Cedar Rapids garbage pickup Holiday Schedule 2022

There are a few things you can do to help our crews collect your garbage, recycling and yard waste quickly and efficiently.

All containers must be out at 7 a.m. to ensure collection.

• If you have the space, line the containers up parallel to the street.
• Keep containers at street level. Placing containers on high curbs or snow banks creates a safety hazard for our crew members as they reach to pull the heavy containers down.
• Containers should not be set out before 6 p.m. on the evening prior to collection, and should be retrieved again by 7 p.m. on collection day.

Garbage Tips

• Use the City issued GARBY cart
• The lid on your GARBY cart must be able to close for collection. Crews will not collect overfilled carts.
• Place $1.50 Sticker on extra bags. There is a 40 lbs limit on extra garbage bags. (A good comparison is a large bag of dog food or cat litter.)
• See our Bulky Item collection service for objects that do not fit in your garbage can.

Recycling Tips

• Do NOT place glass in CURBY carts. Color and clear glass go in a 2-5 gallon bucket set beside the CURBY cart.
• No Plastic Bags or Styrofoam in CURBY. Plastic bags may be returned to your local grocery store and styrofoam must be thrown away.
• Weight limit for the CURBY cart is 220 pounds.
• Place the cart with arrows pointing toward the street.

Yard Waste Tips

• Leave 3 feet between YARDY and other objects (other containers, telephone poles, street signs). This allows our fully-automated truck to pick up the YARDY cart without damaging other property.
• Place the cart with arrows pointing toward the street.
• The lid should be fully closed.

Garbage, recycling, and yard waste crews reach 41,400 homes in Cedar Rapids each week.  In order to provide service to everyone, the City is divided into 5 sections. 

All containers need to be set out by 7:00 a.m. to ensure collection.

If you have questions about which day your garbage is picked up, please call our office at 319-286-5897. 

You can also view a map to see when to expect our crew members. 

When holidays fall during the week, it may postpone your collection. View our calendar and see if an upcoming holiday will change your collection.

• Memorial Day — Monday, May 30, 2022 | No collection. One-day delay all week.
• Labor Day — Monday, Sept. 5, 2022 | No collection. One-day delay all week.
• Thanksgiving Day — Thursday, Nov. 24, 2022 | No collection. One-day delay for remainder of week.
• Christmas Day — Sunday, Dec. 25, 2022 | Collection unaffected due to holiday falling on a weekend this year.
• New Year's Day — Sunday, Jan. 1, 2023 | Collection unaffected due to holiday falling on a weekend this year.

There will be NO DELAY in the collection schedule on the following holidays:

• Martin Luther King Jr. Day — Monday, Jan. 17, 2022*
• Presidents' Day — Monday, Feb. 21, 2022*
• Good Friday — Friday, April 15, 2022
• Independence Day — Monday, July 4, 2022
• Veterans Day — Friday, Nov. 11, 2022

*Starting in 2022, City offices will be closed on Martin Luther King Jr. Day in lieu of Presidents' Day. There will continue to be NO DELAY in collection for customers during both the weeks of Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Presidents' Day.

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With the Christmas and New Year's holidays approaching, the City of Cedar Rapids gets a lot of questions about garbage, recycling and yard waste collection.

On a typical year, the holidays with collection delays are as follows:

• Memorial Day (No collection, one-day delay for all customers that week)
• Labor Day (No collection, one-day delay for all customers that week)
• Thanksgiving Day (No collection, one-day delay for customers with regular Thursday and Friday collections that week)
• Christmas Day (No collection, one-day delay for the remainder of the week; no delay if Christmas falls on the weekend)
• New Year's Day (No collection, one-day delay for the remainder of the week; no delay if New Year's Day falls on the weekend)

We apologize for any inconveniences caused by holiday collection delays, but we appreciate your understanding and allowing for our employees to be at home with their families during these times.

While City offices may be closed, there are no delays in collection for the following holidays:

• Martin Luther King, Jr. Day*
• Good Friday
• Independence Day
• Veterans Day

*Starting in 2022, City offices will be closed for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day rather than Presidents' Day.

From time to time we get questions about why our solid waste and recycling collection workers collect on certain holidays and not others. Our collection workers are represented by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Union. Holiday benefits are negotiated as part of the Union's contract with the City of Cedar Rapids.

WHEN IN DOUBT, LEAVE IT OUT!

We know how schedule interruptions can cause confusion for our customers. That's why we try our best to limit the number of times per year interruptions occur. When planning our collection schedule around the holidays, we do our best to choose to delay collection, rather than surprise customers with collection a day ahead of schedule. There may be a rare exception of unforeseen weather events or other circumstances beyond our control. But for the most part, customers can rest assured that the garbage truck won't come a day early. That's why we suggest this simple motto: when in doubt, leave it out!

If you're unsure whether an upcoming holiday will impact garbage collection that week, we suggest you set your cart out on the regularly scheduled collection day. If we didn't collect the cart, leave it out until we do — usually the next day! IMPORTANT NOTE: To ensure collection, all customers must have their carts out by 7 AM on their scheduled collection day, regardless of the time their carts are "usually" collected.

This philosophy works great for other collection events, too. Sometimes a new collection worker may be driving an unfamiliar route and errantly skip a block, or arrive earlier than normal. If your carts were missed due to a missed collection, contact the Solid Waste & Recycling division and leave your cart out until it is collected. You can report a missed collection using My CR, emailing the division or calling 319-286-5897. Carts must be set in the collection area by the 7 AM collection deadline to qualify for missed collection pickup.

When in doubt, leave it out! It's a simple rule that can save a lot of frustration with your garbage and recycling collection.

HOLIDAY TREE DISPOSAL

Residents have several options for disposal of their Christmas trees, including curbside collection and drop-off locations. Learn how to dispose of your holiday trees here.