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Curbside Trash & Recycling Program

New residents:

Please contact the Health Department to set up trash and recycling service if you do not have a set of trash & recycling toters on the property.  Please contact the Water & Sewer Department at 978-630-8195 for billing related issues.     

Curbside Trash Pickup Toter Tips:

  • All toters need to be placed curbside by 7am on your collection day. 
  • Place your cart a the curb for collection with the arrow on the lid pointing towards the street.
  • Do not overload the cart*.  Any trash or recycle toters that are overstuffed in any manner will not be emptied.  Lids must be completely closed.
  • Keep the cart lid closed when your toter is not in use.
  • Do not store your cart near a furnace, fireplace, grill, or other heat source.
  • Clean your cart out periodically with water.  Afterwards, be sure to empty all water from the bottom of the container and allow to dry.

What To Do with Excess Trash:

Pay as You Throw Yellow Bags

Yellow City pay-as-you-throw bags to dispose of extra trash may be purchased and placed curbside next to your toter.  Please do not place yellow bags in or on your toter. PAYT yellow bags can be purchased at Hannaford, Aubuchon and Price Chopper, at the customer service desks.  Residents who have a Transfer Station sticker can also dispose of PAYT yellow bags at the Transfer Station for no additional fee. 

Additional Curbside Trash Service

Property owners can subscribe to have an additional trash service (another 48 gallon barrel, weekly pickup and disposal of contents) for an additional $60 per quarter. Charges are added to the property water/sewer/trash bill. Please call the Health Department office to order additional service.  

Property owners can also subscribe to an additional recycling service (another 64 or 96 gallon barrel, every other week pick up and disposal of contents) for an additional $6 per quarter. Charges are added to the property water/sewer/trash bill. 
 
Transfer Station
If you have excess trash and/or recyclables, you may obtain a transfer station sticker to dispose of the overflow.  Please see the Transfer Station page for details and fee schedule. 

Gardner does not offer curbside bulk refuse removal, please see the Transfer Station page for information about bulk item disposal.   

To Report Missed Trash or Recycling

Please call E. L. Harvey Call Center directly to report any missed trash, recycling or yard waste at 1-800-321-3002.  Missed services need to be reported within 24 hours of your scheduled pickup day. You can also report your missed items online here:  Missed Pickup Report

Broken & Missing Toters

For broken or missing trash & recycling toters, or to make changes to your curbside services, please call the Gardner Health Department at 978-630-4013.

Trash & Recycling Calendar:

The Health Department, in cooperation with E.L. Harvey, sends out a Curbside Collection Calendar to every resident of Gardner, every year in June.  You can get an additional copy in the Health Department office or you can see a copy here: Curbside Pickup Trash & Recycling Calendar

Yard Waste Collection Schedule:

In April, we'll start the new year of yard waste pick up curbside. Yard waste is picked up on your regular trash collection day, during the first full week of each month April -October. In November there are two weeks of yard waste pickup, the first full week and the third week of the month. Christmas Tree pickup occurs the first full week of January.
 
  • April 7-10, 2026
  • May 5-8, 2026
  • June 2-5, 2026
  • July 7-10, 2026
  • August 4-7, 2026
  • September 1-4, 2026
  • October 6=9, 2026
  • November 3-6 and 16-20, 2026 
  • January 5-8, 2027 (Christmas Trees only)



 



  1. Why am I getting a bill for trash - I never did before?
  2. Why are there charges on my water bill for trash? Where’s the money going?
  3. Why are the bags $3.50 - I can buy bags a lot cheaper than that? Where’s the money going?
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  1. Gardner Massachusetts Homepage

Contact Us

  1. 95 Pleasant Street

  2. Gardner, MA 01440

  3. Phone: 978-632-1900

  4. City Hall Hours:

  5. Monday through Thursday

  6. 8 am to 4:30 pm

  7. Friday

  8. 8 am to 1 pm

Helpful Numbers

  1. Emergency:  911

  2. Police:  978-632-5600

  3. Fire:  978-630-4051

  4. City Clerk:  978-630-4058

  5. Mayor's Office:  978-630-1490

  6. Animal Control:  978-632-5600 (press 0)

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