do not enter homes or knock.

Drop-off: a convenience center takes up to two bulk items or appliances a day, including items with refrigerant. Construction debris such as bricks, rocks and concrete or cinder block goes to a private facility for a fee.

Philadelphia holiday trash schedule

Trash and recycling are not collected on City holidays, and collection runs one day late for the rest of that week. A holiday that falls on a Sunday is observed the next Monday. The twice-a-week areas get no second pickup in a holiday week. The convenience centers close on City holidays, and so does the Philly311 contact center, though the 311 app and online forms still work.

Hazardous waste, electronics and drop-off sites

Household hazardous waste is never collected at the curb. The City holds seasonal drop-off events from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. with no registration, open to residents of Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties. Businesses must use a private service. The last two events of 2026:

Keep products in their labeled containers, never mix them, and pack them in a sturdy box. The events take and refuse:

• Accepted:
  • paint of all kinds, varnish and stains
  • solvents, degreasers and glue
  • fuel, kerosene and old gasoline
  • motor oil, antifreeze, brake and transmission fluid
  • car and lead-acid batteries
  • lithium and NiCad batteries
  • fluorescent bulbs
  • pesticides, herbicides and chemical fertilizer
  • pool and photo chemicals
  • acids and drain, tile and oven cleaners
  • roofing tar, solder and lead products
  • mothballs
• Refused:
  • electronics, which go to a convenience center
  • ordnance or explosives, for which you call your police district

The six sanitation convenience centers are open Monday to Saturday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., and closed on City holidays. Bring proof that you live in Philadelphia. You can drop off household items once a day and oversized items once a week, in a vehicle under 6,000 pounds total weight. Commercial contractors, commercial loads and construction debris are refused.

• Accepted:
  • trash, up to six containers or 12 bags
  • recyclables
  • yard waste in paper bags
  • Christmas trees
  • up to four car tires a day
  • up to two bulk items or appliances a day, including refrigerant items
  • computers, monitors, TVs and other electronics
  • latex or water-based paint, hardened first with kitty litter or newspaper
  • mattresses and box springs, unwrapped
  • fluorescent bulbs
  • lithium, rechargeable and lead-acid batteries

The centers:

• Port Richmond, 3901 N. Delaware Ave., 19137; 215-685-1358.
• Strawberry Mansion, 2601 W. Glenwood Ave.; 215-685-3955.
• West Philadelphia, 5100 Grays Ave.; 215-685-2600.
• Southwest Philadelphia, 3033 S. 63rd St., 19153; 215-685-4290.
• Northwest Philadelphia, Domino Lane and Umbria St.; 215-685-2502.
• Northeast Philadelphia, State Rd. and Ashburner St.; 215-685-8072.

Fees and billing

Recycling bins are free. Some small commercial establishments, multi-unit properties with six or fewer units and mixed-use properties can choose City collection for the Commercial Trash Fee, formerly the Refuse Collection Fee, of $500 a year, or hire a private hauler instead. The fee can be paid in two installments without interest: $250 by December 31 and $250 by June 30. Pay online at the Philadelphia Tax Center (search by address; no login needed), by mail or in person. Owner-occupied duplexes are fully exempt. A property with a private hauler does not pay but must file the exemption form. Questions go to the Revenue Department’s Solid Resources Unit at 215-686-6442 or solidresources@phila.gov.

Missed pickup and recycling bins

1. Check PickupPHL on StreetSmartPHL first: trucks collect throughout the day.
2. Make sure your trash and recycling were set out correctly, inside the window and limits.
3. If they are still out after 7 p.m. on your collection day, call 311 (215-686-8686 from outside Philadelphia) or file the missed pickup form ↗.

Residents can pick up a free recycling bin at any of the six convenience centers: one per visit and two per address a year. Bring a government-issued photo ID, plus a lease or utility bill if the ID shows another address, and call the center first to make sure bins are in stock. Any household container of up to 32 gallons and 40 pounds works too if you write “recycling” on it in bold letters. The Recycling Office is at 215-686-5444.

Set-out rules and fines

• Violators or property owners who break the sanitation rules face penalties under the Philadelphia Code and the City’s regulations. Violations include setting out trash or recycling at the wrong time, setting out too much trash, putting the wrong items in trash or recycling, using the wrong container, and putting household trash in a public wastebasket.
• SWEEP officers patrol streets and issue warnings and citations (215-685-4279).
• Fines come as a code violation notice (CVN). Pay it ↗ within 10 calendar days (online, by phone at 215-567-2605, by mail or at 800 Arch St.) or face more penalties, or dispute it ↗.
• An unpaid, uncontested CVN can go to Municipal Court, which can impose a fine of up to $300 plus court costs. Each day a violation continues counts as a separate offense.
• Report a sanitation violation to 311 or through the City’s sanitation code violation form ↗; the department investigates and may fine the offender.

Materials with their own rules

• Mattresses: sealed in plastic at the curb, or unwrapped at a convenience center; never on a bulk appointment.
• Household hazardous waste: seasonal drop-off events only.
• Household batteries: tape both ends of non-rechargeable batteries and put them in the trash; rechargeable, lithium and lead-acid batteries go to the convenience center battery containers.
• Lithium-ion batteries: convenience center battery containers or an HHW event, never the bin.
• Light bulbs: fluorescent bulbs go to a convenience center or an HHW event.
• Paint: empty cans in the bin, hardened latex paint to a convenience center, oil paint to an HHW event.
• Old gasoline: gasoline and other fuel go to an HHW event.
• Antifreeze: never at the curb or down a drain; take it to an HHW event.
• Styrofoam: never in the recycling bin.
• Pizza boxes: clean boxes in the bin, greasy ones in the trash.
• Leaves: mechanical collection or Saturday bagged drop-off from November 2 to December 19, 2026, in large brown paper bags; leaves bagged with the trash are not composted.
• Christmas trees: January drop-off sites and convenience centers; curbside trees go as trash.
• Tires: four per visit at a convenience center, or four rimless car tires on a bulk appointment. The summer Tire Round-up ↗ is for registered community groups.
• Aerosol cans and propane tanks: empty aerosol cans go in the recycling bin.
• Needles and syringes: sealed in a plastic or metal container they cannot puncture, in the trash, never the bin.

More in Pennsylvania

• Pennsylvania 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