Christmas and New Year's trash pickup in Charleston, 2026

Christmas Day is Friday, December 25, 2026, and New Year's Day is Friday, January 1, 2027. Goose Creek and Moncks Corner collect early both weeks: Goose Creek picks up Thursday's route on Tuesday, December 22 and Friday's on Wednesday, December 23, and Moncks Corner moves Thursday and Friday pickups to Wednesday. Mount Pleasant runs routes on Christmas Eve and skips Christmas Day. Charleston County lists December 25 as a recycling holiday, which pushes collection back a day. Several towns hadn't posted their notices when we checked.

Christmas week 2026, town by town

Christmas Eve is Thursday, December 24, and Christmas Day is Friday, December 25, 2026. Here is what each town has posted as of November 11. Where a town hasn't posted its 2026 notice, we say so and give its standing rule.

Where you live	Christmas week 2026
City of Charleston	Generally one day later than your regular day; the City posts exact dates shortly before. 2026 notice not posted yet
North Charleston	The City says all schedules change for holidays and posts a 2026 holiday calendar; call Public Works at 843-745-1026 for your day
Mount Pleasant	Routes run Thu, Dec 24; no garbage or trash pickup Fri, Dec 25. Holiday weeks usually shift one day later unless the Town sets a special schedule
Summerville	No bulk or yard debris pickup Dec 24, 25 or 28; it moves to the next business day. Carolina Waste closes Christmas Day and typically picks up the next day
Goose Creek	Thursday's route collected Tue, Dec 22; Friday's route collected Wed, Dec 23; no yard debris on those days
Hanahan	2026 holiday page stops at Veterans Day; call Public Works at 843-529-3413
Moncks Corner	Monday and Tuesday regular; Thursday and Friday pickups both move to Wednesday; no bulk pickup that week
James Island PSD	District holidays are Dec 24, 25 and 28; holiday weeks generally run one day later. Call 843-762-5260 for your day
Isle of Palms	No garbage pickup on Christmas Day; pickup is delayed a day when the holiday falls on your day. 2026 notice not posted yet
Sullivan's Island	2026 schedule not posted; call Town Hall at 843-883-3198
Folly Beach	No holiday notice posted; county recycling runs a day late (below)
Kiawah Island	Holiday dates are on the Town's 2026 collection calendar, which we couldn't open; call the Town
Charleston County curbside recycling	Dec 25 is a recycling holiday; collection is delayed one day for the rest of that week

New Year's week, town by town

New Year's Day is Friday, January 1, 2027. Most 2026 calendars stop at December 31, so fewer towns have this week posted.

Moncks Corner: Monday and Tuesday regular. Thursday pickup moves to Wednesday and Friday pickup moves to Thursday. No bulk pickup that week.
Summerville: Carolina Waste closes on New Year's Day, and a pickup that falls on the holiday is typically made the next day.
Isle of Palms: no garbage collection on city holidays; pickup is delayed a day when the holiday falls on your day.
Dorchester County: convenience sites close on New Year's Day.
Charleston County: offices close Friday, January 1. The county's recycling page hadn't listed its 2027 holidays when we checked.
Everyone else: not posted yet. Goose Creek, Mount Pleasant, the City of Charleston and James Island PSD usually post a notice in the last two weeks of December.

What last year looked like

Last season's notices show how each town tends to handle these weeks. Christmas and New Year's Day both fell on a Thursday then, so the days won't match this year.

City of Charleston: City crews ran normally through Christmas Eve, skipped Christmas Day and moved Thursday routes to Friday. New Year's week worked the same way. In the Trident Waste areas, Johns Island and outer West Ashley also moved Friday routes to Saturday, while Daniel Island and Cainhoy had no changes.
Goose Creek: the Thursday, January 1, 2026 route moved to Friday, January 2.

Wait for the 2026 notices before you count on the same pattern.

Boxes, bags and wrapping

Christmas is the heaviest cardboard week of the year, and most carts fill fast.

Charleston County recycling: everything goes inside the cart with the lid closed. Material on top of or beside the cart won't be collected. Flatten every box and cut large ones down to fit.
Overflow: take it to a county drop site, flattened, with foam and bubble wrap removed. Sites include the DMV lot at 1189 Sweetgrass Basket Parkway and the Whipple Road Recreation Complex in Mount Pleasant, 202 E. Ashley Ave. on Folly Beach, and the Dorchester Road Library in North Charleston.
Moncks Corner: bags and boxes beside the cart normally aren't collected, but the Town makes an exception at Christmas. Cardboard goes in the green trash cart, broken down.
Sullivan's Island: cardboard has to fit in the recycling cart or be broken into 3-by-3-foot pieces stacked neatly beside it. Boxes with foam or packing inside may be left.
Kiawah Island: cardboard only inside the container; overflow goes to the Kestrel Court Recycling Center compactors.
Berkeley County: convenience centers take corrugated cardboard, and there are 24-hour paper and cardboard drop sites at Goose Creek Public Works and Macedonia Middle, Marrington Middle and Stratford High schools.

Drop-off sites over the holidays

Dorchester County: convenience sites close on Christmas and New Year's Day. Dorchester County sites.
Berkeley County: convenience centers close on Christmas and New Year's Day. Christmas Eve hours were listed as to be decided, so call 843-572-4400. Berkeley County centers.
Charleston County: county offices close December 24, 25 and 28 and January 1. Holiday hours for the convenience centers and Bees Ferry Landfill weren't on a page we could read. Call 843-720-7111 before you load up. Charleston County centers.

Bulk items and the tree

Summerville skips bulk and yard debris on December 24, 25 and 28, Moncks Corner has no bulk pickup either holiday week, and Goose Creek skips yard debris on its shifted days. If you're replacing a couch or mattress over the holidays, plan on the week of January 4 for curbside pickup. For the tree, see our guide to Christmas tree pickup and drop-off.

Frequently asked questions

Is there trash pickup on Christmas Day in Charleston?

Generally not. The City of Charleston says holiday-week collection generally happens one day later than your regular day and posts exact dates shortly before the holiday. Its 2026 Christmas notice wasn't posted when we checked on November 11.

When is Goose Creek trash picked up Christmas week 2026?

Goose Creek's 2026 holiday card moves the Thursday, December 24 route to Tuesday, December 22, and the Friday, December 25 route to Wednesday, December 23. Yard debris isn't picked up on those collection days.

Is recycling picked up on Christmas in Charleston County?

No. Charleston County lists Christmas, Friday, December 25, 2026, as a recycling holiday. When a holiday falls on a weekday, collection is delayed one day for the rest of that week.

Does Mount Pleasant pick up trash on Christmas Eve 2026?

Yes. The Town's 2026 waste calendar shows routes being collected on Thursday, December 24, even though Town Hall is closed. There is no garbage or trash collection on Friday, December 25.

Are the county drop-off sites open on Christmas and New Year's Day?

Dorchester County's convenience sites and Berkeley County's convenience centers close on both Christmas and New Year's Day. Charleston County offices close December 24, 25 and 28 and January 1, but the county hadn't posted holiday hours for its convenience centers on a page we could read, so call 843-720-7111.

Bottom line

Both holidays land on a Friday this season. In Goose Creek and Moncks Corner, put your cart out early. Everywhere else, expect Friday pickups to slip and check your town's notice the week before. Hold bulk items and big piles of yard debris until the week of January 4, and take overflow cardboard to a drop site.

How do we know this?

We check every rule, address and hour on this page against the official source, and re-check on a schedule. Spot something out of date? Tell us.