Trash and Recycling Pickup in Berks County, Town by Town
Who picks up trash in each Berks County town, the 2026 pickup and recycling days as each borough and township posts them, what a bulk item costs, what a holiday week does to the schedule, and which towns leave you to hire your own hauler.
In Berks County's 72 towns, the borough or township decides how the trash gets picked up. Thirty-three run a program of their own for trash, recycling or both, 16 leave the hiring to you, and in the other 23 the township or borough office is who to ask. The table below holds every town with a program and its pickup days as posted for 2026, and when the hiring is yours the garbage and waste management companies in Berks County are the ones to call.
Who picks up the trash in your town?
The state's recycling law, Act 101 of 1988, puts each borough and township in charge of seeing that its trash gets collected, and lets the town decide how. Some hire one hauler, the company whose truck picks up the trash, for the whole town and bill you for it. Some leave the hiring to you. Reading's day comes from the address lookup on the city's schedule page, with recycling the same day; the rest of the city's rules are in the Reading trash and recycling guide. Every town with a program is in the table.
| Town | Who collects | 2026 pickup days |
|---|---|---|
| Reading | City contract (Republic Services) | Weekly, Monday to Friday by neighborhood; recycling the same day |
| Amity Township | Recycling by the township (J.P. Mascaro & Sons); for trash, ask the office | Recycling weekly, Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday by zone |
| Bern Township | Township contract in six trash districts (Bern Manor, Greenfields, the Northwest area, Riveredge Acres, the Willows, and the West Leesport and Rick Road area); recycling township-wide | Trash Mondays in the districts; recycling every other Thursday, by district on the township's calendar |
| Bernville | Borough program (JAX Disposal's calendar) | Mondays; recycling every other Monday |
| Birdsboro | Trash: your own hauler. Recycling: borough contract (Hollenbaugh) | Recycling every Wednesday |
| Colebrookdale Township | Recycling by the township (Whitetail Disposal); for trash, ask the office | Recycling every other Monday by zone |
| Cumru Township | Township contract | A weekday by color zone on the calendar; recycling every other week |
| Earl Township | Township service, free to residents (currently Whitetail Disposal) | Thursdays; no recycling pickup |
| Exeter Township | Trash: your own hauler, from the township's registered list. Recycling: township program (J.P. Mascaro) | Recycling weekly by zone |
| Hamburg | Borough program (J.P. Mascaro & Sons' calendar) | Tuesdays; recycling Tuesdays |
| Heidelberg Township | Casella, for trash and recycling | Ask Casella for your day |
| Kenhorst | Borough program | Wednesdays; recycling Wednesdays, as the borough posted for 2025 |
| Kutztown | Borough crews | Monday and Thursday south of Main Street, Tuesday and Friday north; recycling every other week by side |
| Laureldale | Borough contract | Fridays; recycling Fridays |
| Leesport | Borough program | Tuesdays; recycling every other Tuesday |
| Lower Alsace Township | Trash: your own hauler. Recycling: township contract (Whitetail Disposal) | Recycling every other Monday |
| Lower Heidelberg Township | Township contract (J.P. Mascaro & Sons) | Mondays; recycling every other Thursday |
| Maidencreek Township | Recycling by the township (J.P. Mascaro & Sons); for trash, ask the office | Recycling every other Friday by zone |
| Marion Township | Township contract (J.P. Mascaro) | Weekly trash on one day, recycling every other week; the township's calendar shows Tuesdays but carries no year, so confirm with the office |
| Mohnton | Borough contract (Whitetail Disposal) | Wednesdays; recycling every other Wednesday |
| Mount Penn | Borough program (J.P. Mascaro & Sons) | Tuesdays and Fridays; recycling Thursdays |
| Muhlenberg Township | Township contract (J.P. Mascaro) | Thursday west of Route 61, Friday east; recycling the same day |
| Robesonia | Borough program (Casella) | Wednesdays; recycling Wednesdays |
| Shillington | Borough contract (A.J. Blosenski for trash, Hollenbaugh for recycling) | Thursdays; recycling every other Tuesday by side of Lancaster Avenue |
| Shoemakersville | Borough contract (Republic Services) | Tuesdays; recycling every other Tuesday |
| Sinking Spring | Borough program (A.J. Blosenski since January 2026) | Wednesdays; recycling Wednesdays |
| South Heidelberg Township | Township contract (Casella) | Wednesday or Thursday by area; recycling every other week, same day |
| Spring Township | Township contract: A.J. Blosenski (as Eagle Disposal) in the main district, J.P. Mascaro in the rural southern district; Waste Management collects recycling | A weekday by neighborhood on the calendar's color map; rural district Wednesdays; recycling every other week |
| St. Lawrence | Borough contract (Casella) | Wednesdays; recycling Wednesdays |
| Wernersville | Borough contract (Casella) | Thursdays; recycling Thursdays |
| West Reading | Borough contract | Tuesdays and Fridays; recycling Wednesdays |
| Womelsdorf | Borough contract shared with Robesonia and Wernersville (Casella) | Wednesdays; recycling Wednesdays |
| Wyomissing | Borough contract (Hollenbaugh Trash & Recycling since January 2026) | A weekday by district; recycling Wednesdays |
Every row is what the town's own trash page or 2026 calendar says as of November 10, 2026.
In 16 towns, trash and recycling are both yours to arrange: Bethel, Boyertown, Caernarvon, Centre, Douglass, Fleetwood, Greenwich, Hereford, Longswamp, Maxatawny, Ontelaunee, Richmond, Rockland, Topton, Union and Washington. In the other 22 towns the township or borough office is who to ask, because their websites don't cover trash pickup: Albany, Alsace, Bally, Brecknock, Centerport, District, Jefferson, Lenhartsville, Lyons, New Morgan, North Heidelberg, Oley, Penn, Perry, Pike, Robeson, Ruscombmanor, Tilden, Tulpehocken, Upper Bern, Upper Tulpehocken and Windsor. Bechtelsville's website wouldn't open, so ask its borough office too. If you just bought the place, see the new homeowner checklist.
Where this year's calendar is, and which towns the law makes recycle.
Every town in the table but Heidelberg posts its schedule on its own trash page (Heidelberg's page names Casella and no day), and next year's goes on the same page when the town posts it; Kutztown and Bernville already have 2027 in print, and Bern's Fall 2026 newsletter lists its dates through May 2027. The law makes fifteen Berks towns run curbside recycling: Reading; the boroughs of Birdsboro, Kutztown, Shillington and Wyomissing; and Amity, Bern, Colebrookdale, Cumru, Exeter, Lower Heidelberg, Maidencreek, Muhlenberg, South Heidelberg and Spring townships. Leaves are in leaf pickup schedules in Berks County, town by town.
Picking a hauler when the town leaves it to you.
Exeter requires a hauler from its registered list of 13 companies, Lower Alsace requires a licensed one, and Topton and Maxatawny keep approved lists and require a hauler that offers curbside recycling. If your town doesn't keep a list, start with the garbage and waste management companies in Berks County. If nobody collects your recycling, the county's recycling center, 1316 Hilltop Road, Leesport, is open daily 8 to 5 and no longer takes glass, and the Rolling Hills Landfill, 583 Longview Road, Earl Township, takes recyclables from Berks residents too. Ontelaunee, Washington and Upper Tulpehocken keep drop-offs of their own.
How do you get rid of a couch?
A bulk item is a couch or a mattress, anything that doesn't fit in the can. Fourteen program towns take one a week with the trash: Bern, Cumru, Laureldale, Leesport, Lower Heidelberg, Marion, Muhlenberg, Reading, Shillington, Shoemakersville, Sinking Spring, South Heidelberg, Spring's main district and St. Lawrence.
Mohnton takes one a week too, once you schedule it with the hauler. West Reading and Wyomissing sell a tag at Borough Hall for two items a week, bought two days ahead. Hamburg and Spring's rural district take one a month. Robesonia, Wernersville and Womelsdorf have you call Casella and pay a fee. In Earl a bulk item isn't part of the free pickup: call the hauler for a price, or take it to the landfill. Kutztown books bulk pickups by appointment off a price list (a sofa $35, a mattress $8, as of January 2025). Mount Penn's calendar says the first Friday of the month and its page says one a week, so ask Borough Hall which. Bernville holds one clean-up day a year.
Twelve towns in the table want a mattress or box spring wrapped in plastic: Reading, Hamburg, Lower Heidelberg, Marion, Mount Penn, Muhlenberg, Shillington, Sinking Spring, South Heidelberg, Spring, St. Lawrence and Wyomissing. Where you hire the hauler yourself, ask it about bulk items when you sign up.
What happens in a holiday week?
The common rule: when one of six holidays (New Year's Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas) falls on or before your pickup day, that week's pickup slides one day later for the rest of the week. Fourteen towns print that rule, or a 2026 list that works out the same way: Amity (for recycling), Colebrookdale, Earl (from Memorial Day on), Exeter (for recycling), Hamburg, Lower Heidelberg, Mohnton, Mount Penn, Robesonia, Shoemakersville, South Heidelberg, Spring, Wernersville and Womelsdorf. So Thanksgiving, Thursday, November 26, moves that week's Thursday and Friday pickups a day and leaves Monday through Wednesday alone.
Some towns have their own rule instead: Sinking Spring moves a pickup to Thursday only when the holiday falls Monday through Wednesday, Bern moves trash to Tuesday when the holiday is a Monday (its recycling dates are on the township's calendar), Laureldale moves a pickup only when it falls on the holiday, and Kutztown cancels collection on eleven holidays and lets you put out three extra bags next time. Cumru's page and its calendar disagree, so call the township, and in Reading use the address lookup that week.
Frequently asked questions.
What does the town program cost?
Earl's weekly pickup is free to residents. Elsewhere, the 2026 bills as the towns post them: Shillington $313 a year on its 2025 contract notice, Cumru $320 ($290 for a one-adult household), South Heidelberg $355, Reading $395.91 on the water bill, Laureldale $396, Muhlenberg $400, Lower Heidelberg $482.04, Hamburg $251.60 twice a year, and Kutztown $42.05 a month ($23 at 62 and over).
What's already changing for 2027?
Reading's fee goes to $413.87 a year on January 1, 2027; City Council enacted it on October 26, 2026. Cumru's commissioners voted September 29, 2026 to give A.J. Blosenski a four-year contract that its draft 2027 budget carries.
Do you pay for trash service if you never put anything out?
In Wernersville and Robesonia, yes, by borough ordinance, and Spring's rural district makes the township program mandatory.
Sources
- Pennsylvania Act 101 of 1988, the Municipal Waste Planning, Recycling and Waste Reduction Act, sections 304 and 1501: each municipality's duty to see that its trash is collected, and which towns must run curbside recycling.
- Berks County Solid Waste Authority, Municipal Solid Waste Management Plan, 2024 revision (July 2024), section 4.4.1 and Table 4-1 and the county's list of municipalities, and the Solid Waste Authority's page: the fifteen towns the state law covers, the 72 municipal websites, and the Leesport recycling center's hours.
- City of Reading, Residential Trash and Recycling, Trash Collection Schedules, Special Collections, the October 26, 2026 council agenda (PDF) and the November 9, 2026 council packet (PDF), which carries the October 26 draft minutes enacting Bill 85-2026 (read November 10, 2026): the city program, the lookup, the bulk rule and the 2027 fee.
- Bernville Borough, trash and recycling and its 2026-2027 collection calendar; Hamburg Borough, trash and recycling collection and its 2026 calendar (PDF); Kenhorst Borough, refuse and recycling; Laureldale Borough, sewer and trash; Leesport Borough, trash and recycling and its 2026 schedule (PDF) (read November 10, 2026): those five rows.
- Mohnton Borough, trash and recycling and its 2026 curbside collection calendar (PDF); Mount Penn Borough, trash, recycling and bulk and its 2026 calendar (PDF); Robesonia Borough, trash and recycling; Shillington Borough, trash, recycling and its 2026 collection schedule (PDF); Shoemakersville Borough, trash and recycling, its 2026 calendar (PDF) and its July 21, 2026 council minutes (PDF) (read November 10, 2026): those five rows and the 2027 extension.
- Sinking Spring Borough, trash and recycling, its 2026 calendar and Fall/Winter 2025 newsletter (PDF) and Spring/Summer 2026 newsletter (PDF); St. Lawrence Borough, trash and recycling and its 2026 trash flyer (PDF); Wernersville Borough, trash and recycling and its Fall 2026 newsletter (PDF); West Reading Borough, trash and recycling and its rates page; Womelsdorf Borough, RWW COG; Wyomissing Borough, refuse, recycle and yard waste and its 2026 Talking Trash newsletter (PDF) (read November 10, 2026): those six rows.
- Kutztown Borough, Refuse and Recycling Department, its 2027 collection schedule (PDF), Resolution 13-2024, refuse rates (PDF) and bulk item price list, January 2025 (PDF): the Kutztown row, its rates and its 2027 schedule.
- Bern Township, 2026 trash and recycling dates and its 2026 flyer (PDF) and Fall 2026 newsletter (PDF); Cumru Township, refuse and recycling, its 2026 refuse and recycling calendar (PDF), its September 29, 2026 minutes (PDF) and its draft 2027 budget (PDF); Earl Township, trash collection and its October 19, 2026 agenda (read November 10, 2026): those three rows and their 2027 items.
- Lower Heidelberg Township, trash and recycling and its 2026 service calendar (PDF); Marion Township, trash and recycling, its collection calendar (PDF) and Summer 2024 newsletter (PDF); Muhlenberg Township, trash and recycling; South Heidelberg Township, residential trash and recycling, its 2026 calendar (PDF) and 2026 rebate form (PDF) and collection details (PDF); Spring Township, trash and recycling, its 2026 Blosenski calendar (PDF) and 2026 Mascaro calendar (PDF) (read November 10, 2026): those five rows.
- Amity Township, recycling and its 2026 collection calendar (PDF); Colebrookdale Township, recycling information, its 2026 recycling pickup dates (PDF) and October 26, 2026 budget meeting minutes (PDF); Exeter Township, refuse collection and recycling; Birdsboro Borough, recycling, its FAQ and September 21, 2026 council minutes (PDF); Lower Alsace Township, recycling, its 2026 calendar (PDF) and 2025 township news (PDF); Maidencreek Township, recycling and its recycling color key (PDF); Heidelberg Township (read November 10, 2026): the recycling-only rows, Heidelberg, and the Birdsboro and Colebrookdale 2027 items.
- Bethel Township, new to Bethel and its Welcome to Bethel Township (PDF); Boyertown Borough, new resident information; Caernarvon Township, service providers; Centre Township, trash and recycling; Douglass Township, trash and recycling; Fleetwood Borough, our community; Greenwich Township, trash and recycle; Hereford Township, FAQ (read November 10, 2026): the towns where you hire your own hauler.
- Longswamp Township, trash and recycling; Maxatawny Township, recycling; Ontelaunee Township, trash and recycling; Richmond Township, trash and recycling; Rockland Township, trash and recycling; Topton Borough, trash and recycling; Union Township, recycling and trash; Washington Township, departments; Upper Tulpehocken Township, recycling center (read November 10, 2026): the rest of the hire-your-own towns and the township drop-offs.
- The remaining 22 municipal websites on the county's list (Albany, Alsace, Bally, Brecknock, Centerport, District, Jefferson, Lenhartsville, Lyons, New Morgan, North Heidelberg, Oley, Penn, Perry, Pike, Robeson, Ruscombmanor, Tilden, Tulpehocken, Upper Bern, Upper Tulpehocken and Windsor), each read page by page on November 10, 2026, with their newest newsletters and agendas: the towns whose sites post nothing about trash pickup.
Garbage & Waste Management Companies in Berks County
Cash Converters in Reading is a thrift store with an extensive inventory of media, electronics, and more, known for its ultra-low media prices and standout service from staff like Bryan and Jonah.
J P Mascaro & Sons Inc in Reading offers reliable garbage collection services, with standout customer service from friendly workers like Warren and exceptional teams like the one serving the Hiesters Creek area. Known for going above and beyond, they ensure customer satisfaction through thoughtful acts and a dedicated approach.
Berks-Lehigh Dumpsters & Hauling in Fleetwood offers affordable waste management services with fast delivery and excellent communication. Known for clean dumpsters and flexible scheduling, they also provide convenient stone and sand delivery.
See all Garbage & Waste Management Companies in Berks County