City guide · Texas

Austin Trash Pickup Schedule

This Austin trash pickup schedule covers a city that runs three carts on two different rhythms: weekly garbage, a separate biweekly single-stream recycling cycle, and a weekly green Compost cart that goes out the same day as the trash. Composting isn't an opt-in extra here - it's a default part of standard service, accepting yard trimmings and food scraps together, year-round rather than seasonally.

Austin Resource Recovery (ARR) also runs one of the more distinctive billing systems in the state, with monthly rates that scale by the size of cart you choose, plus a bulky item program the city overhauled in 2024 into a flexible on-demand model. Here's how the city's garbage collection schedule breaks down, what it costs, and how to book a pickup.

Because Austin bundles three separate carts into one weekly routine, it helps to think of the calendar in two parts: a fixed weekly rhythm for garbage and compost, and a rotating every-other-week track for recycling. Once you know your assigned day and your recycling week, the rest of the schedule mostly takes care of itself.

How often is trash picked up in Austin?

Garbage and the green Compost cart both go out weekly, always on the same collection day. Recycling runs on its own every-other-week cycle, so it can fall on a different pattern than the other two streams even though all three share one assigned collection day of the week.

The city requires recycling carts to match the same capacity as your trash cart, so households can't downsize one stream without the other. Check your specific week for recycling even though compost and garbage always align.

This split cadence is worth remembering if you move into a new address mid-cycle. Your garbage and compost day should be consistent from week to week, but you could land on either the "on" or "off" week for recycling depending on your specific street.

Find your exact pickup day

Every Austin address has its own assigned collection day and its own recycling week. Confirm both with the city's official lookup tool before you set carts out for the first time.

Look up your Austin pickup schedule →

The free Austin Recycles app mirrors the same schedule data and can send reminders ahead of each collection day, including compost and recycling weeks.

Renters and new homeowners should double-check their schedule directly rather than relying on a neighbor's routine, since recycling weeks can differ block to block even within the same part of the city. The My Schedule tool ties results directly to your address, which is the most reliable source.

Bin placement rules

Correct cart placement keeps collection running smoothly and helps automated trucks service your address without a missed stop. A few simple habits cover most of what Austin asks of residents.

• Carts out at the curb with lids closed and handles facing the street
• Recycling loose in the blue cart, never bagged
• Compost cart used for yard trimmings and food scraps together, not household trash

Leave clearance around each cart so the automated arm on collection trucks can grip and empty it without obstruction from parked cars, mailboxes, or low branches.

Austin Trash Holiday Schedule

Austin's collection calendar only shifts around three holidays: New Year's Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. When one of these falls on a scheduled collection day, or earlier in that same week, the rest of the week's routes move.

For Christmas and New Year's week specifically, the shift is partial rather than a full-week slide: Monday through Wednesday routes run on their normal days, Thursday's route moves to Friday, and Friday's route moves to Saturday.

These are the only three holidays that shift Austin's collection calendar. The Recycle & Reuse Drop-off Center also closes entirely on December 24, December 25, and January 1, separate from the curbside cart schedule.

Because the holiday season brings back-to-back shifts across just a few weeks, it's worth checking the city's calendar again in late November and again right before Christmas rather than assuming the same slip applies to both holidays the same way.

What goes in each cart

Austin's three-cart system separates household waste, single-stream recyclables, and organic material so each stream can be processed correctly. Sorting properly at the curb also protects the recycling stream from contamination that can send an entire load to the landfill.

How much does trash service cost in Austin?

Austin bills trash service as a separate monthly line item on the city utility bill, and it uses the clearest pay-as-you-throw structure of any major Texas city. Your rate depends entirely on the size of trash cart you choose, so a smaller cart genuinely lowers your bill.

Recycling and composting are bundled into this base fee at no extra charge, and the same fee also covers brush, bulk, and household hazardous waste collection. Downsizing your cart is free, while upsizing costs a one-time $15 exchange fee.

Every Austin household also pays a separate $5.45 per month Clean Community Fee that funds street sweeping and litter abatement. It's a genuinely distinct line item from the cart-size trash fee, so expect both charges on your bill.

This tiered pricing sets Austin apart from most large Texas cities, which typically charge one flat trash rate no matter how much a household actually throws away. If your garbage cart is regularly less than half full, requesting a smaller size is a straightforward way to lower a recurring monthly bill.

Bulky item pickup

Bulky item collection in Austin is free, and the city overhauled the program in 2024 into a flexible on-demand system. Instead of a fixed neighborhood cycle, residents can now schedule up to three collections a year each for Brush, Bulk, Household Hazardous Waste, and Clothing/Textiles, at whatever time suits them within that annual allotment.

The Bulk category covers whatever fits in the green cart plus up to 15 additional items placed beside it, so a single scheduled pickup can clear out a substantial amount of household clutter at once.

Because each category carries its own separate allotment of three visits per year, a household could in theory book bulky furniture pickup, a brush pickup after storm damage, a household hazardous waste drop, and a clothing collection all within the same year without exhausting any single allotment early.

Apartments & multifamily buildings

ARR provides direct curbside service to single-family homes and to multifamily properties with four units or fewer. Properties with five or more units are required to contract with a licensed private hauler rather than use city cart service.

Under Austin's Universal Recycling Ordinance, those larger multifamily properties have been required since 2024 to give residents recycling access, and as of October 1, 2024, convenient access to composting too - a notably progressive mandate compared to most other Texas cities.

Residents of larger complexes who are unsure whether their building complies should ask their property manager which hauler services the site and whether recycling and compost bins are available on the property, since access can vary widely between buildings even on the same block.

Reporting illegal dumping

Report illegal dumping or a missed collection through Austin 3-1-1, by phone or online. If a cart wasn't collected on its scheduled day, report the miss after 4 PM that same day, and the city aims to complete a makeup pickup within 2 business days.

Keeping a record of the report date and confirmation number can help if a follow-up call becomes necessary, particularly around holiday weeks when call volume tends to rise.

Frequently asked questions

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City contact & resources

Bookmark Austin's trash pickup schedule and check back whenever a holiday shifts the calendar. Between the weekly compost cart, the biweekly recycling cycle, and the on-demand bulky item program, Austin's system rewards residents who take a few minutes to learn their specific address's routine.

Need more than curbside pickup? Compare local bulk & junk removal quotes. Browse all Texas cities or the full state directory.