Washington, DC Trash & Recycling: Collection Schedule (2026)
Key Facts
- Minimum pickup frequency
- Not less than twice per week
- Container capacity floor
- 32 gallons per unit per week
- Large-property plan threshold
- 80+ units or 101+ employees
- Recordkeeping duration
- 5 years of contracts/invoices
- Enforcing agency
- Department of Public Works
Summary
D.C. law requires private collection properties, meaning apartment buildings, condos, and commercial sites that arrange their own hauling, to contract for waste pickup at least twice a week. Contracts can only allow fewer pickups during weeks hit by a District holiday or hazardous weather.
Private collection properties shall enter into contracts with collectors of solid waste to receive services not less than twice per week at each property; provided that contracts may authorize less frequent collection during weeks where a District holiday or hazardous weather conditions prevent multiple collections.
Full Breakdown
C. " The only carve-out is for weeks where a District government holiday or hazardous weather makes multiple collections impractical; short of that, twice-weekly service is the floor, not a target. 04's "Mandatory adequate waste collection" mandate, which requires the property owner to supply source-separation containers sized to at least 32 gallons of solid waste capacity per occupied residential unit per week, post signage identifying trash versus recycling bins, and keep trash and recycling containers equal in volume so residents can recycle as much as they throw away.
Owners must also designate an agent responsible for compliance and, for multi-family buildings with 80 or more units, commercial buildings with 10 or more units, or employers with 101 or more workers, file an annual source-separation plan with the Mayor describing the collector's name, address, and pickup day and time. 14(e); properties covered by the annual-plan requirement must keep collection contracts and invoices on file for five years and produce them on request. Single-family households that receive DPW curbside service, rather than a private hauler, fall outside this private-property contract mandate and are covered separately by DPW's own residential collection calendar.
Violations & Fines
A private collection property that fails to contract for at least twice-weekly pickup, or that fails to supply adequately sized and labeled waste containers, is out of compliance with Chapter 10A of Title 8 and can be cited by DPW following an on-site evaluation. Large properties subject to the annual source-separation plan requirement that cannot produce five years of collection contracts and invoices on request are separately exposed for that recordkeeping failure.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does every D.C. building have to arrange twice-weekly trash pickup?
What size trash and recycling bins must a D.C. property provide?
Which D.C. properties must file an annual source-separation plan?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Washington
Compare Washington to another location·View the District of Columbia trash & recycling overview
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