Portsmouth, VA Trash & Recycling: Pickup Rules & Schedules (2026)

Section 16-34 of the Portsmouth City Code, as amended by Ordinance 2026-40 (history line dated May 12, 2026), tells residents how each type of material must be prepared before the city will pick it up. Loose paper must go in an approved receptacle or refuse bag, or be securely bundled so it cannot blow into the street. Empty corrugated cartons and pasteboard boxes must be flattened and tied with strong, stout cord in bundles not exceeding 25 pounds. Yard waste goes in clear plastic bags, and the bags may not hold dirt, rocks or anything else outside the definition of yard waste. Section 16-32(b) caps those bags at 40 gallons or 25 pounds each, with a limit of 20 bags per collection, and it is unlawful to rake, sweep or place yard waste into the street, curb, gutter or a drainage structure. Small dead animals are collected during normal operating hours only if the body is in a properly sealed plastic or polyethylene refuse bag set as near to the curb as possible or between the sidewalk and the curb.

Tires are capped at four per 12-month period. The property owner or occupant who puts out more than four in that window owes a charge of $25.00 per additional tire plus the abatement provisions of section 16-31, and every tire must be clean and rimless. White goods such as refrigerators and freezers must be empty with the door removed before they are set out.

Section 16-39 lists four categories the city will not remove and residents may not place for collection: industrial wastes; debris from construction, remodeling, razing and repair on residential and commercial buildings, including any material generated by a contractor; hazardous wastes; and large dead animals. The person who generates those items must transport and dispose of them personally.

Timing comes from section 16-36. Garbage and household trash at residences is collected one time each week unless the city manager or his designee designates otherwise. In automated areas, containers can go out after 5:00 p.m. the day before collection and must be out by 7:00 a.m. on collection day, and they must come back in by the evening of collection day. Section 16-37(b) bars putting anything out more than 24 hours before the scheduled date.