The City of Charlotte's Solid Waste Services (SWS) has laid out its 2026 holiday collection schedule, introducing changes that will affect the servicing of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Memorial Day, and Labor Day. According to a recent announcement, there will be no collection on the holiday itself, which falls on a Monday. Instead, crews will kick off collections on Tuesday and work through to Friday, skipping the previous Saturday collections for these specific holidays.
For residents, these changes mean setting out their carts on their normal collection day and leaving them at the curb until they are collected, which can be later in the week than usual. There will also be no yard waste collected during these holiday weeks, allowing crews to focus on completing garbage and recycling routes. The update fosters employee work-life balance, resourceful use of taxpayer funds, and maintains consistent service quality. The SWS advises that if a collection hasn't occurred within 48 hours of the normal scheduled collection day, residents should contact 311 or 704-336-7600 to report the missed pickup.
In terms of Thanksgiving and Christmas weeks, the schedule remains unchanged with a one-day delay in service occurring. This means that if your usual collection day is Thursday during these weeks, expect it to be pushed to Friday, and Friday's service will consequently shift to Saturday.
Other holidays in 2026, including New Year’s Day, Presidents’ Day, Good Friday, Juneteenth, Indigenous Peoples’ Day, and Veterans Day, will not see any alterations in service. These holidays, which fall on weekdays, will be serviced as per the normal routine with no delays or changes in operations.
To make the process smoother for residents, SWS provides a handy tool via the city's property tool, My Charlotte Lookup, where people can confirm their collection days by typing in their address. Moreover, text alerts for collection updates or other service-related notifications are offered by SWS. Those interested in receiving these alerts can send a text with their day of service to 73224—for instance, texting “Thursday” if that's your collection day.
Residents seeking more information on the holiday schedule or other services provided by Solid Waste Services can head to the SWS website for comprehensive details.
