Lexington Trash Pickup & Waste Collection

Weekly trash, recycling, and yard waste collection for Lexington-Fayette County residents.

Collection days for city service are Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. Wednesday is not a normal collection day. It is only used for holiday makeup collections.

To find your specific collection day, use the LexFind tool on the LFUCG waste collection page.

The three-cart system

Every household with city waste collection gets three roll carts.

  • Green cart: trash
  • Blue cart: recycling
  • Gray cart: yard waste

All three carts are picked up on the same day, every week.

Collection days

Only four days per week: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday.

Wednesday is a makeup day for holidays only.

Use LexFind at lexingtonky.gov/living/waste-collection to look up your address.

Setout rules

Carts go to the curb no earlier than 4 p.m. the day before your collection.

Carts must be out no later than 5 a.m. on the day of collection.

Carts must be removed by 7 p.m. on your collection day.

Place carts 3 feet apart from each other and from other objects like parked cars or mailboxes.

Handles should face your house. Cart openings should face the street.

Trash in the green cart must be bagged.

Recycling in the blue cart must be loose. Never bagged.

2026 holiday collection schedule

Lexington's holiday makeup day precedes the holiday. This is unusual compared to most cities.

Full 2026 schedule from LFUCG:

  • New Year's Day (Thursday Jan 1, 2026): Makeup Wednesday Dec 31, 2025
  • Martin Luther King Day (Monday Jan 19, 2026): Makeup Wednesday Jan 21, 2026
  • President's Day (Monday Feb 16, 2026): Makeup Wednesday Feb 18, 2026
  • Memorial Day (Monday May 25, 2026): Makeup Wednesday May 27, 2026
  • Juneteenth (Friday June 19, 2026): Makeup Wednesday June 17, 2026
  • Independence Day (Friday July 3, 2026): Makeup Wednesday July 1, 2026
  • Labor Day (Monday Sept 7, 2026): Makeup Wednesday Sept 9, 2026
  • Veteran's Day (Wednesday Nov 11, 2026): No makeup day required
  • Thanksgiving Day (Thursday Nov 26, 2026): Makeup Wednesday Nov 25, 2026
  • Day after Thanksgiving (Friday Nov 27, 2026): Makeup Wednesday Nov 25, 2026
  • Christmas Eve (Thursday Dec 24, 2026): Makeup Wednesday Dec 23, 2026

Common mistakes

  • Food scraps go in the green trash cart, not the gray yard waste cart
  • Plant pots go in the green trash cart, not the blue recycle cart
  • Plastic bags are not recyclable in the blue cart
  • Trash must be bagged in the green cart
  • Recycling must be loose in the blue cart

Missed pickup or broken cart

Call 311 or LexCall at 859-425-2255.

Missed pickups can also be reported online at lexingtonky.gov.

Who has city service

City waste collection covers most single-family homes in Lexington-Fayette County.

Apartments, townhouses, and condominiums with more than 7 units are required to use dumpsters instead.

Some residents use private waste services. Their collection days may differ from the city schedule.

About this data

Verified from the LFUCG waste collection page at lexingtonky.gov/living/waste-collection.

Holiday schedule current for 2026.

For your specific collection day, use the LexFind lookup tool on the LFUCG site.