Is trash pickup delayed this week? Holiday collection, explained
Last checked November 9, 2026.
Most towns skip collection on a handful of holidays and push the rest of that week back a day. Which holidays count, and which days move, is set by your town or its hauler, and it is not the same everywhere. Here is how the common schedules work, with Thanksgiving and Christmas 2026 as examples, and where to find your own.
The short answer
| Holiday in 2026 | What many towns do |
|---|---|
| Thanksgiving, Thursday, November 26 | Monday to Wednesday as usual. Thursday and Friday pickups one day late, so Friday’s moves to Saturday. |
| Christmas, Friday, December 25 | Monday to Thursday as usual. Friday pickups one day late, on Saturday. |
| New Year’s Day 2027, Friday, January 1 | Monday to Thursday as usual. Friday pickups one day late. |
| Holidays most towns don’t observe | Columbus Day and Veterans Day, among others: collection runs as usual. |
Those rows are what Youngstown, Ohio, and Londonderry, New Hampshire, publish for 2026. Your town may differ, so check its own schedule before you take the bins out.
How the one-day slide works
When a holiday falls on a weekday, the trucks don’t run that day, and every pickup from the holiday to the end of the week moves one day later. Londonderry spells it out for a Monday holiday: Monday’s pickup happens on Tuesday, Tuesday’s on Wednesday, and so on, until Friday’s happens on Saturday. Days before the holiday are not affected.
- A Monday holiday, like Memorial Day or Labor Day, moves the whole week.
- A Thursday holiday, like Thanksgiving, moves only Thursday and Friday.
- A Friday holiday, like Christmas 2026, moves only Friday.
- A Saturday holiday, like July 4, 2026, usually moves nothing: both Youngstown and Londonderry list no delay for it.
Which holidays count
Each town keeps its own short list. Londonderry recognizes six holidays for a delay in 2026: Memorial Day, July 4, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day. Youngstown lists the same six, and says plainly that Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Presidents’ Day, Juneteenth, Columbus Day and Veterans Day are not observed, so collection runs as usual on those days. A private hauler can follow its own calendar, so if a company rather than the town picks up your trash, check theirs.
Find your town’s schedule
- Search “[your town] holiday trash schedule 2026” or “[your town] solid waste holidays”. Most towns post one page or a one-page PDF for the year.
- If a private hauler collects your trash, its holiday page or app has the schedule for your route.
- Many public works departments send collection changes by text or email, or post them in a town app. Sign up once and the next delay reaches you.
- Put the bins out the night before on a holiday week. Youngstown asks for trash at the curb the evening before, and Londonderry by 7 a.m., because routes and times can change.
Hear about the next one first
- Add your town’s holiday schedule to your calendar in January, when it is posted.
- MailerDot sends one free email a day for your town with its local news, so a holiday collection notice that makes the local news is in the next morning’s email.
Questions people ask
Is trash pickup delayed for Thanksgiving 2026? In many towns, yes, for Thursday and Friday routes only: Thanksgiving is Thursday, November 26, so Thursday’s pickup moves to Friday and Friday’s to Saturday. Check your town’s schedule to be sure.
Is there trash pickup on Christmas 2026? Christmas is a Friday this year, so Friday routes in many towns are picked up on Saturday, December 26. Monday to Thursday run as usual.
Is trash picked up on Veterans Day? In many towns, yes. Youngstown, for one, lists Veterans Day among the holidays it does not observe for collection.
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