San Jose Trash Pickup Schedule, Recycling & Junk Pickup 2026
Find your City of San Jose collection day, recycling rules, free unlimited junk pickup, yard trimmings, and 2026 holiday schedule.
City of San Jose · Environmental Services Department · Updated March 2026
Find Your San Jose Collection Day
Your collection day depends on your specific address. Use the selector below for a quick schedule overview, then verify your exact day and hauler with the official Residential Services Lookup. Multiple private haulers serve different parts of the city — your address determines which one.
👈 Select your day above to see your complete San Jose collection schedule.
⚠ Don’t know your day? Use the official Residential Services Lookup at sanjoseca.gov, dial 3-1-1, or call (408) 535-3500. More contact options ↓
San Jose Waste Collection — Quick Facts
San Jose Environmental Services oversees residential solid waste collection for over 1 million residents. Collection is performed by private franchise haulers under City contract: GreenTeam of San Jose, Garden City Sanitation, and GreenWaste Recovery — your hauler depends on your address. All three streams (garbage, recycling, yard trimmings) are collected on the same weekday, once per week. Free junk pickup is unlimited.
San Jose’s Three Carts — What Goes Where
Every San Jose residential customer receives three color-coded carts, all collected on the same weekday, once per week. Food scraps belong in the black garbage cart (not the green yard trimmings cart) — San Jose recovers organics from the garbage at its materials recovery facility, a unique system that sets it apart from most California cities.
Black Cart — Garbage
All non-recyclable waste including food scraps and food-soiled items. San Jose sorts organics from garbage at the MRF for composting.
Weekly • Rate-basedBlue Cart — Recycling
Clean, empty, and loose recyclables: paper, cardboard, cans, glass, plastic bottles & jugs. No bags, no food scraps, no yard waste.
Weekly • IncludedGreen Cart / Pile — Yard Trimmings
Grass clippings, leaves, branches, plants. No food scraps, no plastic bags. Many areas use loose curbside piles instead of or in addition to a cart.
Weekly • Included⏰ Set-Out Rules
- All carts out by 6:00 a.m. on your collection day — but no earlier than the evening before.
- Cart lid must be fully closed. Overfilled carts may not be serviced.
- At least 3 feet of clearance on all sides from vehicles, mailboxes, and other obstacles.
- Yard trimmings piles: keep less than 5 × 5 feet, at least 1 foot from curb and 5 feet from carts, cars, and other piles. Keep out of bike lanes and red-curbed areas.
- Remove carts the same day after collection.
- Branches: less than 5 feet long and smaller than 6 inches in diameter.
San Jose Holiday Trash Collection Schedule 2026
San Jose observes three holidays that affect collection: New Year’s Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas Day. When any of these falls on a weekday, collection shifts one day later for the rest of that week. All other holidays are normal service days — collection runs as scheduled. San Jose 311 is available at (408) 535-3500 for any questions.
| Holiday | 2026 Date | Impact | What Happens |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Year’s Day | Thu, Jan 1 | 1-Day Delay | Thu → Fri | Fri → Sat | Mon–Wed: normal that week |
| MLK Day | Mon, Jan 19 | Normal | Collection runs as usual. All routes collected as normal. |
| Presidents’ Day | Mon, Feb 16 | Normal | Collection runs as usual. No delay. |
| Memorial Day | Mon, May 25 | Normal | Collection runs as usual. No delay. |
| Independence Day | Sat, Jul 4 | Normal | Falls on Saturday — no weekday impact. All routes normal that week. |
| Labor Day | Mon, Sep 7 | Normal | Collection runs as usual. No delay. |
| Veterans’ Day | Wed, Nov 11 | Normal | Collection runs as usual. No delay. |
| Thanksgiving Day | Thu, Nov 26 | 1-Day Delay | Thu → Fri | Fri → Sat | Mon–Wed: normal that week |
| Christmas Day | Fri, Dec 25 | 1-Day Delay | Fri → Sat | Mon–Thu: normal that week |
🎄 Holiday Tree Recycling — Christmas Tree Collection 2026
Curbside collection of live Christmas trees begins on your first regular collection day on or after December 26, 2026, through approximately January 23, 2027. To prepare your tree: remove all decorations, tinsel, lights, and stands; cut branches exceeding 5 feet into shorter sections; place the tree next to (not inside) your green yard trimmings cart or pile by 6:00 a.m. on your collection day. Artificial trees go in the black garbage cart or can be donated. Multi-family residents should contact GreenWaste at (408) 283-4800 for tree collection arrangements.
San Jose Recycling — What Goes in the Blue Cart
San Jose uses single-stream recycling collected every week in the blue cart. All materials collected go to the Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) in San Jose for sorting. Items must be clean, empty, and placed loose — never in plastic bags. Due to a recycling contamination rate above 57% citywide, the City has begun tagging contaminated carts to help residents improve sorting. Always check SanJoseRecycles.org for the current “What Goes Where” guide.
✅ Accepted in the Blue Cart
- Paper: newspapers, magazines, catalogs, junk mail, envelopes, office paper
- Cardboard — flattened; must fit in the cart with lid closed
- Paperboard: cereal boxes, paper towel rolls, snack boxes (empty and dry)
- Aluminum and steel cans, food tins — empty and rinsed
- Glass bottles and jars — rinsed, all colors accepted
- Plastic bottles and jugs — rinsed, empty, lids removed
- Plastic tubs and containers (yogurt, butter) — rinsed
- Cartons: milk, juice, soup (aseptic cartons accepted)
- Textiles: clothes, shoes, rugs — place in a tied bag inside cart
🚫 Never in the Blue Cart
- Plastic bags or film (soft plastics) → grocery store drop-off
- Styrofoam / polystyrene of any kind
- Food scraps or food-soiled paper → black garbage cart
- Tissue, toilet paper, to-go coffee cups
- Yard trimmings or organics → green cart or loose pile
- Electronics or batteries → HHW drop-off
- Tanglers: hoses, cords, chains, wire hangers
- Items smaller than your fist — they jam equipment
- Shredded paper → black garbage cart or home composting
San Jose Yard Trimmings Collection
Yard trimmings are collected weekly on the same day as garbage and recycling. San Jose uses one of two collection methods depending on your address and neighborhood: a green cart (most common) or a loose pile placed curbside in the street. Some areas use both. Use the Residential Services Lookup to confirm your method and your street sweeping day (which determines when your pile should not be in the street).
✅ Accepted in Green Cart / Loose Pile
- Grass clippings, leaves, and weeds
- Branches: less than 5 ft long, less than 6 in diameter
- Shrubs, plants, and garden trimmings
- Sod (shake off excess soil first)
- Palm fronds
- Christmas trees (stripped of all decorations)
- Oversized branches (up to 60 lbs, max 5 ft, max 2 in diameter) → schedule as Junk Pickup
🚫 Not Accepted in Yard Trimmings
- Food scraps or fruit from trimmed limbs → black garbage cart
- Pet waste → black garbage cart
- Soil, rocks, dirt, or concrete
- Lumber, treated wood, or fencing
- Ashes of any kind
- Plastic bags — even compostable ones
- Landscaping company debris (contractor must self-haul)
Organics & SB 1383 — How San Jose Handles Food Scraps
California SB 1383 requires all jurisdictions to provide organic waste collection. San Jose complies through a unique mixed-waste processing model that sets it apart from nearly all other California cities. Instead of requiring residents to sort food into a separate cart, all residential garbage is sent to a Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) for organic recovery before any material goes to landfill.
🌿 San Jose’s MRF-Based Organics Recovery Model
- San Jose has processed organics from residential garbage since 2014 for single-family homes and 2008 for multi-family.
- Food scraps, food-soiled paper, and organic items placed in the black garbage cart are sorted out at the MRF and sent to a composting facility.
- Residents do NOT need to separate food scraps into a separate cart to be SB 1383 compliant in San Jose.
- Compost made from recovered organics is used for local landscaping and median projects.
- The City encourages home composting as an additional option for residents.
📈 Free Backyard Composting
San Jose Environmental Services encourages home composting as a complement to curbside collection. Residents can learn more about backyard composting resources at SanJoseRecycles.org. Composting reduces the amount of organic material going to the MRF and can enrich home gardens.
San Jose Free Junk Pickup — Unlimited Appointments
San Jose offers free, unlimited curbside junk pickup for all single-family homes and mobile home parks — one of the most generous bulk item programs in the US. Each appointment allows up to 12 items. Items are picked up on the same day(s) as your regular service. Appointments are required and can be made 24/7 via San Jose 311.
📅 How to Schedule Free Junk Pickup
- Use the San Jose 311 web portal, the San Jose 311 app (iOS & Android), or dial 3-1-1 / call (408) 535-3500. Provide your address and a list of up to 12 items.
- You will receive a confirmation email from your recycling collection company (separate from the automated 311 reply). Check your spam folder if you don’t see it. The email contains your exact pickup date and set-out instructions.
- Alternatively, call your recycling hauler directly during business hours for immediate scheduling — find your hauler using the Residential Services Lookup.
- Set items out up to 24 hours before your appointment, curbside next to your carts — not on sidewalks, in driveways, or in alleys unless instructed.
- All items must have been generated from your home. Construction and demolition (C&D) debris requires a separate licensed hauler.
✅ Accepted in Junk Pickup
- Mattresses and box springs
- Sofas, chairs, tables, and other furniture
- Refrigerators, washers, dryers, and large appliances
- Tires (up to 4 per appointment)
- Oversized yard trimmings (up to 60 lbs, max 5 ft, 2 in diameter)
- Scrap metal and large household items
- Up to 12 items per appointment • Appointments are unlimited
🚫 Not Accepted in Junk Pickup
- Construction and demolition debris → licensed C&D hauler
- Hazardous materials → HHW drop-off
- Commercial or business waste
- Paint, chemicals, batteries, or electronics → HHW drop-off
- More than 12 items per appointment (schedule a second appointment)
- Items not generated from your home
Household Hazardous Waste & Electronics Drop-Off
San Jose has a permanent HHW facility at the Environmental Innovation Center, operated in partnership with the Santa Clara County Household Hazardous Waste Program. Drop-off is free for all City of San Jose residents. An appointment is required — walk-ins are not accepted. The exact facility address is sent only after booking to prevent unauthorized drop-offs.
🚩 San Jose Permanent HHW Facility
Environmental Innovation Center, San Jose (address provided upon appointment confirmation)
Thu, Fri, Sat • 8:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m. • Appointment required
📞 (408) 299-7300 • hhw.santaclaracounty.gov
🚩 San Martin Permanent Facility
San Martin, CA (address provided upon appointment confirmation)
Select days • Appointment required • Check hhw.santaclaracounty.gov for schedule
📞 (408) 299-7300
🚩 Mobile Events (Various Locations)
County-wide temporary events in various cities — check appointment system for current locations
Appointment required • Scheduled throughout the year
🚩 Seniors — HHW Home Pickup
Heart of the Valley offers curbside pickup of HHW and pharmaceutical waste for seniors
📞 (408) 241-1571 • Call to arrange
✅ Accepted at HHW Facilities
- Electronics: TVs, computers, phones, tablets, printers
- Batteries: all types including rechargeable and lithium
- Paint: latex and oil-based, stain, varnish
- Household chemicals, pool chemicals, solvents
- Motor oil and automotive fluids
- Fluorescent and CFL bulbs
- Propane tanks (small, 1 lb camping size)
- Pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers
🚫 Not Accepted / Restrictions
- Medications: no longer accepted at San Jose or San Martin facilities (as of Jan 16, 2025) → use a drop-off kiosk or mail-back program at Med-Project.org
- Explosives or ammunition → contact local law enforcement
- Radioactive materials
- Commercial business waste (separate CESQG program available)
- Containers over 5 gallons
- More than 10 liquid gallons or 50 lbs solid per vehicle
Free Curbside Used Motor Oil Recycling
San Jose offers a unique curbside used motor oil and oil filter recycling program at no charge. Residents receive special oil jugs and filter bags from their hauler, fill them at home, and place them next to the recycling cart on their collection day for free curbside pickup.
🛒 How to Request an Oil Jug and Filter Bag
- Request a free oil jug and filter bag via San Jose 311, by calling (408) 535-3500, or through your hauler directly.
- Fill the jug with used motor oil and place used filters in the filter bag.
- Place the filled jug and bag at the curb next to your blue recycling cart on your regular collection day.
- The hauler picks it up and replaces the jug and bag for your next use.
- Only use hauler-issued jugs and filter bags — do not use regular containers.
Apartments & Multi-Family Buildings in San Jose
Apartments and condominiums in San Jose receive garbage, recycling, and yard trimmings service through the same franchise hauler system, but collection frequency and bin setup may differ from single-family homes. Residents should contact their property manager for collection schedules, as collection days and access points vary by building.
🚚 Junk Pickup for Apartment Residents
Apartment and condominium residents can contact their property managers or GreenTeam of San Jose at (408) 282-4400 to arrange free junk pickup appointments. Property managers can advise on where to place items for pickup. Multi-family residents do not use the 311 system directly for junk pickup scheduling in all cases.
🌿 Christmas Tree Collection — Multi-Family
Multi-family residents should contact GreenWaste Recovery at (408) 283-4800 to arrange curbside Christmas tree collection. Check with your property manager for building-specific instructions.
What to Do If Your Trash Wasn’t Collected in San Jose
- Confirm your collection day and hauler — use the Residential Services Lookup or call (408) 535-3500. Collection runs between 6:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m.
- Check for a holiday delay. New Year’s Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas Day are the only three holidays that cause one-day delays. All other major holidays are normal service days.
- Verify set-out: carts out by 6:00 a.m., lid fully closed, at least 3 feet from all obstacles, and carts set out no earlier than the evening before.
- Verify yard trimmings piles are less than 5 × 5 feet, at least 1 foot from the curb and 5 feet from carts and other obstacles. Piles in bike lanes or red-curbed areas will not be collected.
- Wait until 6:00 p.m. Collection runs all day. If not collected by 6 p.m., report the missed service at sanjoseca.gov/311, by dialing 3-1-1, or by calling (408) 535-3500.
San Jose Trash & Recycling Tips Every Resident Should Know
🏠 New to San Jose or Just Moved In?
Use the Residential Services Lookup to find your collection day, hauler name, street sweeping day, and yard trimmings collection method (cart vs. loose pile). Download the San Jose 311 app for missed pickup reports, junk pickup scheduling, and service lookups. Your three carts should be provided by your hauler — if missing, contact 311.
🔥 Wildfire Season & Smoke Events
- Keep cart lids fully closed during fire season — ash and embers can contaminate recyclables and create fire hazards.
- Do not place ash in any carts. Ash must cool completely and be wrapped before disposal in the black garbage cart.
- Monitor sanjoseca.gov/environmental-services for service suspension announcements during local emergencies.
🚫 5 Common Mistakes San Jose Residents Make
- Putting food scraps in the green yard trimmings cart — in San Jose, food scraps go in the black garbage cart (organics are recovered at the MRF)
- Placing plastic bags or film in the blue recycling cart — soft plastics contaminate the entire load
- Stuffing cardboard in the recycling cart without flattening it, or placing it outside the cart
- Not scheduling a junk pickup appointment and instead leaving items on the curb unsolicited — items placed without a scheduled appointment will not be collected
- Assuming shredded paper is recyclable — shredded paper goes in the black garbage cart (fragments jam MRF equipment)
Contact San Jose 311 & Waste Haulers
| Contact | Details |
|---|---|
| San Jose 311 | 📞 (408) 535-3500 • Dial 3-1-1 from any San Jose phone • Online: sanjoseca.gov/311 • iOS & Android app • Missed pickups, junk pickup, oil jugs, cart changes, service lookups |
| Residential Services Lookup | sanjoseca.gov — Utility Services Lookup • Find your collection day, hauler, street sweeping day, and yard trimmings method by address |
| GreenTeam of San Jose | 📞 (408) 282-4400 • Serves central and east San Jose areas • Multi-family and apartment junk pickup coordination |
| Garden City Sanitation | 📞 (408) 283-9200 • Serves select residential areas • Contact for your specific area via Residential Services Lookup |
| GreenWaste Recovery | 📞 (408) 283-4800 • Serves certain areas including yard trimmings and multi-family Christmas tree collection |
| HHW Drop-Off (Santa Clara County) | 📞 (408) 299-7300 • hhw.santaclaracounty.gov • Appointment required • Thu–Sat 8 AM–noon |
| SanJoseRecycles.org | sanjoserecycles.org • “What Goes Where” guide, junk pickup info, holiday schedule, backyard composting |
| Environmental Services Dept. | sanjoseca.gov/environmental-services • 200 E. Santa Clara St., San Jose, CA |
Frequently Asked Questions — San Jose Trash Pickup
Still Can’t Find Your Collection Day?
If the Collection Day Finder above and the information on this page haven’t resolved your question, use the official City of San Jose Residential Services Lookup. Enter your address to find your exact trash day, hauler contact, yard trimmings method (cart or pile), street sweeping day, and neighborhood cleanup events.
🔍 Official San Jose Lookup & Contact Options
All of the following are free and the most accurate source for your address-specific schedule:
🔍 Residential Services Lookup 📞 Call (408) 535-3500| Residential Services Lookup | sanjoseca.gov — Utility Services Lookup — Find your day, hauler, street sweeping, and yard trimmings method by address |
| San Jose 311 | sanjoseca.gov/311 — Web, app (iOS/Android), or dial 3-1-1 • Missed pickups, junk pickup scheduling, oil jug requests, cart size changes |
| Phone | (408) 535-3500 — San Jose 311 call center for all solid waste questions |
| SanJoseRecycles.org | sanjoserecycles.org — “What Goes Where” guide, junk pickup info, HHW, backyard composting, holiday schedules |
| HHW Drop-Off | (408) 299-7300 • hhw.santaclaracounty.gov — Appointment required for San Jose permanent facility (Thu–Sat) |
| Environmental Services Dept. | sanjoseca.gov/environmental-services — Full program information, rates, holiday schedule updates |
You will leave this website when using any of the links above. The Residential Services Lookup is the most accurate source for address-specific schedule and hauler 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: