Residential Collection
Check out the Manchester Public Works Department social media pages for more information regarding events and current initiatives in the Sanitation Division! Information on the other divisions (Engineering & GIS, Field Services, Building Inspection, and Facilities) is also included. 
Facebook 
Instagram
1. Trash and Recycling Residential Curbside Collection
2. Leaves and Yard Waste Collection
3. Residential Bulky Waste Collection
4. Solid Waste Ordinance
5. FAQs
Residential curbside trash and recycling collection is provided Town-wide on a contract basis awarded through competitive bid to a private firm. The current contractor is All American Waste of South Windsor, CT. Murphy Road Recycling holds a contract to dispose Manchester's curbside trash. Residents can also bring their waste and recyclables to the Transfer Station. For curbside collection questions or complaints, please call 860-647-3200, and select option 1.
Trash will only be collected in the Town-issued containers (Town of Manchester wheeled grey 65 gallon carts). Trash is not collected in cardboard boxes or plastic bags. Trash will not be collected if container (cart) is overloaded (the cover must be halfway closed).
Trash must be at the curb at 6:00 a.m. on your regular collection day. If refuse is not out on time, collection crews will not go back to pick it up. Your trash will have to be removed from the curb to be picked up on your next collection day.
Town ordinance prohibits trash and/or recycling carts from being placed at the curb prior to 12:00 noon on the day prior to the street's designated collection day and requires the removal of the empty trash and/or recycling cart from the curb by 12:00 noon on the day following the designated collection day.
As of July 1, 2018, residents that wish to utilize more than one trash cart for their dwelling will need to purchase an annual subscription cart through our curbside collection contractor, All American Waste. The annual cost of the subscription cart is $200 ($3.85 per week) for an All American Waste (AAW) branded 95 gallon trash cart. AAW will deliver the subscription cart to your home; you are leasing it from them. To arrange for a subscription, please call All American Waste directly by phone at 860-289-7850 or by email to manchester@aawllc.com
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
To learn more about recycling and how to produce less waste, go to our Sustainable Waste Management page!
Sustainable Waste Management
Getting a Second Recycling Bin
Is your commitment to recycling outgrowing your current bin? Good news! The Town of Manchester is excited to offer residents the opportunity to enhance their recycling efforts by acquiring a second curbside single-stream recycling bin. To get your second bin, simply fill out the online request form below.
NOTE: This opportunity is only available to residents of Manchester who receive trash and recycling collection by the Town. If you're not sure if this applies to you, check out the writing on your trash and recycling bins. If they say "Manchester" on them, then this program applies to you!
Extra Recycling Bin Request Form
Once your form is submitted and approved, visit the Sanitation Office at 311 Olcott Street to pick up your brand-new recycling bin. With your second bin, you can now double your recycling impact, contributing to a cleaner and more sustainable Manchester!
Curbside Collection Schedule
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 refuse collection on the following holiday dates:
- Memorial 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
Bagged Collection
Leaves must be placed in Yardwaste Paper Bags and placed at the curb on your regularly scheduled refuse 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.
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.
Compost Bin & Rain Barrel Sale!
Composting not only enriches the soil, it reduces soil erosion, helps retain moisture for less water use, suppresses disease and pests, reduces greenhouse emissions, and minimizes landfill waste which helps save the environment.
Every Spring and Fall, the Town of Manchester organizes a compost bin and rain barrel sale.
The Earth Machine will start back in early 2024!
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 3-6 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 available for sale at the Landfill at 311 Olcott Street.
Compost is available for sale during the hours of 7:15am - 2:30pm, Tuesday through Saturday.
Compost is FREE for all Manchester Residents.
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.
It’s self-serve; you will need a shovel or a way of loading your receptacle.
NOTICE: As of July 1, 2017, the Town has contracted with All American Waste for residential collection of certain bulk items. Residents must call 860-647-3200, ext. 2 to schedule pick-up by no later than 2:00 P.M. on the business day before your regular pick-up day. Each dwelling unit that is serviced by the Town’s program will receive two (2) free Bulky Waste collections over the Town’s fiscal year, which runs from July 1st through June 30th. Additional collections can be scheduled in advance for a cost of $40.00. Bulky materials placed out for collection without a scheduled appointment will receive a Customer Education Tag, and potentially a Notice of Violation depending on if the materials are eligible or ineligible for curbside collection. This cost must be paid in advance to All American Waste. Bulky materials can also be delivered to the Transfer Station by residents for disposal for a nominal fee; proof of residency is required for the Transfer Station. Scheduled pick-ups are needed for the following categories, please see below for additional descriptions and information:
- Furniture
- Prepared Carpeting/Rugs; rolled, bundled & tied/secured,
each bundle must be no longer than 4 feet & weigh no more than 40lbs.
- Bedding – Mattresses and Box-Springs
- Whitegoods/Appliances
- Covered Electronic Devices – Televisions, Computers, Monitors and Printers
- For $10.00 each, Toilets and Sinks can be collected with advanced payment to All American Waste.
Please note that these items will be collected by a truck or trucks that are different than the automated garbage truck that collects the trash in your container.
The following materials are no longer eligible for Bulky Waste collection, but may be disposed of as recyclable items at the Transfer Station; proof of residency is required: Scrap Metal, Motor Oil, Car Batteries.
Scrap Tires - are no longer eligible for curbside collection. The Town recommends disposing of them at an automotive center as part of the purchase of new tires, or they may be disposed of at the Transfer Station for a nominal fee.
Please click here for our press release on this change(PDF, 125KB).
Solid Waste, including any and all Bulky Waste, is prohibited from being placed at the curb/sidewalk prior to 12:00 noon on the day prior to the street's designated collection day and requires the removal of any remaining solid waste from the curb by 12:00 noon on the day following the designated collection day. Also, Solid Waste placed at the curb may not block or create a safety concern for any and all part of a sidewalk per Town of Manchester Code chapter 209-4. Failure to follow these guidelines can result in a fine.
Please Note: Any materials that are placed at the curb that do not qualify for curbside collection under these regulations are subject to a Notice of Violation and removal by the Town at the expense of the property owner. Please click here to learn more about this procedure.
The following items are NOT collected at the curb:
- Any items related to home improvement or home remodeling including; doors, windows, cabinets, building materials, countertops, bathtubs, lumber, shingles, plaster, sheet rock, pipe, sheds, fencing, dirt, stones and rocks, hazardous and toxic materials, bowling balls, auto parts (other than tires and rims), stumps and roots.
- Bagged and/or loose trash of any type. Trash is only collected in the Town issued containers (wheeled toter carts). Trash is not collected in cardboard boxes or plastic bags.
- Scrap Metal, Scrap Tires, Used Motor Oil, Lead Acid Batteries (May be properly disposed off at the Town's Transfer Station).
- Any other type of business, commercial or industrial waste that does not originate from the residence.
- PAINT
If you have any questions about these rules and regulations, please contact the Sanitation Division at 860-647-3200, option 4.
The major changes to the ordinance include significant revisions to the definition section and new language regarding the placement of bulky waste at the curb, including provisions for addressing parcels that violate this ordinance by issuing a Notice of Violation. Recipients of a Notice of Violation are provided 72 hours (3 Days) to remove ineligible materials from the curbside area. Materials still present at the curb after 72 hours are collected by the Town and the cost is invoiced to the property's owner of record.
For a copy of the ordinance, please click here(PDF, 17KB).
To view the Notice of Violation decal, please click here(PDF, 19KB).
To review the Town's revised bulky waste collection procedures, please click here.
For a copy of the rules and regulations on recycling, please click here(PDF, 7MB).
If you have additional questions on bulky waste, please call 860-647-3200, Option 4 or send the town an email.
The Sanitation Division's Neighborhood Inspection Officer is Spencer Cabral. Mr. Cabral enforces various enforcement provisions under the Town's code of ordinances and Sanitation Division programs, procedures, and rules and regulations. Mr. Cabral can be reach by email or by calling him at (860) 647-3143. To file a complaint on the Town's MarkIT GIS system, please click here. The Town requests that all complaints are filed via MarkIT for record keeping purposes as MarkIT complaints are driven by property location and address.
Who receives the Town's Single-Stream recycling collection?
The Town of Manchester provides curbside collection services to all single-family homes in the Town, as well as multi-family buildings that have up to four (4) individual dwelling units for trash, recycling, yard waste and bulky waste.
The Town doesn't collect from my condo/apartment, can I still recycle the materials that the Town collects?
If you live in an apartment or condominium and do not have access to the Town's curbside recycling collection, you can still recycle at the Town's Transfer Station. The Transfer Station accepts all of the same recyclable materials that are collected in the Blue Recycling Carts.
When is my recycling collected, now that the Town is on a bi-weekly collection schedule?
The "Garbage and Recycling Day Lookup" tool on this page has a schedule of recycling routes, which allows you to search by your street address. A calendar with the recycling schedule will also be delivered with your Blue Recycling Cart. Your recycling collection will continue to be the same day as your trash collection, it will just be every other week.
Can I use the blue recycling cart for trash or yard-waste collection?
No. The blue carts are only for recycling only. Please place recyclable materials loose into the Blue Recycling Cart, no plastic bags please. Trash should be placed in your Green Trash Cart and yard-waste should be bagged in a Brown Kraft Bag for curbside collection. Yard-waste bags are sold by the Town and available at the Transfer Station/Landfill and Town Hall, as well as several local retailers and grocery stores.