Knoxville Garbage Day, Recycling, Bulky Waste & Brush Pickup Schedule 2026
This guide is written like a Knoxville resident’s working checklist: how to find your service day, when to put the gray trash cart and brown/tan recycling cart out, how every-other-week recycling works, how to place a bulky alert, what happens with brush and leaves, where glass goes, and who to contact when pickup is missed.
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Knoxville trash pickup schedule garbage collection is address-based. Use the official City of Knoxville Service Day and Disposal search, enter your street address, then use the calendar button to find your pickup date or set a reminder. The same official tool also has a “What Goes Where” button for item disposal questions.
For standard city curbside homes, gray trash carts must be out by 7:00 AM on service day, and the city recommends placing the cart out the night before after 6:00 PM. Empty carts should be retrieved by 9:00 PM on pickup day. Recycling is every other week and must also be at the curb by 7:00 AM.
Knoxville Trash Pickup Day Lookup — Use the Official Service Day and Disposal Search
The safest way to find your Knoxville garbage day is to use the city’s official Service Day and Disposal Information search. Type in your street address, then use the calendar button to see your pickup date or add a reminder. Do not rely only on a neighbor’s schedule because service-day boundaries, recycling weeks, alleys and downtown service areas can differ.
Open the city’s service-day search
Enter your Knoxville street address. The tool is useful for garbage, recycling calendar lookup and what-goes-where disposal questions.
Check your trash day and recycling week
Garbage is weekly for eligible homes. Curbside recycling is every other week, so the recycling calendar matters even if the trash day stays the same.
Check whether your property qualifies for city curbside service
City curbside service applies to single-family homes, duplexes, triplexes and quad-plexes on a single parcel. Properties with five or more residential units must manage waste through a private hauler or use approved disposal options.
Save 311 for issues
For missed trash, recycling, cart problems or service questions, call 311 or 865-215-4311. The My Knoxville App can also be used for service requests.
Official lookup: Use Knoxville’s official service-day search before placing carts, recycling overflow, bulky waste or unusual items at the curb.
Open Service Day SearchNew to Knoxville? What to Know Before Your First Garbage Day
If you moved into a Knoxville home that receives city curbside service, you normally do not need to open a separate trash account or pay a monthly trash bill. City garbage and recycling service is tied to eligible properties and city taxes. Your job is to find the service day, locate the city-issued carts and follow set-out rules.
- Search your address in the official service-day tool.
- Find the gray City of Knoxville trash cart on the property.
- Check the garage, basement, alley, back area and side yard before reporting a missing cart.
- Confirm whether a brown/tan recycling cart is already assigned to the home.
- Mark carts only with your address, not decorations or unrelated writing.
- Do not order a replacement before you actually move in.
- First check the full property and alley if applicable.
- If you are certain it is missing, call the non-emergency police number at 865-215-7000 to report it as stolen.
- Then call 311 or 865-215-4311 with the police report number to request a free replacement cart.
- Renters should ask the landlord about missing carts before ordering a replacement.
Apartment warning: Parcels with five or more residential units are responsible for managing their own waste through a private hauler or by taking material to an approved facility. Do not follow single-family curbside rules if your building has dumpsters or private service.
Knoxville Garbage Cart Rules — 7 AM Set-Out, One-Foot Curb Placement and Overflow Trash Problems
Knoxville’s gray garbage cart is designed for automated collection. Small placement mistakes can cause a miss because the truck arm needs room to grip, lift and dump the cart safely. Set the cart out by 7 AM on your pickup day, or place it out the night before after 6 PM.
- Set your gray cart out by 7 AM on service day.
- The city recommends placing it out the night before after 6 PM.
- Retrieve the empty cart by 9 PM on pickup day.
- Place the cart within one foot of the curb or white road edge line.
- If collected in an alley, place the cart within one foot of the alley asphalt.
- Wheels should face your home and the lid should open toward the street.
- Cart not out by 7 AM.
- Cart blocked by parked cars, poles or other obstacles.
- Lid not closed because the cart is overfilled.
- Extra trash bags placed on top of or beside the cart.
- Construction, renovation or demolition debris placed as normal trash.
- Wet paint or household hazardous waste in the cart.
Overflow trash rule: Additional bags of garbage that do not fit in the trash cart are not bulky waste and are not eligible for bulky pickup. The practical fix is to reduce, donate, recycle correctly, use the transfer station when needed, or wait until the next weekly trash day.
Knoxville Garbage Collection Video Guide — Bad Cart Set-Out Example
This official City of Knoxville video is useful because it shows the kind of improper curbside setup that forces the Waste Connections employee to manually handle garbage instead of using automated collection properly. It supports the set-out section above: correct cart placement, lid position, spacing and avoiding messy overflow matter in real pickup situations.
Best for: New residents, homeowners using the gray cart for the first time, renters whose cart keeps getting missed, and residents who are unsure why extra bags, blocked carts or messy set-outs can cause service problems.
This video supports the practical guidance in this article. For exact pickup dates, holiday changes, missed collection, bulky alerts, recycling weeks, brush schedules, facility hours and service alerts, residents should still verify details through the official City of Knoxville links above.
Knoxville Recycling Pickup — Every-Other-Week Service, Loose Items and Glass Drop-Off Rules
Knoxville curbside recycling is free and optional for eligible city households that sign up, but it is not collected every week. Curbside recycling is picked up every other week, and the official recycling calendar should be checked by address.
- Set the recycling cart within one foot of the curb by 7 AM on service day.
- Place recyclables loose in the cart.
- Keep recyclables clean and dry.
- Break down cardboard boxes.
- Use paper bags, cardboard boxes or reusable containers clearly marked “recycling” for overflow recycling.
- Do not bag recyclables in plastic bags.
- Do not put food in recycling.
- Do not leave cardboard unbroken.
- Do not force large cardboard pieces into the cart where they block items underneath.
- Do not fill the cart with too many books or heavy materials.
- Do not put glass in the curbside cart.
Where does glass go in Knoxville?
Glass is no longer accepted in the city’s free curbside recycling carts. Glass can still be recycled at the City of Knoxville recycling drop-off centers and UT’s Recycling Center. If you have bottles and jars, use a drop-off location rather than putting them in the brown/tan cart.
Need curbside recycling? Sign up for curbside recycling through the city or call 311. If you do not qualify, use city and county recycling drop-off centers.
Curbside Recycling GuideKnoxville Bulky Waste Pickup — Five Items Per Week and Why You Should Place a Bulky Alert First
Knoxville bulky waste means household items such as furniture, tires with rims removed, appliances, old personal trash cans and other approved items too large to fit in an empty gray garbage cart. Bulky waste is not the same as extra bags of household trash.
- Residents may set out up to five bulky items per week.
- Call 311 before setting items out to place a “bulky alert.”
- Place bulky items where the trash cart is normally placed.
- Leave at least three feet between bulky items and the trash or recycling cart.
- Allow up to two business days after placing a bulky alert for the bulky truck to return.
- Extra bags of garbage that do not fit in the cart.
- Construction, renovation or demolition waste.
- Cardboard boxes.
- Brush or yard waste mixed with trash.
- Very bulky or very heavy items such as pianos, auto parts, some exercise machines or items over six feet long.
Code violation risk: If more than five bulky items are set out at once, none of the items may be collected and it can result in a Codes Enforcement violation. Split large cleanouts across weeks or use the Solid Waste Facility when appropriate.
Official bulky guide: Check eligible items, bad set-out examples and missed bulky pickup rules before placing items at the curb.
Bulky Waste RulesKnoxville Brush and Leaf Pickup — Two-Week Brush Cycle, 6-Foot Pile Limit and Loose Leaf Season
Knoxville’s yard waste system is separate from ordinary trash and bulky waste. During brush collection season, service area crews collect brush and household yard waste every other week from March through October. During the annual fall leaf collection season from November through February, normal two-week brush pickup is suspended and crews focus on vacuuming loose leaves.
- Brush collection generally runs March through October.
- Service area crews collect brush every other week.
- A single 6′ x 6′ x 6′ pile can be collected on a two-week cycle.
- Place brush next to the street in an unobstructed area.
- Keep brush separate from trash, bulky items and other materials.
- Leaf collection season begins in November and runs through February.
- Normal two-week brush schedule is suspended during leaf season.
- Leaves should be loose, not bagged.
- Place leaves at the edge of the street in piles, not rows.
- Bagged leaves beside trash are not considered bulky waste and are not collected as bulky items.
Resident tip: Keep brush piles away from storm drains, parked cars, mailboxes, utility poles, sidewalks and low wires. Placement is critical because city crews use equipment to collect brush.
Brush and leaf lookup: Check the city’s brush and leaf tools before doing yard cleanup, especially during the March/October and November/February transition periods.
Yard Waste GuideKnoxville Solid Waste Facility, Transfer Station, HHW and Recycling Drop-Off Options
Some items should not go in the gray trash cart, brown/tan recycling cart or bulky waste pile. Knoxville’s Solid Waste Facility at 1033 Elm Street houses both the Transfer Station and the Household Hazardous Waste Facility. The facility is near downtown off the I-275 Baxter Exit.
- Transfer Station for approved waste disposal.
- Household Hazardous Waste Facility for household hazardous materials.
- Recycling drop-off centers for glass and extra accepted recyclables.
- Specialty Recycling and Donations Guide for reusable household items.
- County convenience centers for some residents and materials.
- Wet paint and solvents.
- Pesticides and household chemicals.
- Electronics and batteries.
- Large construction or demolition debris.
- Glass bottles and jars from curbside recycling.
- Very heavy bulky items that two workers cannot safely lift.
Payment warning: The City says the Solid Waste Facility accepts credit or debit cards only — no cash. Check official hours, fees, accepted materials and restrictions before loading a vehicle.
Solid Waste Facility Map — 1033 Elm Street
Missed Trash or Recycling Pickup in Knoxville — What to Check Before Reporting
If your gray City of Knoxville garbage cart or brown/tan recycling cart was not emptied on your regular pickup day, do not pull it back immediately. Knoxville says to leave the cart at the curb because drivers may work late or collect missed carts the next day.
Confirm your service day
Use the Service Day and Disposal search. For recycling, confirm the every-other-week calendar rather than assuming recycling goes out every week.
Check set-out timing and placement
Cart should have been out by 7 AM, within one foot of the curb or alley asphalt, with wheels toward the home and the lid opening toward the street.
Wait until the next business day
Trucks break down, routes are rerouted and construction can block streets. The city asks residents to wait until the next business day before reporting a missed pickup.
Report within two business days
Call 311, use the online form, or use the My Knoxville App. If you miss the report window, the driver may not return until the next scheduled pickup day.
Official request form: Use the city’s 311 form for missed trash or recycling pickup after checking timing, placement and the report window.
Report Missed PickupCity of Knoxville Waste Phone Number, Email, Facility Address and Official Links
| Need | Official Contact | Use This For |
|---|---|---|
| 311 / Waste Issues | 311 or 865-215-4311 | Trash, recycling, cart issues, missed pickup, bulky alerts and general service questions. |
| 311 Email | 311office@knoxvilletn.gov | Non-urgent trash, recycling or cart questions. |
| Waste & Resources | WasteAndResources@KnoxvilleTN.gov | Waste and Resources Management office contact. |
| Transfer Station | 865-215-6700 | Transfer Station / Scale House at 1033 Elm Street. |
| Household Hazardous Waste | 865-215-6710 | HHW facility questions at the Solid Waste Facility. |
| Missing Cart Police Report | 865-215-7000 | Non-emergency police number used when a city trash cart is believed stolen. |
Official Knoxville Waste Links
Related Trash Pickup Guides — Tennessee, Regional and Bulky Waste Help
These related trash-pickup.org guides help residents compare holiday rules, service-day lookup tools, bulky waste pickup and recycling systems across nearby or similar city programs.
Knoxville Trash Pickup FAQ — Real Resident Questions Answered
Source Verification and Editorial Note
Independent information guide — not affiliated with the City of Knoxville. trash-pickup.org is a public information resource. We do not operate garbage trucks, recycling pickup, Waste Connections routes, bulky alerts, brush collection, leaf pickup, recycling centers, 311, the My Knoxville App, the Transfer Station or the Household Hazardous Waste Facility.
Service-day lookup guidance, cart placement rules, new resident instructions, recycling rules, glass drop-off notes, bulky waste rules, brush and leaf collection guidance, missed pickup reporting and official contact details were checked against City of Knoxville sources as of May 2026. Routes, service alerts, facility hours, holiday notices, fees and accepted materials can change. Always verify through official City of Knoxville links before acting.
Official Sources — Verified May 2026
- City of Knoxville — Garbage, Recycling & Yard Waste
- City of Knoxville — Service Day and Disposal Information
- City of Knoxville — Curbside Garbage
- City of Knoxville — Curbside Recycling
- City of Knoxville — Bulky Waste Collection
- City of Knoxville — Yard Waste
- City of Knoxville — Leaf Collection Lookup
- City of Knoxville — Solid Waste Facility
- City of Knoxville — Household Hazardous Waste
- City of Knoxville — Trash / Recycling Pickup Request Form
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