Berkeley, CA Trash Pickup Schedule
Collection days, holiday changes, recycling rules, and drop-off options for Berkeley, California — in one page, with sources.
Trash in Berkeley, CA runs on a set schedule — your exact day depends on your address. Rules and holiday shifts below.
Pickup days are assigned by address — the city's lookup gives your day, and the schedule repeats each week unless a holiday shifts it.
When is each service collected?
Recurring schedule for Berkeley services.
| Service | When | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Trash | Depends on your address | Weekly on street-level micro-districts (143 zone objects split refuse/recycling-bottles/recycling-fibers/plant-debris x bin/cart/can route types); day per address via city lookup. |
| Recycling | Depends on your address | Weekly, SPLIT STREAMS: bottles/cans ('recbottles-*') and paper/fibers ('recfibers-*') on the residential day zones ('recyclingbottles-residential |
| Yard waste | Depends on your address | Depends on your address — the city assigns days via its lookup/map |
What changes on holidays?
Upcoming days that move your pickup, with the exact shift rule.
| Holiday | Observed | Pickup |
|---|---|---|
| Thanksgiving Day * | Thu, Nov 26, 2026 | Runs one day later |
| Christmas Day * | Fri, Dec 25, 2026 | Runs one day later |
| New Year's Day * | Fri, Jan 1, 2027 | Runs one day later |
| Thanksgiving Day * | Thu, Nov 25, 2027 | Runs one day later |
* Observed date derived from the standard U.S. calendar; the service rule comes from the linked source.
Which bin does it go in?
Search the material, follow the color: green chip recycles, red goes to trash.
| Material | Where it goes |
|---|---|
| streams | Special TWO recycling streams: bottles/cans and paper/fibers, collected separately (zone prefixes 'recbottles' vs 'recfibers') |
| cadence | Recycle Weekly on the residential day zones |
| plant_debris | Recycle Separate weekly plant-debris stream (green bin or kraft/compostable bags; plastic bags charged as trash) |
What about bulky or special items?
Mattresses, appliances, storm debris — the rules before you set them out.
- Split-stream structure — Berkeley's zone table encodes container-type micro-districts (bin/cart/can) for each stream - addresses on alley routes may differ from cart routes. Use the city lookup for your specific stream days.
More details: bulk & yard waste page.
Who collects what?
The provider for each service and how to reach them.
| Service | Provider | Contact |
|---|---|---|
| Trash | City of Berkeley Refuse Department (city-collected) | |
| Recycling | City of Berkeley Refuse Department | |
| Yard waste | City of Berkeley Refuse Department |
Common questions
The things Berkeley residents ask most.
What day is garbage pickup in Berkeley, CA?
Weekly by street-level refuse districts; day is address-specific - use the city's lookup (Refuse Department, Zero Waste).
Does Berkeley separate recycling?
Yes - bottles/cans and paper/fibers are separate streams in the zone table, each with its own day zones.
When is plant debris collected in Berkeley?
Weekly on 'plantdebris-residential' Monday-Friday day zones; use green bin or kraft bags (plastic bags are trash).
What changed recently?
Every update to this page, newest first.
- Record created from ReCollect area 'Berkeley': split-stream (bottles/fibers/plant) weekly zones across bin/cart/can micro-districts; holiday slide pending verify.
Population 118,962 · Sources: ReCollect waste zones for Berkeley (fetched 2026-10-10), berkeleyca.gov (Zero Waste · Summarized from municipal, hauler, and public-data records; schedules change without notice.