Nashville, TN Trash & Recycling: Collection Schedule (2026)
Key Facts
- 1-2 family homes
- Once-per-week pickup
- Multifamily residences
- Once-per-week pickup
- Downtown core businesses
- Daily except Sunday, 192 gal/day cap
- Coverage area
- Urban Services District only
- Late/violation fine
- Up to $50 per day
Summary
Metro Water Services picks up garbage and recyclables once a week for homes and apartments, but only inside the Urban Services District. GSD residents arrange their own private hauler.
The department shall only pick up and dispose of garbage and rubbish, as well as recyclables, in the urban services district which has been placed in an adjacent alley, on an adjacent curb or on the side of a public road or street at locations approved by the department...A. One-family and two-family residences. The department shall collect and dispose of garbage and rubbish once per week from one-family and two-family residences and the director shall determine by regulation the maximum amount thereof it will pick up each time.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 53 | Charter: Republication 9).
Full Breakdown
Metro's Department of Public Works (Water Services) collects garbage, rubbish and recyclables once per week from one-family, two-family and multifamily residences, and once per week from commercial-industrial establishments outside downtown, but this mandatory pickup applies only within the Urban Services District. Downtown core businesses get daily pickup (except Sunday) capped at 192 gallons per day. Materials go out at the curb, alley or roadside between 7 p.m. the night before and 7 p.m. on collection day; excess waste beyond the director's weight/volume limits is the owner's expense.
Violations & Fines
Violating any Chapter 10.20 collection or container rule carries a fine of up to $50 per day the violation continues, enforced by the director's environmental enforcement officers.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Metro pick up trash at every Nashville address?
How often is residential trash collected in the USD?
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Sources & Official References
Other rules in Nashville
Compare Nashville to another location·View the Tennessee trash & recycling overview
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