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Orange Trash Truck

Curbside Collections

Public Works

The City collects trash, recycling, compost and yard waste from most residential buildings. This page has links to help you manage your waste properly, report a missed pickup, order replacement waste collection carts, and get tips on reducing trash.

Weekly Collections (Note: One day behind schedule following a holiday.)

Collections on request 

Drop Off

Other

 

Report missed pickup after 4 p.m. on your collection day or before 9am on the day after.

Click for Carts, Fliers, and Stickers

Request recycling, compost, or trash carts and fliers or report broken or missing carts.

 

Use the Get Rid of it Right tool to find your collection schedule, search for how to dispose of items, play a waste sorting game, or retrieve your street sweeping schedule.

 

 

Help Keep Cambridge Clean and Safe

Follow these tips for waste collection

Zero Waste Cambridge

Beginning in 2025 the City published its Zero Waste Master Plan 2.0 to guide us to

  • Meet trash reduction goals: in 2008, the City set a goal of reducing trash 30% by 2020, 50% by 2030, and 80% by 2050. As of 2024, we have reduced trash by 36%.
  • Improve sanitation and reduce rodent activity,
  • Combat climate change by maximizing reducing/reusing and diverting waste from the trash,
  • Make the City’s waste programs more equitable and accessible, and
  • Protect employee health and safety.

You can help us achieve our goals. Please reduce and reuse, sort waste properly, and stay tuned to the latest information in our monthly newsletter.

More Information

  • You may place all curbside carts out at the curb after 6PM the night before collection or by 7AM on collection day.
  • You may only place trash in plastic bags out at the curb on the morning of collection day, not the night before.
  • Remove all receptacles from the curb by 6PM on the day of collection. 
  • Do you have a disability that makes this difficult for you? Please contact Commission for Persons with Disabilities
Page was posted on 11/14/2019 1:52 PM
Page was last modified on 1/15/2025 9:29 AM
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Enter a service request via SeeClickFix for things like missed trash pickups, potholes, etc.