City guide · Kansas

Topeka Trash Pickup Schedule

The Topeka trash pickup schedule has two features that set it apart from almost every other state capital on this site. Collection is run by the county rather than the city, and when a holiday lands, routes move earlier instead of later.

That second point is genuinely unusual and catches people out every November. If you are used to a holiday pushing your pickup back a day, the Topeka pattern will surprise you.

The county runs it, not the city

Shawnee County Solid Waste operates curbside collection for Topeka and for the unincorporated county. The City of Topeka does not run trash routes, so calling the city about a missed cart sends you to the wrong place.

The city does appear on your bill, though. Collection charges are bundled onto the city utility bill for Topeka water customers, which is why many residents assume the city is the service provider.

Being a city water customer also gets you a slightly cheaper rate, as set out in the cost section below. The county charges non-city customers a dollar more per month.

How often is trash picked up in Topeka?

Refuse is collected weekly and recycling every other week, both from 95-gallon carts. One cart is included in the base rate.

Recycling is an opt-in add-on here rather than a bundled service. If you have refuse service and want to recycle, the cart is $3.50 a month on top of your base rate.

Red week and blue week

Because recycling runs every other week, every address is assigned to one of two alternating cycles known as the red week and the blue week. Your refuse day stays the same each week; only recycling alternates.

The county's interactive service lookup returns both pieces of information at once, so a single address search tells you your day and your color.

A practical tip for new residents: the blue cart lid carries a quick reference guide to what is accepted, so the sorting rules are printed on the cart itself.

Find your exact pickup day

Service days are assigned by address through the county's lookup tool, which also confirms your recycling week.

Use the Shawnee County service lookup →

The county also mails a holiday collection calendar to every customer each December. It is worth keeping, because the compressed holiday schedule described below is hard to predict without it.

Cart placement rules

• Set carts out the evening before or early on collection morning
• Keep lids closed, which matters in Kansas wind
• Leave clearance between carts for the automated arm
• Keep carts clear of parked cars and mailboxes
• Keep cords and hoses out of the recycling cart entirely

That last rule is specific and worth heeding. Electrical cords, garden hoses and anything else that can wrap around mechanical equipment are banned from the recycling cart because they jam sorting machinery.

Topeka Trash Holiday Schedule

This is the part of the Topeka schedule most worth reading carefully. Shawnee County does not delay collection after a holiday. It pulls routes forward and doubles them up, so your pickup can land a day or two earlier than normal.

Thanksgiving week is the clearest illustration of the mechanic. Monday collects both Monday and Tuesday customers, Tuesday collects Wednesday and Thursday customers, Wednesday collects Friday customers, and there is no collection on Thursday or Friday at all.

Because the shift is earlier rather than later, waiting until your usual morning can mean missing the truck entirely. The county's mailed calendar and its website carry the exact dates each year, and the department confirms them on 785-233-4774.

What goes in each cart

Cardboard and glass both have dedicated county drop-off locations, which is the route to take for glass bottles and for more cardboard than a cart will hold.

How much does garbage service cost in Topeka?

Shawnee County publishes a clear rate card, and the headline figure depends on whether you buy water from the City of Topeka.

The recycling-only rate of $10.50 is unusual and genuinely useful. Households that already have private refuse arrangements can still buy county recycling on its own.

Bulky waste pickup

Topeka residents get one large item pickup per week included in the base rate, which is one of the more generous bulky allowances on this site. No appointment is needed for the standard categories.

Included items cover mattresses, furniture, up to fifteen bags of leaves or grass under 45 pounds each, and bundled tree limbs or carpet no longer than four feet and no more than 18 inches in diameter.

Metal is the exception. Metal items must be scheduled with the department in advance and carry a $65.00 minimum fee, so an old appliance is not a free weekly pickup.

Apartments & multifamily buildings

The cart service and rates described here apply to residential customers on county collection. Apartment complexes are typically served by shared containers arranged through the property.

If you rent, your building decides frequency and whether recycling exists at all. The county's address lookup covers cart customers rather than dumpster-served buildings.

Frequently asked questions

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