Trash and recycling pickup in Gainesville: schedule and holidays

Last checked Oct. 8, 2026. Facts on this page come from the City of Gainesville garbage collection page, its holiday schedule and Alachua County’s Rural Collection Centers page.

The City of Gainesville’s Solid Waste Division, part of Public Works, collects garbage once a week from homes with four or fewer units inside the city limits. The same monthly refuse charge covers recycling, yard waste and bulk items, with appliance and electronics pickups by appointment at no extra cost, the city says. Everything goes to the curb by 7 a.m. on your collection day and comes back in by 9 p.m.

Who to call

• Missed pickup, collection day, cart size, damaged or missing cart: City of Gainesville Solid Waste Division, 352-334-2330, waste@gainesvillefl.gov
• Appliance or electronics pickup: 352-334-2330, or the city’s online request form, by noon the day before your collection day
• Rural Collection Centers: Alachua County Solid Waste and Resource Recovery, 352-338-3233
• Hazardous waste and county recycling questions: Alachua County Office of Waste Alternatives, 352-374-5213

Find your pickup day

Your day depends on your address. Type it into the city’s collection day lookup map. Bulk items are collected on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, on the same day as your garbage, the city says. The city also offers collection reminders.

A Gainesville mailing address does not always mean city service. Homes outside the city limits are served through Alachua County, not the city.

Holiday schedule for the rest of 2026

From the city’s posted list of 2026 office closures:

City offices, including the Solid Waste Division, are closed and do not answer the phone on those days. When a scheduled holiday falls on a Monday, every later route that week moves one day: Tuesday’s collection runs Wednesday, Wednesday’s runs Thursday and Thursday’s runs Friday. The city’s 2026 list puts Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Memorial Day in that group. The Rural Collection Centers close on all nine federal holidays the county lists.

Setting out the garbage cart

• Bag household garbage and tie it before it goes in the cart. Double-bag pet waste and cat litter.
• Put the cart within 4 feet of the curb or the edge of the road, front facing the street, with 4 feet of clear space on every side. Never in the street or across a neighbor’s driveway.
• Close the lid. Nothing above the top rim and no bags piled on top or around it.
• Carts come in 20-, 35-, 64- and 96-gallon sizes. The first number of the serial number on the front tells you which one you have. The first size change within 30 days of starting service is free; later changes carry a service fee, listed on the garbage collection page.
• Extra garbage goes out in the city’s official yellow bags, 4 feet from the cart.

Recycling: blue bin and orange bin

Gainesville runs a two-bin system, picked up on your garbage day. Never bag recyclables. From the city’s recycling collection page:

• Blue bin: empty, clean aluminum and steel cans, empty aerosol cans, plastic bottles, jugs, jars and tubs with lids off, and food and drink glass bottles and jars.
• Orange bin: flattened cardboard in pieces no bigger than 4 feet by 4 feet, set in or under the bin; paperboard such as cereal boxes; newspapers, magazines and phone books.
• Keep out: plastic bags and wrap, foam, clamshells, foil, drinking glasses, ceramics, broken glass, greasy pizza boxes and paper plates or cups.

Set the blue bin on top of the orange bin to keep paper dry, and keep both 2 feet from the garbage cart.

Yard waste

Picked up weekly on your garbage day, from the city’s yard waste page:

• Leaves, grass and small twigs go in brown paper lawn bags or your own reusable containers, 40 pounds or less each. No plastic bags and no loose piles on tarps.
• Branches go in piles: each piece under 5 feet long, under 8 inches across and under 40 pounds. Keep each pile under 2 cubic yards.
• Christmas trees are collected in December and January.
• Debris from tree services, landscapers and other contractors must be hauled away by the contractor under city ordinance Chapter 27.

Bulk items, appliances and electronics

Furniture, mattresses, grills with the tank and ashes removed, exercise equipment and disassembled swing sets go to the curb on your collection day with no appointment, the city’s bulk item page says. Do-it-yourself remodeling debris is limited to 2 cubic yards a week. Lawn mowers, tires, paint, propane tanks, hot tubs and pianos are not taken.

Refrigerators, freezers, stoves, washers, dryers, water heaters and window air conditioners are collected by appointment; request it by noon the day before your collection day at 352-334-2330 or through the appliance collection page.

Drop-off sites and hazardous waste

Alachua County’s five Rural Collection Centers take recycling, garbage, yard waste, bulk items and household hazardous waste from county residents, city residents included, at no charge. They are open 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Friday and Saturday:

• Alachua/High Springs, 16929 NW U.S. Highway 441 (also 12:30 to 5:30 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays)
• Archer, 19401 SW Archer Road
• Fairbanks, 9920 NE Waldo Road
• North Central, 10714 N State Road 121
• Phifer, 11700 SE Hawthorne Road

Paint, chemicals and other hazardous waste can also go to the county’s Hazardous Waste Collection Center at the Leveda Brown Environmental Park, 5125 NE 63rd Ave., open 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays and 8 a.m. to noon Saturday, the county says.

What this means for you

• Look up your day once on the city map; garbage, recycling, yard waste and bulk all go out that same day.
• Thanksgiving week, Thursday customers set out on Friday, Nov. 27.
• Book appliance pickups by noon the day before, or they slip a week.

Related: who to call at City Hall, moving to Gainesville and power outages.

Frequently asked questions

What day is trash pickup in Gainesville?

It depends on your address. Enter it in the city’s collection day lookup map, or call the Solid Waste Division at 352-334-2330. Bulk items go out on the same day as your garbage.

What time does trash need to be out in Gainesville?

By 7 a.m. on your collection day. Carts, bins and yard waste containers come back in by 9 p.m. the same day.

Is there trash pickup in Gainesville on Thanksgiving 2026?

Thursday routes move one day, to Friday, Nov. 27. Other days that week are not affected, the city’s schedule says.

Does Gainesville pick up furniture and mattresses?

Yes, every week on your regular collection day, with no appointment and no extra charge. Appliances and electronics need an appointment by noon the day before.

Where can Gainesville residents take trash and recycling themselves?

To any of Alachua County’s five Rural Collection Centers, free for county residents, open 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Friday and Saturday.