Austin, TX — Trash & Recycling Pickup

Austin Trash & Recycling Pickup Schedule (2025)

Complete guide for Austin, TX: weekly trash & composting, every-other-week recycling, new on-demand bulk/brush/HHW pickups (3 per year each), holiday changes, drop-offs and how to report missed service.

Updated:

Find My Pickup Day
Recycling Guide
Composting (Green Cart)

Trash (Gray Cart)

Weekly curbside collection; check your exact day in the City’s “My Schedule”

Recycling (Blue Cart)

Every other week; single-stream (paper, cardboard, metals, glass, hard plastics).

Organics (Green Cart)

Weekly; food scraps, food-soiled paper, yard trimmings and natural fibers go in the green cart.

📍 Address Lookup (Official)

Use the City’s My Schedule tool to get a personalized calendar (printable, iCal/Google/Outlook) and reminders. You can also schedule bulk/brush/HHW pickups there.

Find My Collection Day — City of Austin

🗓️ Weekly Pickup & Set-out Rules

  • Set-out time: place carts by 5:30 a.m. (earlier set-out adopted for worker safety in heat).
  • Spacing: keep carts ~5 ft apart; lids closed; don’t block sidewalks/bike lanes.
  • Frequencies: trash & composting weekly; recycling every other week.
  • Set-out window: carts can go out the evening before (after 8 p.m.) and must be out by 5:30 a.m.; remove after service.
  • Holiday weeks: see slide rules below (NYD, Thanksgiving, Christmas).

♻️ Recycling — Accepted & Not Accepted

Accepted (Blue Cart)

  • Paper & cardboard (flattened)
  • Glass bottles & jars
  • Metal cans (aluminum/steel)
  • Hard plastics (bottles/jugs/tubs) — no plastic bags/film
  • Cartons & coated paper products (incl. coffee cups)

Not Accepted

  • Plastic bags/film; tanglers (hoses/cords)
  • Food/liquids; Styrofoam
  • HHW/e-waste (see HHW options)
Official recycling rules (and recent additions like cartons/coated paper) are listed on the City site.

🌿 Composting (Green Cart)

  • What goes in: food scraps (incl. meat, dairy, bones), food-soiled paper, yard trimmings, natural fibers.
  • Why allowed: materials are processed at a commercial facility reaching high temps.
Keep plastics (incl. “compostable” liners) out of the green cart; use paper bags if lining is needed. See City guidance.

📦 On-Demand Bulk, Brush & HHW (Launched 2025)

  • As of January 2025, Austin switched from semiannual set weeks to **on-demand** pickups you schedule.
  • You can schedule up to three (3) collections per year for each service: bulk, brush and household hazardous waste (HHW).
  • Book via the My Schedule tool, the Austin Recycles app, or by calling 3-1-1.

Schedule On-Demand Pickup

🏗️ Recycle & Reuse Drop-off Center

Site Address / Hours Notes
Recycle & Reuse Drop-off Center 2514 Business Center Dr., Austin, TX 78744 — by appointment only Drop off many hard-to-recycle/HHW items; appointments & info via City site (phone 512-974-4343).

🎉 Holiday Schedule (Slide Days)

  • Collections **slide one day** later if your day falls on — or after — New Year’s Day, Thanksgiving Day, or Christmas Day. No slide when these fall on a weekend.
Your personalized calendar in “My Schedule” shows holiday adjustments for your address.

🚚 Missed Pickup — What to Do

  1. Confirm set-out rules (out by 5:30 a.m., spaced, lids closed) and materials accepted.
  2. If still missed, report via **Austin 3-1-1** (web/app/phone).

Open Austin 3-1-1

💲 Cart Sizes & Fees (PAYT)

Austin uses “pay-as-you-throw”: your monthly rate depends on trash cart size; you can downsize for free (larger cart exchanges incur a small one-time fee).

City requires recycling capacity to be equal to or larger than trash capacity when requesting additional carts. Call 512-494-9400 to change cart size.

📞 Contacts (City of Austin)

  • Austin Resource Recovery: collection info, schedules, app & on-demand services.
  • Customer service: (512) 494-9400 (also listed inside “My Schedule”).
  • 3-1-1: service requests & missed pickups.
Open My Schedule

🔗 Data Sources

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