Tallahassee trash and recycling: schedule, holidays and bulk pickup

Last checked Oct. 10, 2026. Facts on this page come from the City of Tallahassee Utilities Waste Management Services page and the city’s 2026 Customer Service Guide.

The City of Tallahassee Utilities Community Beautification and Waste Management department picks up garbage, recycling, yard waste and bulky items inside the city limits. The city is the only provider of waste collection inside the city limits, except for recycling and construction debris at businesses. Garbage and recycling go once a week on the same day. Yard waste and bulky items go every other week, on your Red or Blue week.

Who to call

• Missed pickup, new cart, special pickup: Waste Management, 850-891-4968
• Your pickup day: the city’s pickup schedule lookup by address
• Report a missed pickup online: residential pickup issue form
• Household hazardous waste drop-off: 850-606-1803

Find your pickup day

Type your address into the city’s pickup schedule. It shows your garbage and recycling day and your Red or Blue week day for yard waste and bulky items. The city mails the printed guide, with a tear-off calendar, to homes by Jan. 1 each year.

Garbage and recycling

From the city’s 2026 guide:

• Use only the city-issued cart, lid closed. Extra bags beside the cart are not picked up.
• Set carts out the night before or by 6:30 a.m. on pickup day, but no earlier than the day before.
• Put them behind the curb, off the sidewalk, handles facing away from the street, with at least 3 feet of space on all sides.
• Bring them back to the storage area near your home by the day after pickup. After three violation notices, the city places a home on Premium Service for at least a year.
• Recycling goes the same day as garbage. Put items in loose, clean and dry: plastic bottles, metal cans, glass jars and bottles, paper and cardboard.
• Keep out of the recycling cart: plastic bags, foam, hazardous materials and clothing. Pizza boxes, foil and milk or juice cartons go in the garbage, according to the city’s garbage page.

You can also drop recyclables at any of the city’s public recycling containers.

Yard waste and bulky items: Red and Blue weeks

Yard waste and bulky items are picked up every other week, on the same day of your Red or Blue week. Put them out no earlier than the weekend before, behind the curb, in two separate piles.

• Yard waste: leaves, grass, pine straw and small branches in paper bags, small cardboard boxes or your own container. No plastic bags. Limbs under 6 feet long and no more than 4 inches across. Piles no bigger than 6 feet long, 4 feet wide and 4 feet high.
• Bulky items: furniture, mattresses, grills, small appliances and other large items up to 6 feet by 4 feet by 4 feet, at no charge, per the city’s bulky items page.
• Too big or construction debris: a special residential pickup, for a fee. Tree and landscaping contractors must haul away their own yard waste.

Red and Blue weeks for the rest of 2026

From the city’s Red/Blue Week Calendar (weeks run Sunday to Saturday):

Holiday weeks

When a city holiday falls during the week, pickup slides forward one day for the rest of the week, Monday through Saturday, according to the guide. The city’s observed holidays that affect pickup include Election Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving Day and the day after, Christmas Day and the day after, and New Year’s Day. The calendar marks the weeks of Nov. 1, Nov. 8, Nov. 22, Dec. 20 and Dec. 27 as holiday weeks.

Missed pickup

If garbage or recycling was not picked up by 6 p.m. on your day, report it the same day or by 10 a.m. the next business day, online or at 850-891-4968. The city aims to come back the next business day. Missed yard waste and bulky items wait for your next Red or Blue week.

Electronics, hazardous waste and Cash for Trash

• Electronics: TVs, computers, monitors and printers are picked up free on Thursdays, by request only. Ask through your utility account and set them out by 6:30 a.m., per the electronics page.
• Household hazardous waste: never at the curb. The guide lists the drop-off site at 1800 N. Blair Stone Road, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday, 850-606-1803. Paint, oil and batteries go to the Leon County Solid Waste Facility at 7550 Apalachee Parkway.
• Cash for Trash: the third Saturday of April and October, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., at 2727 Major James Morgan Jr. Way, off West Pensacola Street. This fall’s date is Saturday, Oct. 17. Bring bulky items and household hazardous waste, plus a city utility bill, for a $5 credit, per the Cash for Trash page. No household garbage, yard waste or construction debris.

What this means for you

• Look up your garbage day and your Red or Blue day once, then use the table above.
• Yard waste in paper bags, never plastic.
• Holiday week: everything moves one day later.

Related: who to call at City Hall, hurricane prep for Leon County and moving to Tallahassee.

Frequently asked questions

What day is trash pickup in Tallahassee?

It depends on your address. Garbage and recycling are picked up once a week on the same day; look up your day on the city’s pickup schedule at talgov.com/pickup or call 850-891-4968.

What is a Red or Blue week in Tallahassee?

Yard waste and bulky items are picked up every other week. Each home is on a Red or a Blue week with a set day, shown on the city’s 2026 Red/Blue Week Calendar.

Does Tallahassee pick up trash on holidays?

When a city holiday falls during the week, pickup slides forward one day for the rest of the week, Monday through Saturday. Thanksgiving week and Christmas week are both holiday weeks.

When is Cash for Trash in Tallahassee?

The third Saturday of April and October, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., at 2727 Major James Morgan Jr. Way. This fall that is Saturday, Oct. 17. Bring a city utility bill for the $5 credit.

Can I put yard waste in plastic bags in Tallahassee?

No. The city’s 2026 guide says to use paper bags, small cardboard boxes or your own household container, because plastic bags cannot be processed at the facility.