City guide · Oregon

Portland Trash Pickup Schedule

This Portland trash pickup schedule covers Portland's four-stream curbside collection system - garbage, recycling, compost, and glass. The schedule is a little different from most cities: garbage only comes every other week, while the other three streams come weekly. That trade-off is deliberate: the city redesigned the system in 2011 specifically to make composting easy while keeping garbage rates from climbing every year. Here's exactly how the Portland garbage collection schedule works for garbage, recycling, compost, and glass, what it costs, and where to find your specific day.

How often is trash picked up in Portland?

The Portland curbside collection schedule collects garbage every other week at houses, duplexes, triplexes, and fourplexes. Recycling and compost are collected every week. Glass is also collected weekly, in its own small yellow bin, kept separate so it doesn't contaminate the paper stream. Your garbage week - Week A or Week B - is tied to your specific address, so two houses on the same street can be on opposite weeks.

Portland switched to this split schedule in 2011 when food scraps were added to curbside compost - garbage moved to every other week to keep rates down, while compost moved up to weekly to make composting easy. The city reports the change cut garbage volume by roughly 40% almost immediately, since food scraps had made up a large share of what went in the black cart.

Find your exact pickup day

Every address on the Portland trash collection calendar has its own pickup day and garbage week - there isn't one single day for the whole city. The City of Portland's own address lookup tool is the accurate source:

Look up your address on portland.gov →

You can also sign up there for free reminders by email, text, app, or phone call before each pickup day, or call the Garbage & Recycling Hotline at 503-823-7202 (8 a.m.–5 p.m., Monday–Friday). Portland is divided among more than a dozen licensed private haulers rather than one city-run fleet, so your specific company depends on which part of the city you live in - the lookup tool will also tell you who to call for billing questions.

Bin placement rules

• Set carts out by 6:00 AM on your collection day
• Remove bins from the curb within 24 hours of pickup
• Place containers within 3 feet of the curb
• Cart handles should face your home, not the street
• Keep lids closed
• Don't block sidewalks, driveways, or bike lanes

Portland Trash Holiday Schedule

Portland only adjusts collection for two holidays: Christmas Day and New Year's Day. When one falls on a weekday, that week's collections shift back one day, and the week's Friday customers are serviced on Saturday. No other holidays affect Portland's pickup schedule.

During severe weather, leave carts at the curb - collection resumes as soon as it's safe, which can include a Saturday catch-up run. No credits or refunds are issued for weather-related delays.

What goes in each bin

Glass goes in its own 14-gallon yellow bin, collected weekly - keep it separate from recycling so it doesn't contaminate the paper stream. Putting the wrong material in a bin is called contamination, and haulers can leave a cart uncollected with a tag explaining why if it's contaminated too often.

How much does garbage service cost in Portland?

Your monthly bill depends entirely on the size of the black garbage cart you choose - recycling, compost, and glass pickup are included at every tier, so downsizing your garbage cart is the main way to lower your bill. Rates below took effect July 1, 2026.

Rates are reviewed annually by Portland City Council. The most recent update raised most bills between $1.55 and $2.05 a month - check the current Residential Garbage Rates page on portland.gov before budgeting, since these numbers change every year.

Bulky waste pickup

Large items that don't fit in your cart - furniture, appliances, mattresses - aren't included in your regular garbage rate. Call your hauler to schedule a bulky waste pickup on your normal collection day. Portland charges a flat $18 trip fee plus a per-item charge based on what you're setting out.

Exact pricing depends on the specific item and your hauler - use the city's bulky waste cost calculator on portland.gov for an itemized estimate before you schedule.

Apartments & multifamily buildings

Everything above applies to houses and smallplexes of 2 to 4 units. Multifamily buildings and businesses aren't covered by the city's residential rate schedule - property owners negotiate their own service and pricing directly with a hauler. If you live in a larger apartment or condo building, check with your property manager for your building's specific collection days and rules rather than using the residential lookup tool.

Reporting illegal dumping

Spot trash dumped on a street, in a park, or on vacant property? Portland's Bureau of Environmental Services and Portland Permitting & Development investigate illegal dumping complaints filed through the city's Report Trash tool or by calling 311. Reports typically include a location and photo, and the city prioritizes cleanup based on how much waste is involved and where it is.

For dumping on Metro-area natural areas outside city limits, Oregon Metro's RID Patrol program tracks and coordinates cleanup separately - check oregonmetro.gov if the location falls outside Portland proper.

Frequently asked questions

More Oregon guides

City contact & resources

Bookmark this Portland waste collection schedule and check back whenever a holiday shifts the calendar. Need more than curbside pickup? Compare local bulk & junk removal quotes. Moving elsewhere in the state? Browse all Oregon cities or the full state directory.