City guide · Washington

Spokane Trash Pickup Schedule

This Spokane trash pickup schedule covers a straightforward weekly garbage cycle with biweekly recycling, plus a detail that's easy to miss: yard waste isn't included by default here. It's an optional seasonal subscription, separate from garbage and recycling, so if you've never signed up for it your property may not have a yard waste cart at all.

Here's how Spokane's garbage and recycling collection calendar works, what changed with your cart color in 2025, and how to report a missed pickup or illegal dumping.

Whether you're new to Spokane or you've just never gotten around to signing up for yard waste service, this guide is meant to be the one page that covers the whole picture: what's included by default, what costs extra, and who to contact for each situation.

How often is trash picked up in Spokane?

Garbage is collected weekly for single-family homes. Recycling runs on a biweekly cycle, every other week on the same day as garbage. Yard waste is a separate, optional seasonal service that residents subscribe to on their own.

Yard waste frequency depends on which subscription level you sign up for - it isn't a fixed citywide schedule the way garbage and recycling are.

The every-other-week recycling cycle is common across Washington cities, not unique to Spokane. Running fewer recycling routes per month is a standard way municipal solid waste programs keep truck trips, fuel use, and operating costs down while still keeping garbage on a weekly cycle.

Because yard waste sits outside that standard cycle entirely, it's the one stream residents most often get wrong when they assume it's automatically included with garbage and recycling service.

Signing up for yard waste service is a separate step from starting garbage and recycling service. New subscriptions go through the city's solid waste department rather than being added automatically, so if you want a yard waste cart you'll need to actively request one.

Once you're subscribed, your yard waste collection day typically lines up with your existing garbage and recycling day, even though the frequency is different.

Find your exact pickup day

Every Spokane address has its own assigned collection day, and the city's online lookup tool is the quickest way to confirm it along with your current recycling week.

Look up your Spokane pickup schedule →

You can also reach the city's solid waste department through the My Spokane portal or by phone during business hours.

If you've recently moved to a new Spokane address, don't assume your collection day carries over from your last home or matches a neighbor's schedule on a different street. Routes are assigned by address, so it's worth re-checking the lookup tool rather than guessing.

A simple recurring reminder the night before your collection day is usually enough to stop missing the every-other-week recycling cycle.

Bin placement rules

• Set carts out by your scheduled collection time, same day as garbage
• Only put recycling out on its assigned every-other-week cycle
• Only set out a yard waste cart if you're subscribed to that service
• Keep carts clear of parked cars, mailboxes, and low tree branches
• Bring empty carts back in from the curb once collection is finished

These are general placement best practices that apply to most curbside cart systems; always defer to any specific instructions printed on your cart or sent by the city.

Spokane Trash Holiday Schedule

Spokane follows the same general regional holiday pattern seen in other Washington cities. New Year's Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas typically shift that week's routes, while Memorial Day, Independence Day, and Labor Day generally don't change collection.

This is the general regional pattern rather than a confirmed city-specific table, so double-check the exact shift with the city's calendar around major holidays.

The general logic behind these shifts is the same across most cities: disposal facilities close on major holidays, so any route that would normally run that day gets pushed a day later, and every remaining route that week shifts to match.

What goes in each cart

Since recycling only comes every other week in Spokane, sorting correctly matters - a stray item in the wrong cart can sit at the curb for two weeks before the next matching collection. Here's a quick breakdown of what belongs in each cart.

How much does garbage service cost in Spokane?

Spokane bills garbage service on a tiered rate based on container size, rather than a single flat citywide fee. Because exact dollar figures change periodically, the most reliable numbers are the current tiers published on the city's own billing page rather than a table here that could go out of date.

Yard waste is billed separately as an add-on subscription, on top of the standard garbage and recycling tier.

Because garbage is the only stream billed by container size, that's the main lever residents have over their monthly bill. It's worth confirming you're not consistently overflowing a smaller cart before downsizing, since recycling only comes every other week and can't absorb overflow from an undersized garbage cart.

Questions about your specific bill, cart size, or starting a yard waste subscription go through the city's utility billing contacts rather than the solid waste operations line.

Since yard waste is billed as an optional add-on rather than bundled automatically, it's worth weighing how much yard debris your household actually generates before subscribing. A property with little landscaping may not need the service at all, while a larger yard with regular mowing and pruning may find it worth the extra line on the bill.

Cart colors changed in 2025

Washington State law required cities to standardize garbage, recycling, and organics cart colors statewide, effective August 31, 2025. Spokane, like other Washington cities, transitioned its carts to match that statewide standard around that date.

If your cart looks a different color than it used to, that's the 2025 statewide standardization, not a mistake or a sign you were switched to the wrong service.

Standardizing cart colors statewide is generally meant to cut down on contamination and confusion, especially for residents who move between Washington cities and would otherwise have to relearn a new color scheme every time. It also helps automated collection trucks and sorting facilities process carts consistently across different service areas.

If you're unsure which cart is which after the transition, the lids are typically labeled with the stream name in addition to the color.

Apartments & multifamily buildings

Multifamily buildings in Spokane often use shared dumpster or compactor service rather than individual carts assigned to each unit. If you live in an apartment or condo, check with your property manager for the building's specific collection setup.

It's also worth asking whether your building offers recycling service at all, since shared dumpster arrangements vary property to property rather than following one citywide standard.

If your building does use individual carts rather than a shared dumpster, the same standardized cart colors and the same general weekly garbage, every-other-week recycling cadence described above typically still apply. Confirm with your property manager which setup your specific building uses before assuming either way.

Reporting illegal dumping

Report illegal dumping through Spokane's 311 system or the My Spokane portal, or by calling the city's solid waste and code enforcement line.

Reporting promptly, with a location and description if possible, helps the city route cleanup and track repeat dumping sites in a neighborhood.

Illegal dumping tends to cluster in the same spots over time, often alleys, vacant lots, or road shoulders outside city view. Consistent reporting from residents is part of how the city identifies and prioritizes those recurring locations for cleanup and enforcement.

Frequently asked questions

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City contact & resources

The short version of this Spokane trash pickup schedule: garbage every week, recycling every other week, and yard waste only if you've subscribed to it separately. Bookmark this page and check back whenever a holiday shifts the calendar or you're weighing a yard waste subscription.

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