New Years Update

Here's some news on free Metro Transit rides on New Year's Eve, tree collection, and garbage collection around New Year's:

Metro Transit Offers FREE Rides on New Year's Eve

Stay safe during the holidays! Metro Transit and the Tavern League of Wisconsin's Safe Ride Program offer FREE rides on New Year's Eve starting at 7:00 pm.

Buses follow regular WEEKDAY schedules with extended service until approximately 3:30 am.

More Info

Christmas Tree Collection

The Streets Division provides two rounds of curbside collection for Christmas trees.  Residents who wish to have their trees collected at the curb should follow the below guidelines in order to guarantee their trees are picked up.

Wreaths, evergreen rope, garlands, and boughs will not be collected alongside Christmas trees. These items contain wires or metal that can damage wood chipping equipment.  These should be placed into the refuse for disposal.

The Rules for Christmas Tree Collection

Failure to follow the below list of rules may result in the tree not being collected.

• Remove all tree stands regardless if they are metal, plastic, or wood.
• Remove all tree decorations such as lights, ornaments, or other metal objects.
• Remove any tree bags, and any other foreign object.

The above listed items may damage the wood chipping equipment used to process collected trees, so they must be removed.

Where to Place Your Tree for Collection

Trees must be placed at the public road edge, and must be accessible by collection crews.

Also, if the trees become buried with snow while awaiting collection at the curb, residents are asked to dig out the trees so they are accessible to the crews.

When to Place Your Tree for Collection

The Streets Division performs two rounds of Christmas tree collection.

Round One Begins January 2, 2019

Residents who wish to have their tree picked up during the first round should have their tree to the curb by 7am on January 2.  Trees set to the curb on or before 7am on January 2 will likely be collected prior to January 18, 2019, depending on weather conditions and crew availability.

Round Two Begins January 22, 2018

Residents who wish to have their tree collected during the second round should have their tree to the curb by 7am on January 22. Trees set to the curb at this time will likely be collected prior to February 8, depending on weather conditions and crew availability.

Trees placed to the curb after January 22 may not be collected until regular brush collection begins in the spring of 2019.

Residents who wish to have their Christmas trees collected at the curb prior to the spring must have their tree to the curb before January 22. 

What Happens if It Snows

The Streets Division is the primary agency responsible for servicing city streets during snow and ice events.  If conditions require, crews will be diverted from tree collection to assist with maintaining the roads. This may result in pickup delays.

Residents are reminded to remove trees from the snow if they become buried. Collection crews will not be able to collect ones that are concealed or inaccessible due to snow.

Drop-off Sites

Madison residents may also bring their Christmas trees to one of the Streets Division drop-off sites.  The sites are located at 1501 W. Badger Rd. on the southwest side and at 4602 Sycamore Ave. on the east side.  The drop-off sites are open from 7:30am to 3:00pm Monday to Friday.

Additional Information

Additional information regarding tree collection, and other winter-related city operations, can be found on the City of Madison's Winter website, www.cityofmadison.com/winter.

New Year's Eve and New Year's Day Refuse & Recycling Schedule

Below is the information regarding Streets Division operations on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day.

New Year's Eve Operations – Shortened Hours

On Monday, December 31, the Streets Division will perform regularly scheduled refuse and recycling collection.  The drop-off site will also be open, but for limited hours.

However, the Streets Division hopes to conclude curbside collection of refuse and recycling by 11a.m. on December 31.  Residents must have their carts to the curb by 7a.m. on Monday, December 31. If you place the carts to the curb after 7a.m., you may miss your collection opportunity and then you may need to wait until your next scheduled pickup day to have the carts emptied.

Since additional personnel will be needed for refuse and recycling collections on New Year's Eve, other curbside collections, like large item pickup, may be temporarily delayed.

The drop-off sites ate 4602 Sycamore Ave and 1501 W. Badger Rd will also close for the day at 11a.m. on Christmas Eve.

New Year's Day Operations

There will be no refuse, recycling, or large item collection on Tuesday, January 1, 2019 in observance of the New Year's Day holiday.  The drop-off sites will also be closed. 

Streets Division Operations – Wednesday, January 2

Madison residents who normally have their refuse and recycling collected on Tuesdays should instead place their carts to the curb for collection by 7am on Wednesday, January 2. 

Only residents within the Tuesday district will have their collection of refuse and recycling delayed due to the holiday. 

Refuse and recycling for the Wednesday district will also be collected on January 2. 

Since the Streets Division will be collecting refuse and recycling from both the Tuesday and Wednesday collection districts on January 2, residents of these areas must place their carts curbside prior to 7am on that day.  Carts set out late may not be collected by our crews until the next scheduled collection day. 

Since Streets Division crews will be diverted from their normal tasks in order to collect refuse and recycling from the Tuesday and Wednesday collection districts on January 2. Other services, such as large item collection, may be temporarily delayed. 

The City of Madison drop-off sites will be open the following hours:

The drop-off sites where Madison residents can recycle electronics, Styrofoam, household batteries, cooking oil, all the cardboard and wrapping paper that will not fit into the recycling cart at home, and more are located at 1501 W. Badger Rd. on the southwest side and 4602 Sycamore Ave on the east side.

The drop-off sites are currently on winter hours. The Badger and Sycamore sites are open 7:30am to 3:00pm Monday to Friday, except on city-observed holidays. Winter hours will remain in effect until March 30, 2019.

More information regarding the Streets Division's recycling and solid waste services can be found at www.cityofmadison.com/streets, or by contacting the offices directly.  East side residents, which are residents east of S. Park Street, including the isthmus, should call 608-246-4532. West side residents, which are residents west of S. Park Street, should call 608-266-4681.

Happy New Year!

-Keith F