Residents in the downtown area designated for student move-outs will have daily trash and recycling cart collection during weekdays from August 4 to August 22, 2025. This temporary service aims to help those moving out manage waste more efficiently.
The city is encouraging residents in the affected area to use their carts as often as needed during this period. “Using carts, and using them right, will keep our city clean and it will make the move out collection process faster and safer for everyone,” according to city guidance.
Trash and recycling crews will perform extra collections after completing their regular routes. Additional staff may be reassigned from other duties to support this effort in the student move-out zone. The goal is to offer daily workday collections specifically within this area until August 22.
For trash disposal, residents are instructed to put garbage inside tan refuse carts or use bags if items do not fit. Loose trash should not be left on the ground or placed in cardboard boxes; all cardboard must be recycled separately.
Recycling guidelines require only accepted materials in green carts, with lids closed for pickup. Clothes, bedding, electronics, and similar items are not allowed in these carts. Extra recyclables at the curb must be bagged in clear bags—opaque bags will be treated as trash. Cardboard boxes should be flattened and bundled rather than packed inside larger boxes.
Residents are reminded to keep carts unobstructed and separated from each other for safe emptying. Carts should remain at the property for new tenants when moving out.
Those with excess waste beyond what fits into their carts can take one load per day of refuse or recyclables—no larger than a standard pick-up truck bed or small single-axle trailer—to a Streets Division drop-off site. Larger loads will not be accepted.
Details about drop-off site locations, hours, and restrictions are available on the city’s official website: https://www.cityofmadison.com/streets/Drop-Off-Sites.cfm
For questions, residents east of S. Park Street (including the isthmus) can call 608-246-4532; those west of S. Park Street (including neighborhoods around Camp Randall) can call 608-266-4681.
Further information is also accessible on the Streets Division’s Moving Days website: https://www.cityofmadison.com/streets/movingDays.cfm and electronics recycling details can be found here: https://www.cityofmadison.com/streets/recycling/electronics.cfm
