5 Essential Things You Must Know About The Winston-Salem Garbage Schedule (2025 Updates)

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Navigating the Winston-Salem Solid Waste Collections schedule can feel like solving a complex puzzle, but understanding the city’s system is crucial for keeping your home and neighborhood clean. As of late 2024 and heading into 2025, the City of Winston-Salem maintains a comprehensive, yet highly structured, collection service that covers weekly garbage, bi-weekly recycling, and specialized yard waste and bulky item pickups. This guide breaks down the most recent updates and essential rules you need to know to ensure your trash, recycling, and yard waste are collected on time.

The key to mastering the collection schedule is recognizing that each service—garbage, recycling, and yard waste—operates on a distinct, yet coordinated, calendar. For the most precise information tailored to your specific address, the City of Winston-Salem strongly encourages residents to use the official "Winston-Salem Collects" app or the online Service-Finder Tool, which removes all the guesswork from your weekly routine. For general inquiries, the Solid Waste Collections department can be reached at 336-734-1507.

Your Complete Winston-Salem Solid Waste Collection Schedule Overview

The Winston-Salem Sanitation Department provides four main residential collection services, each with its own set of rules and frequency. Understanding these differences is the first step to becoming a master of your curbside collection.

  • Garbage: Collected weekly.
  • Recycling: Collected every other week (bi-weekly).
  • Yard Waste: Collected weekly, but requires a special cart.
  • Bulky Items: Collected annually during a designated neighborhood cleanup period.

Here is a list of key entities and terms related to the Winston-Salem Solid Waste system:

  • Winston-Salem Sanitation Department
  • Solid Waste Collections
  • Weekly Garbage Pickup
  • Curbside Recycling Rollout Program
  • Red Week Zone
  • Blue Week Zone
  • Yard Waste Cart
  • Annual Sticker Program
  • Bulky Item Collection
  • Neighborhood Area Cleanup
  • Roll-out Cart (96-gallon)
  • Collection Crews
  • Residential Service (Single-family Homes)
  • Old Salisbury Road Landfill
  • Brush and Leaf Collection
  • Appliances and Furniture Pickup
  • Winston-Salem Collects App

1. Mastering the Bi-Weekly Recycling Schedule (Red vs. Blue Weeks)

Unlike weekly garbage pickup, the Curbside Recycling program operates on a bi-weekly rotation, which is the most common point of confusion for residents. The entire city is divided into two primary zones: the Red Week Zone and the Blue Week Zone. Your collection day remains the same, but the week of collection alternates.

To avoid missing your pickup, you must first confirm whether your address falls into the Red or Blue Week Zone. This information is easily accessible via the official City of Winston-Salem website's Service-Finder Tool or the "Winston-Salem Collects" mobile application. The service accepts standard recyclables, including cardboard, plastic bottles, metal cans, and paper.

Key Recycling Rules:

  • Collection is every other week.
  • You must use the official blue recycling roll-out cart.
  • All items must be clean and placed loosely in the cart—no plastic bags are allowed in the recycling bin.
  • Check the Red/Blue Week Calendar for the 2025 schedule to mark your dates.

2. The Specific Rules for Weekly Yard Waste Collection

Yard waste, including grass clippings, leaves, and small brush, is collected weekly, but it is not a free service like standard garbage. To participate in the weekly Yard Waste Collection, residents must first purchase a designated Yard Waste Cart and an Annual Sticker.

The cart itself is a 96-gallon roll-out cart, and the combined purchase price often covers both the cart and the first year's annual sticker. The annual sticker must be renewed yearly and affixed to the cart to signal to the Collection Crews that your yard waste is eligible for pickup. Items that are too large for the cart, such as large limbs or excessive brush, fall under separate rules for Brush and Leaf Collection and may require a special request or fee.

Yard Waste Requirements:

  • Must be placed in the designated, stickered Yard Waste Cart.
  • Collection is weekly, on the same day as your garbage pickup.
  • Only yard waste (leaves, grass, small clippings) is permitted.

3. The Annual Bulky Item Pickup and What It Covers

The City of Winston-Salem does not offer on-demand, year-round collection for large, bulky items. Instead, it runs an annual Bulky Item Collection program, often referred to as the Neighborhood Area Cleanup. This is a scheduled service that runs for several months, typically beginning in early March (e.g., March 3, 2025) and continuing through the first week of September.

During your neighborhood's specific cleanup week, you can place large, non-hazardous items at the curb for free pickup. This is the time to dispose of large household goods that won't fit in your standard trash cart.

Accepted Bulky Items:

  • Furniture (sofas, chairs, tables)
  • Mattresses and box springs
  • Major Appliances (washers, dryers, refrigerators—must have doors removed)
  • Carpet and padding (must be rolled and tied)
  • Excessive amounts of building materials (within limits)

It is critical to place your items out the weekend before your scheduled collection week, as the Collection Crews will only pass through your street once. For more detailed information, residents can call the Solid Waste Collections number.

4. The 2025 Holiday Collection Schedule Adjustments

The most frequent changes to the standard weekly schedule occur during major holidays. The City of Winston-Salem's Holiday Collection Schedule dictates that if your normal collection day falls on one of the observed holidays, your pickup will be delayed by one day, often shifting the entire week's schedule. This can affect garbage, recycling, and yard waste collections.

For the 2025 Holiday Collection Schedule, residents should be aware of the following major observed holidays that will impact service:

  • New Year's Day (January 1, 2025): All collections are typically delayed by one day, with Wednesday’s pickup moving to Thursday, Thursday’s to Friday, and so on.
  • Memorial Day
  • Independence Day (July 4th)
  • Labor Day
  • Thanksgiving Day
  • Christmas (December 2025): The schedule often sees multiple days of adjustments due to the Christmas Eve and Christmas Day closures.

Always check the official City of Winston-Salem website or the "Winston-Salem Collects" app for the precise, up-to-the-minute holiday adjustments to ensure your materials are set out correctly. Planning ahead for these holiday disruptions is essential for maintaining your weekly routine.

5 Essential Things You Must Know About the Winston-Salem Garbage Schedule (2025 Updates)
winston salem garbage schedule
winston salem garbage schedule

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