The Sanitation Division provides Manchester residents with the below curbside services:
- Weekly trash collection
- Every other week single-stream recycling collection
- Bulky waste collection two times a year
- Weekly yard waste and Christmas tree collection from mid-March to mid-January
- Annual leaf vacuum service
Town-wide residential curbside trash and recycling collection is provided by the contractor All American Waste of South Windsor, CT. Residents can also bring their trash and recyclables to the Transfer Station.
Wondering what goes in the blue, recycling bin? Visit the Recycle page to learns what's in and what's out of the bin
For curbside collection questions or complaints, please call 860-647-3200, and select option 1.
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Residences with up to four (4) dwelling units get free curbside trash and recycling collection. Each residence gets one, grey trash cart and one, blue recycling cart. If your cart is missing or broken, call 860-647-6400 option 3.
Curbside Collection
- Put your carts curbside by 6:00 am on your normal collection day. Use the lookup form under Curbside Collection Schedule to find out your collection day.
- Trash/recycling placed in non-Town carts or on the ground in cardboard boxes or plastic bags will not be collected.
- Do not place your cart at the curb before 12:00pm the day before your designated collection day, and remove your cart from the curb by 12:00pm the day following your designated collection day.
- Note: Curbside collections can run late. If your trash was out by 6:00 a.m. but was not picked up by the morning after your collection day, please call 860-647-3200, etc. 1
Services through the waste hauler, All American Waste (AAW): Call directly at 860-289-7850
- Second Trash Cart: Subscription cart for $156/year ($13/month) paid directly to AAW. You will get 1 AAW branded trash cart.
- Second Recycling Cart: Subscription cart for $72/year ($6/month) paid directly to AAW. You will get 1 AAW branded recycling cart.
- Cart Cleaning: Residents can request a cart cleaning from AAW for $25/cart.
- Additional Bulky Waste pick up: each dwelling unit gets two (2) free bulky waste pick-ups per year. For additional pick ups, residents will be charged $50/pick up.
What goes in the recycling cart?
Wondering what goes in and what stays out of your blue recycling cart? Try the “Can I recycle it” wizard? Just type in the item you are questioning, such as “plastic berry box”, and you will get your answer! (Note: plastic berry boxes are in!).
Looking for something physical you can reference? Download and print the Manchester Curbside Recycling Guide(PDF, 2MB).
Also, check out our Recycle page on Sustainable Waste Management.
My cart is broken, how do I get it fixed?
Call 860-647-3200 option (3) to report your broken cart. You will need to provide your name, address, and a description of the problem. You will be added to a list that is sent to the hauler, All American Waste, at the end of the week. Your cart will be assessed and fixed on your next collection day.
To learn more about recycling and how to produce less waste, go to our Sustainable Waste Management page!
Sustainable Waste Management
Download the Curbside Recycling Guide Here(PDF, 2MB) - Use this as a guide to help you determine what goes in the recycling bin and what stays out.
See "Garbage and Recycling Day Lookup" below to find out which day of the week you trash and recycling pick-up is and if you recycling collection falls on an "A Week" or a "B Week". Then use the schedule, linked below, to find out when "A Weeks" and "B Weeks" occur.
Garbage and Recycling Day Lookup
Type the name of your street in the box below to find the day garbage and recycling is on your street (some web browsers, like Firefox, require users to hit "Enter" after selecting their street).
(NOTE: You do not have to type your street's full name. Typing Broad will return 'BROAD ST').
*Holiday Schedule*
There is NO curbside collection on the following holidays:
- Memorial Day
- Independence Day - July 4th
- Labor Day
- Thanksgiving Day
- Christmas Day (25th)
- New Years Day (1st)
When one of these holidays occurs on a regularly scheduled collection day, collection will be delayed one day for the rest of the week. For example: If a holiday falls on a Monday, then Monday's collection will be on Tuesday; and Tuesday's collection will be on Wednesday and so on. There also will be a Saturday pickup for Friday's collection. These are the ONLY holidays that result in a change in the collection schedule. Other holidays when Town Hall or schools are closed does not affect refuse and recycling collection.
Leaves are prohibited by State law and local ordinance from going into a landfill. Manchester operates a state-of-the-art composting program. Several different leaf collection and disposal options are available to Manchester residents. This section covers curbside collection. To find out information on how to drop-off leaves and yard waste at the Transfer Station, visit our Transfer Station webpage!
Manchester Transfer Station
Vacuum Collection
The Town performs a one-time around pass with leaf vacuuming trucks to remove loose piles of leaves from the curb. Historically, collection starts at the end of October or in early November. This operation is handled and managed by the Town's Highway Division. Check out the link below for more information on the Town's Vacuum Leaf Collection Program.
Leaf Vacuum Collection Program Details
Brush Collection
Brush must be bundled, tied, and placed at the curb on your regularly scheduled refuse collection day. Brush will only be accepted if the branches are less than 4 inches thick, are cut to 4 feet or less in length, and weigh a total of 40 pounds or less. This service operates for 10 months of the year, beginning on the 3rd Monday in March and finishing on Friday of the 2nd full week the following January.
Bagged Collection
Leaves must be placed in yard waste paper bags and placed at the curb on your regularly scheduled trash collection day. This service operates for 10 months of the year, beginning on the 3rd Monday in March and finishing on Friday of the 2nd full week the following January. Leaves will not be collected in plastic bags or any other type of container besides brown paper yard waste bags. See below for locations of where Paper Bags are sold to residents directly by the Town. You are also welcome to use any yard waste bag sold locally in retail stores.
Town provided bags can be purchased at the Transfer Station, Manchester Senior Center, and Town Hall. Bags must be purchased in increments of 5. 5 bags for $2.00; 25 bags for $10.00; 50 bags for $20.00.
Grass Clippings
Utilize your grass clippings efficiently. Bag them for curbside collection (available for 10 months each year, March to mid-January) with a 40-pound limit per bag. Alternatively, consider using mulching mowers, which recycle clippings into your lawn, saving time, conserving moisture, and replenishing nutrients.
Backyard composting is a great option for grass, garden, and kitchen waste. Get a composting unit from a store or make one yourself for a sustainable source of compost.
For garden improvement, use mowed grass as mulch between rows and around plants. These practices benefit both your lawn and garden.
Leaf Compost
Through the miracle of Mother Nature (and with a little help from the employees in the Sanitation Division), leaves are turned into rich, organic compost in 6-12 months. Temperature and moisture are the two main factors that determine how quickly the leafy materials break down. Compost is a great mulch for flower beds and gardens and can also be used as a soil amendment.
Compost is FREE for all Manchester Residents, while supplies last.
Manchester residents may pick-up free compost at the transfer station by showing proof of Manchester residency (Driver's License). Compost pick-up is self-service, you will need to bring your own containers, gloves & shovel.
For non Manchester residents, the rates for compost are based on container or truck size.
$1.00 per 30 gallons approximately the size of a trash can/paper leaf bag.
$10.00 for small pickup truck load – 6ft.
$15.00 for large pickup truck load -- 8ft.
This is a self-serve resource. You will need to bring a shovel or other means of loading your receptacle.
Christmas Trees
Residents that are served by the Town's curbside collection program may leave their Christmas trees out at the curb for pickup on their typical trash collection day through January 16, 2026. Trees contaminated with plastic bags, ornaments, lights or stands will not be collected. Please note that trees buried in snow will also not be collected, as they need to be accessible by the hauler.
After the final collections have occurred (during the week of January 8th through January 12th), trees must be brought to the Transfer Station for disposal. For more information on disposal at the Transfer Station, visit our Transfer Station page.
Transfer Station
Residents that are served by the Town's curbside collection program are allowed to schedule two (2) free bulky waste pick ups a year.
The below items are eligible for scheduled curbside bulk waste pick-ups:
Please note that these items will be collected by a truck that is different from the automated garbage truck that collects the trash. In addition items in different categories will be picked up by different trucks.
The following items are NOT collected at the curb:
Bulky materials can also be brought to the Transfer Station by residents for disposal for a nominal fee; a Recycling Permit is required for the Transfer Station.
Neighborhood Inspection Officer
The Sanitation Division's Neighborhood Inspection Officer is Alex Cotto. Mr. Cotto enforces various enforcement provisions under the Town's code of ordinances and Sanitation Division programs, procedures, and rules and regulations. You can reach Mr. Cotto by email (
acotto@manchesterct.gov) or phone (
860-918-0186).
File a Complaint
To file a complaint, please do so through the Town's
MarkIT GIS system. The Town requests that all complaints be filed via MarkIT for record keeping purposes as MarkIT complaints are driven by property location and address.
Sanitation related MarkIT complaint categories include: Bulky Waste Violation, Curbside Collection Issue, and Illegal Dumping.
Solid Waste Ordinance
To read the full text of the Solid Waste Ordinance, please go to the Town of Manchester ecode website through the link below.
Chapter 273: Solid Waste