Montgomery County, MD Trash & Recycling: Holiday Pickup Schedule (2026)
Key Facts
- Normal start time
- 7:00 a.m. weekdays
- Holiday/Sunday start time
- 9:00 a.m.
- Daily end time
- 9:00 p.m. (unchanged)
- Enforcing agency
- Dept. of Environmental Protection
- Emergency waiver
- Up to 72 hours
Summary
Federal holidays and Sundays push licensed collectors' start time from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. countywide, per Montgomery County Code Chapter 48's collector-licensing rules.
Licensees and their employees shall not collect solid wastes in Montgomery County prior to 7:00 a.m. (9:00 a.m. on federal holidays and Sundays) nor collect solid wastes after 9:00 p.m. on any weekday (Monday through Sunday, including federal holidays); except that collections may be made at any time from business establishments such as commercial, industrial, institutional or other nonresidential use structures provided that there is no residential structure(s) within five hundred (500) feet of the solid wastes collection point. The director may waive these provisions in the event of a civil emergency for a period of seventy-two (72) hours or less.
(c) The licensee must disclose on each invoice or other request for payment any pass- through to the customer of a charge paid for use of any solid waste acceptance facility and any pass-through of a systems benefit charge. Each charge must be stated on a per-ton basis. Each invoice or other request for payment must separately identify any collection charge or systems benefit charge. (1981 L.M.C., ch. 37, § 1; 1992 L.M.C., ch. 39, § 1.)
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: 2026 S-90: Montgomery County Code contains legislation effective through May 7, 2026 | Zoning Updated Effective: April 13, 2026 | COMCOR Regulations effective as of July 1, 2026).
Full Breakdown
Sec. 48-21(b) bars licensed solid waste collectors from starting residential pickup before 7:00 a.m. on ordinary weekdays, but on federal holidays and Sundays the start time moves to 9:00 a.m.; the 9:00 p.m. end-of-day cutoff stays the same. Business establishments with no residential structure within 500 feet are exempt from the timing limits. The Director of Environmental Protection can waive the hours for up to 72 hours during a civil emergency. Rockville, Gaithersburg, and Takoma Park run their own municipal trash systems and are not covered by this county chapter.
Violations & Fines
Collecting before the holiday/Sunday 9 a.m. start is a licensing violation; the Director can suspend or revoke the collector's county license under Sec. 48-27, and it is also chargeable as a misdemeanor under the parallel COMCOR 48.00.02 noise regulation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does trash pickup move to a different day after a holiday in Montgomery County?
Does this rule apply inside Rockville or Gaithersburg?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Montgomery County
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