Wausau, WI Trash & Recycling: Holiday Pickup Schedule (2026)

The City of Wausau Public Works page on garbage and recycling sets one rule that applies every year. When one of the six named holidays falls on a weekday, the contracted hauler, Harter's Fox Valley Disposal, keeps a five-day schedule, so the delay runs through the week and ends on Saturday. The page prints no year, which means the same weekday table is the rule for each holiday date as it comes around.

Here is how it works by weekday. A Monday holiday pushes every pickup one day later, Tuesday through Saturday. A Tuesday holiday leaves Monday alone and moves Tuesday through Friday to Wednesday through Saturday. A Wednesday holiday leaves Monday and Tuesday alone and moves Wednesday through Friday to Thursday through Saturday. A Thursday holiday leaves Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday alone and moves Thursday and Friday pickup to Friday and Saturday. A Friday holiday leaves Monday through Thursday alone and moves only Friday pickup to Saturday.

Two worked examples. Thanksgiving Day 2026 is Thursday, November 26, so the Thursday rule applies: Thursday and Friday routes slide to Friday and Saturday. Christmas Day 2026 is Friday, December 25, so the Friday rule applies and Friday pickup moves to Saturday. The page itself lists holidays by name only and does not print calendar dates.

Wausau Municipal Code § 6.44.020(a) is the code clause behind this. Residential solid waste is collected at least once per week according to a schedule set by the collector and approved by the City. If a collection day falls on a holiday, collection is made on the following business day or as provided in a schedule the collector publishes in the Wausau Daily Herald before the holiday. Recyclables are collected at least once every two weeks on the same day as residential solid waste, and collection does not start before 5:45 a.m. Under § 6.44.010, the collector is the person, firm or corporation the Common Council authorizes to collect from residential units in the City.

Set carts out by 5:00 a.m. on the shifted day. Section 6.44.070 also bars putting carts at the curb before 3:00 p.m. the day before collection and requires them to come in by 11:00 a.m. the day after.