Most cities either delay or continue garbage pickup on MLK Day depending on local policy, so it is not the same everywhere. Many municipalities treat Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a trash holiday (no pickup, service slides one day), while others keep collection on its normal schedule.

Quick Scoop

  • In some cities (for example, Tampa, New York City, and Camas, WA), there is no residential trash pickup on MLK Day and service runs a day late.
  • Other places (like Orlando in 2026) still collect residential trash on MLK Day even though city offices are closed.
  • Private haulers (apartment complexes, businesses, some suburbs) may follow a different holiday schedule than the city and sometimes continue regular pickup.

What you should do

  1. Check your city or county’s solid waste website; many have an address lookup tool or calendar that shows exact holiday changes.
  1. If you have a private company (name often on the bin), search their holiday schedule, which will clearly list whether MLK Day has pickup or a one‑day delay.
  1. When in doubt, put bins out as normal the night before; at worst, they remain until the delayed pickup day, which is common after holidays.

Bottom line: there is not a universal rule for “is there garbage pickup on MLK Day” — you have to check your specific city or hauler’s schedule for a reliable answer.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.