Metro Council chair warns residents: many residential trash pickup days will change in February

Evan Siegel, a council chair, told the Executive Committee that Metro will change many residential trash and recycling pickup days beginning in February to rebalance routes and reduce missed pickups. "The biggest thing that I think is going to affect all of our lives the most is that in February, a lot of trash days are changing," he said.

Officials described a rezoning of service areas so that single operators will serve larger contiguous zones, making it easier to track missed routes and attribute service problems. Council leaders said the change should reduce missed pickups over time and produce long‑term cost savings by consolidating zones.

The city will place stickers on residents’ waste bins to mark new pickup days and provide maps for council newsletters and social media. Officials acknowledged the change could cause brief disruptions: some neighborhoods may miss a recycling pickup or two as the schedule transitions. "We may be a mis recycling pickup or 2... Not like nobody's missing 2 total," a chair said.

Committee members were urged to begin communicating with residents now and to use the maps and materials staff provided. Officials said three‑quarters of the population live in the area served by Metro waste pickup — many in multi‑family housing who are unaffected — but a substantial portion of residents will need notice of the changes.

Next steps: staff will continue public outreach, place stickers on bins, circulate maps and coordinate a January reminder ahead of the February change.