New Orleans Trash Pickup Schedule, Recycling & Bulk 2026
Find your New Orleans collection day, recycling program details, bulk pickup rules, holiday schedule, and drop-off center information.
City of New Orleans · Department of Sanitation · Updated April 2026
Find Your New Orleans Collection Day
Select your trash pickup day to instantly see your full schedule — garbage, recycling, bulk pickup, and 2026 holiday impacts for New Orleans residents.
👈 Select your day above to see your complete New Orleans collection schedule.
⚠ Don’t know your day yet? Look up your address at nola.gov/sanitation-collection-schedules or call 311. All contact options ↓
New Orleans Waste Collection — Quick Facts
The City of New Orleans Department of Sanitation manages residential waste collection through multiple private contractors. Homes with 4 units or less receive weekly curbside trash pickup. Curbside recycling is an opt-in program — residents must call 311 to request a free blue recycling cart to participate. Collection starts early: have everything out by 4:00 a.m. on your collection day.
New Orleans Sanitation Contractors & Service Areas
New Orleans trash and recycling collection is managed by the Department of Sanitation and delivered by private contractors assigned to specific geographic areas of the city. Your contractor determines your collection day and schedule. Your collection day depends entirely on your address — use the official schedule lookup to find yours.
🚚 IV Waste
Serves the largest portion of the city. Service areas include Gentilly, Lakeview, and parts of Mid-City.
Customer service: 504-224-6670 ext. 5
For bulk pickups and 95-gallon container delivery/repairs, call 311 or IV Waste directly.
🚚 Richard’s Disposal Inc.
Serves Algiers, Mid-City, and Uptown neighborhoods.
Contact through Department of Sanitation or call 311 for service issues.
🚚 Waste Pro
Serves New Orleans East and the Ninth Ward.
Contact through Department of Sanitation or call 311 for service issues.
🏭 French Quarter & DDD
The French Quarter and Downtown Development District receive daily collection, 365 days per year, including all holidays. A separate service model applies. See the dedicated section below.
New Orleans Trash & Recycling Carts — Rules & Set-Out
Eligible residential properties (4 units or less) receive a City-issued 96-gallon black trash cart. A free blue recycling cart (64-gallon) or 18-gallon blue bin is available upon request by calling 311. Collection starts very early in New Orleans — trucks begin routes between 4:00 a.m. and 8:00 a.m. Have everything out before 4:00 a.m. on your collection day.
Black Cart — Trash
All household waste in bags. City-issued 96-gallon cart. Cardboard must be broken down and flattened. Weekly collection.
Weekly • City-issuedBlue Cart — Recycling (Opt-In)
Paper, plastic #1–#2 bottles, cans, cartons. Loose, never bagged. No glass. Call 311 to register and get your free cart.
Weekly (opt-in) • Free cart⏰ Set-Out Rules
- Place carts and bulk items at the curb no earlier than 4:00 p.m. the day before your collection day.
- Everything must be out by 4:00 a.m. on your collection day — trucks begin very early.
- Solid waste must be in the City-supplied 96-gallon roll cart or in thick plastic bags with tight-fitting lids.
- Cardboard must be broken down and flattened before being placed in or beside the cart.
- Always bag your garbage. Unbagged waste causes odor issues, attracts pests, and may not be collected.
- Keep perishable, odorous waste (crawfish, food scraps, meat) in your freezer or refrigerator until collection day to reduce odors.
- Do not block roadways or place items near trees, poles, or fire hydrants.
New Orleans Holiday Trash Collection Schedule 2026
New Orleans observes four holidays when curbside trash and recycling collection is suspended for properties outside the French Quarter and Downtown Development District: New Year’s Day, Mardi Gras Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day. When a holiday falls on a weekday, missed collections shift forward one day for the remainder of that week. The French Quarter and DDD receive daily collection on all 365 days — no holiday interruptions for trash (only recycling is suspended).
| Holiday | 2026 Date | Impact (Outside FQ & DDD) | What Happens |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Year’s Day | Thu, Jan 1 | No Collection | Thu routes shift to Fri. Fri routes shift to Sat. Mon–Wed unaffected. |
| Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday) | Tue, Feb 17 | No Collection | Tue routes shift to Wed. Wed routes shift to Thu. Thu to Fri. Fri to Sat. Mon unaffected. |
| MLK Day | Mon, Jan 19 | Normal | Collection runs as scheduled. |
| Presidents’ Day | Mon, Feb 16 | Normal | Collection runs as scheduled. |
| Memorial Day | Mon, May 25 | Normal | Collection runs as scheduled. |
| Independence Day | Sat, Jul 4 | Normal | Falls on Saturday — no weekday impact. |
| Labor Day | Mon, Sep 7 | Normal | Collection runs as scheduled. |
| Veterans Day | Wed, Nov 11 | Normal | Collection runs as scheduled. |
| Thanksgiving Day | Thu, Nov 26 | No Collection | Thu routes shift to Fri. Fri routes shift to Sat. Mon–Wed unaffected. |
| Christmas Day | Fri, Dec 25 | No Collection | Fri routes shift to Sat. Mon–Thu unaffected that week. |
New Orleans Recycling — How to Sign Up & What’s Accepted
New Orleans offers curbside recycling to all eligible residential properties (4 units or less), but you must opt in by calling 311 to request your free blue cart. All residents already pay for recycling through the monthly sanitation fee on their Sewerage & Water Board bill — but only registered households receive curbside service. As of 2026, approximately 42% of eligible households participate. Recycling collection occurs once a week on the same day as trash.
📞 How to Sign Up for Recycling in New Orleans
- Call 311 (Monday–Friday, 8 a.m.–5 p.m.) or visit nola311.org to register for the curbside recycling program.
- Request your free 64-gallon blue recycling cart (or an 18-gallon blue bin for smaller spaces).
- The cart will be delivered to your address. Once you have it, place recyclables loose inside — never in plastic bags.
- Set out your blue cart on the same day as your trash, before 4:00 a.m.
✅ Accepted in the Blue Cart
- Paper: newspapers, magazines, junk mail, office paper, phone books, catalogs
- Cardboard — flattened/broken down
- Aluminum, tin, and metal food/beverage cans (rinsed)
- Plastic bottles — #1 and #2 only (rinsed) — beverage, food, detergent, shampoo, prescription, cleaning
- Food and beverage cartons (milk, juice)
- Cereal and cracker boxes (remove plastic liner)
🚫 Never in the Blue Cart
- Glass → Elysian Fields drop-off only (50 lb limit per visit)
- Plastic bags or film → grocery store drop-off
- Plastics #3–#7 (including Mardi Gras cups, which are #5)
- Styrofoam / polystyrene
- Food waste or soiled containers
- Electronics → Elysian Fields drop-off
- Batteries → Elysian Fields drop-off
- Hazardous materials
New Orleans Bulk Pickup & Yard Waste Collection
New Orleans offers curbside bulk item pickup on request. Call 311 to schedule. Bulk items should be placed at the curb no earlier than 4:00 p.m. the day before your scheduled pickup and no later than 4:00 a.m. on pickup day. Residents may be fined for placing bulk waste at the curb before the scheduled collection date. For French Quarter residents, bulk waste collection day is Wednesday.
📦 What Qualifies as a Bulk Item
- Furniture: sofas, chairs, tables, bed frames, dressers
- Appliances (white goods): refrigerators, washers, dryers, stoves, AC units
- Mattresses and box springs
- Carpet under 4 feet in length, rolled and tied
- Up to 4 tires per scheduled pickup
- Metal materials weighing 25 lbs or less
- Pipes under 1 inch in diameter and under 4 feet in length
- Up to 25 lbs of construction and demolition debris properly containerized or bundled
🌿 Yard Waste & Vegetation Rules
- Up to 6 bags of yard waste per collection: bagged leaves, weeds, grass clippings, small vegetation, and hedge clippings.
- Up to 6 bundles of tree branches cut to less than 4-foot lengths.
- Branches must be neatly bundled. Tree stumps and root balls are not accepted curbside.
- Yard waste may be placed next to your cart on your collection day — no scheduling required for these amounts.
- Larger volumes of yard debris require a separate scheduled pickup — call 311.
Elysian Fields Recycling Drop-Off Center — Glass, E-Waste & More
The New Orleans Department of Sanitation operates a Recycling Drop-Off Center at 2829 Elysian Fields Avenue on the 2nd and 4th Saturday of every month, from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. This is the primary option for glass recycling, electronics drop-off, and other materials not accepted curbside. Proof of New Orleans residency required (valid driver’s license or brake tag).
🚩 Elysian Fields Recycling Drop-Off Center
Address: 2829 Elysian Fields Avenue, New Orleans, LA
Hours: 2nd and 4th Saturday of every month • 8:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m.
Proof of residency required: valid Louisiana driver’s license or brake tag.
✅ Accepted at Elysian Fields Drop-Off
- Glass bottles and jars — limit 50 lbs per visit
- Electronics (e-waste): computers, laptops, cell phones, TVs (limit 4), printers, cameras, game consoles, cable boxes, stereos, GPS devices, and more
- Batteries (all types)
- Tires — limit 5 per visit
- Ink cartridges and toner
- Lightbulbs (fluorescent, CFL)
- Standard recyclables (same as curbside blue cart)
🚫 Not Accepted at Drop-Off
- Commercial or business waste
- Hazardous chemicals in large quantities
- More than 4 TVs per visit
- More than 5 tires per visit
- Regular household trash
French Quarter & Downtown Development District — Special Rules
Properties within the French Quarter and Downtown Development District (DDD) operate under a different collection model from the rest of the city. Solid waste is collected daily, 365 days per year, with trucks running between 4:00 a.m. and 8:00 a.m. This includes all four City-observed holidays (New Year’s, Mardi Gras, Thanksgiving, and Christmas) for trash. Recycling, however, is suspended on those same holidays and resumes the next scheduled collection day.
🏰 French Quarter & DDD Key Differences
- Trash collected daily, every day of the year — including all holidays (trash only; recycling suspended on 4 holidays).
- Recycling collection day is Tuesday for most French Quarter properties — bins should be placed curbside no earlier than 7 p.m. Monday and before 4 a.m. Tuesday.
- Bulk waste collection day in the French Quarter is Wednesday, up to 6 bags or bundles.
- Small businesses with fewer than 35 gallons of solid waste per collection are eligible for City-provided service in the French Quarter.
- Given the dense, high-traffic nature of the neighborhood, extra care must be taken not to obstruct the public right of way with trash or bulk items.
What to Do If Your Trash Wasn’t Collected in New Orleans
- Confirm your collection day and contractor. Look up your address at nola.gov/sanitation-collection-schedules or call 311. Confirm which contractor serves your area (IV Waste, Richard’s Disposal, or Waste Pro).
- Check for a holiday. New Year’s Day, Mardi Gras Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas cause suspensions with cascading delays. Verify the current week’s holiday schedule at nola.gov or by calling 311.
- Verify set-out rules: items must be at the curb before 4:00 a.m. on collection day (placed out from 4 p.m. the night before). Trash must be in the City-issued cart or in thick, tied plastic bags.
- Report the missed pickup by calling 311 or submitting a request at nola311.org. The Department of Sanitation at (504) 658-4000 also handles missed pickup reports. For IV Waste service areas, call 504-224-6670 ext. 5.
- After reporting, leave your cart or bags at the curb. The contractor will return to complete the missed pickup, typically within 24 hours.
New Orleans Trash & Recycling Tips Every Resident Should Know
🏠 New to New Orleans or Just Moved In?
Call 311 to set up or verify your trash and recycling service. If you don’t have a City-issued black cart, request one through 311. Sign up for the free curbside recycling program by calling 311 — you pay for it already through your Sewerage & Water Board bill. Look up your trash day at nola.gov/sanitation-collection-schedules. Set-out time is early: before 4:00 a.m. on collection day.
🌬 Hurricane & Storm Season Tips
- After hurricanes or major storms, the Department of Sanitation announces special debris collection procedures. Do not place storm debris in your regular cart — it overwhelms normal service.
- Monitor nola.gov and sign up for Notify NOLA alerts for official emergency service announcements.
- After a storm, leave carts secured and do not place debris near trees, poles, or fire hydrants to allow trucks through.
- For significant storm debris (large trees, construction materials), the City coordinates separate debris removal — this is different from normal bulk pickup.
🎆 Mardi Gras Season Tips
- Mardi Gras cups are plastic #5 — they are NOT recyclable in New Orleans and go in the black trash cart.
- Mardi Gras beads can be donated for reuse: Arc-GNO accepts beads at 5700 Loyola Avenue and other locations.
- During parade weeks, collection may be delayed or altered near parade routes — check nola.gov for announcements.
- On Fat Tuesday (Feb 17, 2026), there is no curbside pickup outside the French Quarter and DDD. Plan your trash accordingly.
🚫 5 Common Mistakes New Orleans Residents Make
- Forgetting to call 311 to sign up for recycling — you pay for it already but won’t get service without registering
- Putting glass in the blue recycling cart — glass must go to the Elysian Fields drop-off
- Putting Mardi Gras cups (#5 plastic) in the recycling cart — they go in the black cart
- Setting bulk items out without a confirmed pickup date — this can result in a fine
- Missing Mardi Gras Day as a pickup holiday and leaving waste uncollected all week without checking the cascade schedule
Contact New Orleans Sanitation & Waste Services
| Contact | Details |
|---|---|
| 311 — Citizen Services | Dial 311 — trash & recycling service, missed pickups, cart requests, bulk scheduling, all City services. Also available at nola311.org |
| Department of Sanitation | 📞 (504) 658-4000 • 1300 Perdido Street, 1W30, New Orleans, LA 70112 • nola.gov/sanitation |
| Collection Schedule Lookup | nola.gov/sanitation-collection-schedules — look up your address for your exact trash and recycling day |
| IV Waste (Gentilly, Lakeview, Mid-City) | 📞 504-224-6670 ext. 5 • ivwaste.com/new-orleans — bulk pickups, cart delivery/repairs |
| Richard’s Disposal (Algiers, Uptown, Mid-City) | Contact through 311 for service issues in these areas |
| Waste Pro (New Orleans East, Ninth Ward) | Contact through 311 for service issues in these areas |
| Elysian Fields Drop-Off Center | 2829 Elysian Fields Ave • 2nd & 4th Saturday, 8 a.m.–1 p.m. • Glass, e-waste, batteries, tires. Proof of residency required. |
| The Green Project (Paint & Building Materials) | 2831 Marais St • Mon–Sat 9 a.m.–4 p.m. • Paint, lumber, hardware, fixtures |
Frequently Asked Questions — New Orleans Trash Pickup
Still Can’t Find Your Collection Day?
If the Collection Day selector above hasn’t resolved your question, use the official City of New Orleans resources below. Enter your address on the official schedule lookup to find your exact trash day, contractor, and recycling schedule.
🔍 Official Sanitation Lookup & Contact Options
All of the following are official City of New Orleans resources for address-based schedule information:
🔍 Look Up Your Collection Day 📞 Call 311| Collection Schedule Lookup | nola.gov/sanitation-collection-schedules — address-based lookup for trash day, recycling day, and contractor |
| 311 Citizen Services | Dial 311 — missed pickups, cart requests, recycling registration, bulk scheduling, all City sanitation services. Also at nola311.org |
| Department of Sanitation | (504) 658-4000 • nola.gov/sanitation — all sanitation programs, schedules, and services |
| IV Waste (Gentilly, Lakeview, Mid-City) | (504) 224-6670 ext. 5 • ivwaste.com/new-orleans |
| Elysian Fields Drop-Off Center | 2829 Elysian Fields Ave • 2nd & 4th Saturday, 8 a.m.–1 p.m. • Glass, e-waste, batteries, tires |
You will leave this website when using any of the links above. The official nola.gov schedule lookup is the most accurate source for address-based collection day information.
Trash & Recycling Schedules for Other US Cities
Looking for waste collection information in another city? Here are cities we’ve already covered with full schedules, recycling rules, and bulk pickup guides: