Garbage collection services have some pretty finicky rules for picking up your trash
Missed trash pickup could be due to a holiday schedule, poor weather, or incorrect bin placement.
Prohibited items can also lead to your trash getting left on the curb.
Check your waste management company's website for details, or call them for clarity.
You can also contact your city's sanitation department to file a complaint.
So, it happened again. The garbage truck skipped your house. It’s rarely done maliciously, but there are several different reasons why the garbage collection team in your neighborhood could be leaving you high and dry. Let’s break them down and help you figure out what steps to take to get your home back on the schedule.
Although you may be ready to kick some items to the curb, your garbage collection team may be less willing to pick them up. Here are a few items that garbage collection services won’t take.
Batteries are one of many household hazardous waste items that must be disposed of properly to protect public health and safety. You can’t dump them in with the rest of your trash and expect garbage collection to deal with them. Instead, find your local battery recycling center and take them off your hands.
Hazardous waste materials include oils, cleaners, electronics, and medications. If your garbage collection team notices these items in your household waste, they won’t take them to the dump, where they could pollute the soil, groundwater, or air quality.
While there are federal guidelines for hazardous waste, each state and town also has its own unique guidelines. Make sure to check with your local government to understand its waste disposal regulations before starting your next removal project.
Some municipalities only allow hauling of large items on certain days of the week. If you’ve tried disposing of that old armchair or broken-down dresser in your regular household garbage collection, you likely won’t be successful. Contact your local waste collection authority to find out what to do instead.
Anything larger than the garbage truck’s trash cart doesn’t get hauled away. The same goes for bricks, blocks, or rocks that could weigh it down detrimentally. When disposing of rocks, think about ways to repurpose or recycle them instead of taking them to the dump. Could you donate them to someone else’s yard project? Some people choose to sell them online or give them away for free.
Not all trash is created equal! Some bulk trash items are only collected on certain days of the week. Even more, some require bulk yard waste to be bagged separately. If those leaves you raked up on Sunday are still there come Monday night; odds are that you missed a key rule or direction. Check your local Department of Sanitation website for more info on when and how to dispose of uncommon items.
It’s likely that your garbage collection service follows the same holidays as the federal government. If your trash wasn’t picked up as expected, it may be due to a holiday. Most collection services simply adjust their calendar to the following day for pickup. Ask your local sanitation department for an annual holiday schedule so you don’t miss important off days.
Is your trash still lingering, but your neighbor’s bin is long gone? This could be a sign that the garbage truck didn’t have proper access to your bins. If the truck is blocked by other cars, a basketball hoop, large snow piles, or lawn decor, the truck may skip your home.
Automated services require your trash bins to face the right direction with the lid on tight. A full can that’s even slightly out of position could be skipped by a truck scoop that can’t access your trash quickly. If this is the case, recheck your company’s loading instructions to ensure you’re following their guidelines.
While it might feel great to purge your house during a seasonal deep clean, if you dump all that trash into your bins, you may risk being skipped over on trash day. Some cities have strict weight limits for curbside pick-up. New York City, for example, states that bins cannot contain more than 60 pounds of trash. To find out the weight limit for trash where you live, visit your local sanitation department’s website.
Most garbage collection teams work the same route and collect trash at roughly the same time every cycle. The garbage truck will pass you by if your bins are not placed in their position at the proper time.
If you pay directly for garbage collection, your service may stop or pause until payments are made in full and outstanding debts are resolved. If you believe this to be the case, call your company to pay your outstanding balance and resume services.
If you can’t drive your car because of extreme weather conditions, chances are your garbage collection team can’t either. Weather delays can halt services for a day or two, throwing off your pick-up schedule. Be patient in this instance, as services will begin again as soon as it’s safe.
If your company misses your house, and your circumstances don’t match any of the above, it’s time to connect with your local sanitation department and get some answers.
Always begin by heading to your local waste management website. Double-check whether there was a noted disruption in service or instructions about who to contact if your trash wasn't picked up.
Before you call waste management, check your online account—as well as your front door—for potential violation notes. You may need to pay a fine for leaving out incorrect items or for suspicion of illegal dumping from someone outside your home. Correcting the issue and paying the fine should clear up the collection issue, but you can also dispute the charge if you feel it was unjustified.
If you can’t find an obvious reason for the missed service online, give the company a call. The waste management team may be able to explain if your driver is running late or if they made a note about your address. They may request more details about the missed pickup, such as the regular time for your area and whether you left out any unique items for pickup that day.
In some cities, you can report uncollected waste if you are certain you didn't do anything incorrectly or cannot reach the waste management company. For example, NYC residents can call 311 to report missed garbage or recycling collection.
If you have a significant amount of trash that breaks several of the sanitation department’s guidelines (electronic waste, heavy household trash, or bulk construction items) you can always look into hiring a private dumpster rental company.
Private dumpster rental costs $380 on average, or between $292 and $481. Most companies charge $200 to $800 per week, depending on the dumpster's size. Rental often includes dump fees, which average $40 to $65 per ton. Compare quotes from local services for the best dumpster rental price.
If you have a more-than-normal amount of garbage on hand and waiting until the next trash day to send it off isn’t an option, consider hiring a junk or trash hauling service. A service like this costs as much as (and sometimes less than) renting a dumpster, and the pros involved take care of all the labor for you—from removing your trash to transporting it to the correct facility.
The average cost of junk removal is $240 but can range anywhere from $60 to $600, depending on how much you need to get rid of.
Sophie Yalkezian contributed to this article.
When you move to a new area, check your new city's Department of Sanitation or local municipal website for more information. The site will clarify who picks up garbage in your area, how to arrange service, and your designated pickup day. You will also find instructions for purchasing the proper bins and bags for collection.
Your recycling bin may not have been picked up for several reasons. Either it is a holiday, there was a major disruption due to weather, or you placed prohibited items in the bin. Knowing what you can recycle can be a challenge from town to town, so get to know the local list when you move to a new area.
Begin by calling your waste management company to check if there was a reason the garbage truck skipped your home this time. If there is no clear explanation or you cannot reach a representative, call your local sanitation department to report the issue. In this case, be sure to take notes about how often the company doesn't pick up your garbage or and whether you were able to contact the business.
