The Town of Brookline will provide a Trash Amnesty pickup during the first week of September as part of Brookline’s Hybrid Pay-As-You-Throw Trash (HPAYT) Program.
Only residents using Town Trash Collection Service will be permitted to dispose of extra bags of household waste alongside their town-issued trash cart on their scheduled pickup day.
Trash Amnesty Week will be September 3-9, 2024. Due to the Labor Day holiday, trash collection will be delayed by one day. This includes residents whose collection day is Friday, who should put their refuse out for Saturday pick up. During this time, residents are permitted to dispose of extra household waste without incurring a fee for overflow trash bags.
Trash Amnesty Week is the only time excess trash is allowed to be placed out in regular trash bags. During any other time of year, residents must use the purple overflow bags, per the Town’s Solid Waste Regulations.
Excess household trash can be placed out in normal kitchen trash bags. The first few bags can be placed on top of your trash cart lid and additional ones can be placed on the ground next to the cart. Please try to plan ahead, as the materials that are placed in the extra trash bags — such as food waste left on the ground — could attract rodents. Residents should do their best to place food waste trash bags in their carts as normal, and the excess trash bags should be filled with other household materials.
Trash carts can be placed out at their normal time, after 3:30 p.m. the night before collection. Excess bags are preferred to only be placed out the morning of collection before 7:00 a.m.
Bulky items such as sofas, mattresses, TVs, and appliances still need to be paid for and scheduled for pickup online. Due to escalating costs for mattresses, white goods, and bulky waste, a fee was established in 2023 for these special items. During the first year of the separate fee, the Town allowed bulky waste to be picked up for no additional charge during Amnesty Week as part of the transition. Bulky items should not be placed on the public way without permission from the DPW. Inspectors will be screening properties during the week to ensure all items placed on the public way have been scheduled in advance.
Property Owners: Please ensure your tenants are aware of this new change and know how to dispose of excess trash and bulky items correctly. If tenants are expected to move out during this time and will have an abundance of bulky items, please consider making arrangements with a private waste hauler. Dumpsters can be dropped on the street with an Occupancy Permit. More information can be found here.
Construction and demolition waste will not be accepted. Household hazardous waste items such as flammable materials should be brought to the Town’s Household Hazardous Waste Recycling Facility at 815 Newton Street on Tuesdays, from 7:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., through October.
Additional information on the Town’s waste collection services can be found in the Department of Public Works’ Sanitation Guide. Please direct any questions or concerns to the Department of Public Works at 617-730-2156.
