Trash pickup in Charlotte, NC

Who collects trash in Charlotte, how trash day works, and which holidays move pickup. Checked against official city and hauler pages on Oct 15, 2026.

Next holiday change: Thanksgiving Day, Thu, Nov 26, 2026Slides a daySee every holiday

At a glance

Who collects
City crews and contractors
Haulers
3: City of Charlotte Solid Waste Services, Waste Management, Waste Pro of North Carolina
Recycling
Every other week
Holiday schedule
2026 posted, 2027 not posted yet
Last checked
Oct 15, 2026

City of Charlotte Solid Waste Services collects garbage and yard waste weekly, plus scheduled bulky items, for single-family homes across the city, all on the same day. Curbside recycling is every other week (green or orange week) on that same day. The city's site presents recycling as a city service, but news reports from 2022 and 2023 say the city contracts the pickups to Waste Management. Find your day and recycling week with the My Charlotte Lookup map. Carts go out by 6 a.m. and must be back in by midnight on collection day.

Who picks up trash in Charlotte

City crews and contractors.

City of Charlotte Solid Waste Services

City serviceTrashYard wasteBulkRecycling
Area
Whole city (single-family curbside, inside Charlotte city limits)
Phone
311 / 704-336-7600

Garbage and yard waste weekly; recycling every other week on the same day. Schedule bulky items online (servicerequest.charlottenc.gov/service/BULKITEM), in the CLT+ app or through 311, with changes by noon the business day before. Email curbit@charlottenc.gov. For service alerts, text your collection day (for example, 'Thursday') to 73224. Report missed pickups after 48 hours.

Waste Management

Private haulerRecycling
Area
Whole city (single-family curbside recycling), according to news reports
Phone
311 / 704-336-7600

News reports name Waste Management as the city's contracted curbside recycling vendor (Charlotte Observer, Sept 2022 and 2023), and a 2022 WCCB report says the city uses a 'local vendor' for every-other-week recycling. The city's own pages don't name a contractor. Residents contact the city (311) for recycling issues.

Waste Pro of North Carolina

Private haulerTrashRecyclingBulk
Area
City-served multi-family communities inside city limits (dumpster and compactor service), not single-family curbside

The city's multifamily contractor, named on its Multi-family Services page as effective July 1, 2018 (the FAQ calls it 'Waste Pro LLC'). Contact multifamily@charlottenc.gov. It serves dumpsters and recycling cart stations, so it rarely matters for cart cleaning.

Not covered

Multi-family communities of 12 or more units don't get curbside cart service; they must provide a dumpster or compactor and are served under the city's multifamily contract (Waste Pro). Areas outside Charlotte city limits, including other Mecklenburg towns and unincorporated areas, aren't served. The city's pages don't describe commercial service.

How trash day works in Charlotte

By address. Garbage, yard waste and recycling share one weekly collection day, and each address is on a green or orange recycling week. Look up both on the My Charlotte Lookup map.

Find a trash day on experience.arcgis.com

Recycling: every other week. On the same day as garbage and yard waste; each address is on a green or orange week. The city posts a printable 2026 recycling calendar (PDF).

Carts out: Garbage and recycling carts at the curb by 6 a.m. on collection day, no earlier than the day before. Carts must be off the curb by midnight on collection day. Yard waste and scheduled bulky items also go out by 6 a.m., no earlier than the day before. Source

The city says exact service time "may vary each week." Place carts within 6 ft of the curb, handle facing the house, with 3 ft of clearance. Collection runs Monday to Friday; Saturday is used only for holiday catch-up.

Charlotte trash pickup holiday schedule

Upcoming holidays in Charlotte and what each does to pickup. The 2026 holiday schedule is posted; 2027’s isn’t out yet.

The city published its 2026 schedule on Dec 30, 2025. Since January 2026, Monday holidays (MLK Day, Memorial Day, Labor Day) work like this: there's no collection Monday, Monday's and Tuesday's routes are collected Tuesday through Friday until they're finished, and there's no Saturday collection and no yard waste that week. The city hasn't posted a 2027 schedule yet.

2026

  1. Veterans Day, Wed, Nov 11, 2026

    Normal pickup

    Garbage, recycling and yard waste, all routes

    Listed among 2026 holidays with no service changes: "City offices may close, but residential collection continues as scheduled."

    Source: charlottenc.gov

  2. Thanksgiving Day, Thu, Nov 26, 2026

    Slides a day

    Garbage, recycling and yard waste, all routes

    City closed, no collection Thursday. Thursday routes are collected Friday, Nov 27, and Friday routes Saturday, Nov 28. Monday to Wednesday are unaffected.

    Source: charlottenc.gov

  3. Christmas Day, Fri, Dec 25, 2026

    Slides a day

    Garbage, recycling and yard waste, all routes

    City closed, no collection Friday. Friday routes are collected Saturday, Dec 26. Monday to Thursday are unaffected.

    Source: charlottenc.gov
Slides a day
That day’s pickups and the rest of the week move one day later (Friday’s move to Saturday).
Normal pickup
Pickup runs as usual.
Cleaning bins in Charlotte?

Bins get cleaned right after pickup, so when a holiday moves trash day, your route moves with it. In Clean Bin System you give each zone its hauler and add the hauler’s holidays once: that week’s cleanings move with the pickup, and each customer gets a text. See how it works

Charlotte neighborhoods

14 names from Charlotte Future 2040 Community Areas. Planning community areas, not neighborhood names: Charlotte has no single official list of named neighborhoods. Each hauler’s area is listed under Who collects.

  • East Inner
  • East Middle & Outer
  • North Inner
  • North Middle & Outer
  • Northeast Inner
  • Northeast Middle & Outer
  • South Inner
  • South Middle
  • South Outer
  • Southwest Middle
  • Southwest Outer
  • West Inner
  • West Middle
  • West Outer

Source: charlottenc.gov

Questions about trash pickup in Charlotte

Who picks up trash in Charlotte?

City of Charlotte Solid Waste Services collects garbage and yard waste weekly, plus scheduled bulky items, for single-family homes across the city, all on the same day. Curbside recycling is every other week (green or orange week) on that same day. The city's site presents recycling as a city service, but news reports from 2022 and 2023 say the city contracts the pickups to Waste Management. Find your day and recycling week with the My Charlotte Lookup map. Carts go out by 6 a.m. and must be back in by midnight on collection day.

How do I find my trash day in Charlotte?

By address. Garbage, yard waste and recycling share one weekly collection day, and each address is on a green or orange recycling week. Look up both on the My Charlotte Lookup map.

Is recycling picked up every week in Charlotte?

No, every other week. On the same day as garbage and yard waste; each address is on a green or orange week. The city posts a printable 2026 recycling calendar (PDF).

When do trash carts go out in Charlotte?

Garbage and recycling carts at the curb by 6 a.m. on collection day, no earlier than the day before. Carts must be off the curb by midnight on collection day. Yard waste and scheduled bulky items also go out by 6 a.m., no earlier than the day before.

Is trash picked up on Thanksgiving in Charlotte?

Thanksgiving is Thu, Nov 26, 2026. Garbage, recycling and yard waste, all routes: pickup slides a day, so that day’s routes and the rest of the week move one day later. City closed, no collection Thursday. Thursday routes are collected Friday, Nov 27, and Friday routes Saturday, Nov 28. Monday to Wednesday are unaffected.

Is trash picked up on Christmas in Charlotte?

Christmas is Fri, Dec 25, 2026. Garbage, recycling and yard waste, all routes: pickup slides a day, so that day’s routes and the rest of the week move one day later. City closed, no collection Friday. Friday routes are collected Saturday, Dec 26. Monday to Thursday are unaffected.

Sources

Official city and hauler pages, checked Oct 15, 2026. News and other sites used for details the official pages don’t give are listed separately. Schedules change, especially around holidays: check the city’s page before you plan routes. Something out of date? Email taylor@bincleanmarketing.com.

Other sources (4)
  • aol.com: Waste Management as the city's recycling contractor (Charlotte Observer, Sept 20, 2022)
  • news.yahoo.com: City works with Waste Management on recycling (Charlotte Observer, about 2023)
  • wccbcharlotte.com: City uses a 'local vendor' for recycling (WCCB, Sept 19, 2022)
  • wastedive.com: Waste Pro multifamily contract (2018)

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