Holiday Waste Collection Schedule & Tips

As the holidays approach, keep the following tips and details in mind regarding your waste collection.

There will be no waste collection service on Thanksgiving Day (Thursday, November 27^th), Christmas Day (Thursday, December 25^th), or New Year's Day (Thursday, January 1^st). Trash, recycling, and organic waste that would have been collected on those days will be picked up on the following day, and for the remainder of the week, waste collection will be delayed by one day. (Friday routes will be serviced on Saturday). Street sweeping service will also be delayed by one day during the weeks of December 25, 2025 and January 1, 2026. To see how your street is impacted, please see the residential street sweeping schedule on our website, toaks.gov/street-sweeping.

Holiday Tree Curbside Recycling

Did you know that natural holiday trees are 100% recyclable, yielding compost and mulch through the organics collection program? Place your holiday tree inside your organics cart or curbside next to your cart, and Athens will collect your tree from December 26, 2025, through January 14, 2026, on your normal pick-up day. To ensure that your tree is properly collected, follow these tips:

1. Remove all decorations, including ornaments, hooks, lights, tinsel, tree skirt, and tree stand.
2. Cut your tree in half if it is over 6 feet in length.
3. Place holiday trees inside your green organics cart if they are cut into smaller sections, or curbside next to your cart if you are unable to cut them.
4. Artificial trees and trees with flocking or fire retardants are not acceptable, but you may schedule a bulky item collection for those items.

Holiday Light Strand Disposal

Please do not place unwanted or broken holiday light strands in your waste carts, as they can get tangled in waste processing equipment. Unwanted or broken light strands can be dropped off at the City’s Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) Facility by appointment. CLICK HERE to make a drop-off appointment. Please keep in mind that the facility will be closed on Friday, December 19, 2025, through the holidays and will reopen on Friday, January 9, 2026.

City Hall Schedule

City Hall will be closed for walk-in services from December 25, 2025, through January 2, 2026. City facilities will reopen on January 5, 2026. Virtual services are available 24/7 online at toaks.gov.