Posted on May 06, 2025
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Metro Waste Authority aims to keep the collection schedule for garbage, recycling, and yard waste as consistent as possible.
Although there are many holidays on the calendar these days, only six cause changes to your collection schedule. Plus, they only cause a delay when the actual date of the holiday falls on a weekday (Monday through Friday). If the holiday falls on a Saturday or Sunday, collection is not delayed.
Holidays that cause a delay when they fall on a weekday include:
- New Year's Day
- Memorial Day
- Independence Day
- Labor Day
- Thanksgiving Day
- Christmas Day
When one of the holidays listed above falls on a weekday, there is no collection on that day. Instead, collection shifts by one day for the remainder of the week. For example, when Memorial Day falls on a Monday in May, Monday collection occurs on Tuesday, and collection is delayed for one day the rest of the week with Friday’s collection occurring on Saturday. If a holiday falls in the middle of the week, such as on a Wednesday, then only collection on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday is delayed that week.
Clear as mud? Now you can see why we try to keep the collection schedule as consistent as possible!
How We Share Collection Delays
We try to go the extra mile to send out reminders before each collection delay! We heavily promote holidays with a collection delay in the following ways:
Email: We include reminders about upcoming collection delays in our e-newsletter, sent twice a month to keep you in the loop. Not receiving it yet? Sign up here!
Social Media: We share reminders multiple times leading up to a holiday collection delay on all of our social channels like Facebook and Instagram.
Phone Recording: If you call us at 515.244.0021 near a holiday, a recording will let you know if there's a collection delay. If you’re still not sure, our friendly staff is happy to provide more details!
Web: When there's a delay, a banner appears at the top of our homepage. If you’re still not sure, chat with our helpful digital assistant by clicking the chat icon in the bottom right corner.
Collection Calendar: Our annual recycling calendar marks weeks when there's a delay. If the week isn’t green or black, it means there's a change to the collection schedule! View or download our 2025 calendar.