Tampa residents, mark your calendars because the city's garbage collection schedule is seeing some holiday shifts. The City of Tampa has announced changes to its solid waste collection due to the upcoming Christmas and New Year's holidays, residents should expect some alterations but fear not, the process should be pretty straight-forward. As confirmed on the official website, Tampa government's announcement, states city offices will be closed on December 24 and 25 for Christmas and on January 1, 2026, for New Year's Day.
Your residential trash won't be picked up on Christmas Day, December 25, 2025, and New Year's Day, January 1, 2026, and if your pickup usually falls on those days, you'll see it delayed by one day—the Friday collection will shift to Saturday to accommodate, according to the City of Tampa's recent publication.
For businesses, it's a similar story but without the skipped beat—Christmas Eve on December 24, 2025, will see no interruption in service; however, collections scheduled for Christmas Day will move to the following day, creating a slight one-day delay that will extend through to Saturday, December 27, and the New Year's week will mirror this pattern, with the New Year's Day collection moving to January 2, 2026.
Meanwhile, the McKay Bay Transfer Station and Scale House will be closing its gates in recognition of the holiday spirit, from December 24 through the 25, and will be shutting down early on New Year's Eve—so plan your larger drop-offs accordingly; normal operating hours will swing back around on Friday, January 2, 2026, as detailed in the City of Tampa announcement.
After you've unwrapped presents and are left with a tree more barren than a January garden, the city offers a curbside Christmas Tree Collection Service starting January 2, 2026—no charge for the removal, but residents are asked to strip down the tree of all décor, slice it into manageable four-foot segments, bundle it up, and set it curbside on the usual yard waste day, as confirmed in the City of Tampa official communication.
For those residing in New Tampa, a separate schedule by Hillsborough County Solid Waste Management will apply, and they recommend touching base at (813) 272-5680 for holiday collections specifics.
