Holiday Information & Service Updates

Collection holidays

At Mill Valley Refuse, we are dedicated to providing consistent and reliable service.

OUR GARBAGE, RECYCLING, AND COMPOST TRUCKS RUN YEAR-ROUND, WITH THE ONLY EXCEPTIONS BEING CHRISTMAS DAY AND NEW YEAR’S DAY.

If either of these holidays falls on a weekday, your collection service will be rescheduled to one day later, continuing through Saturday.

Office holidays

Our office is closed on the following holidays. If you need to contact us on a holiday, please use our Contact Us form.

New Year’s Day – January 1 (also a non service day)
Memorial Day – the last Monday of May
Independence Day – July 4
Labor Day – the first Monday in September
Thanksgiving Day – the fourth Thursday of November
Christmas Day – December 25 (also a non service day)

Modified Office Hours

Our office is open limited hours on the following holidays.

Martin Luther King Day – the third Monday of January; office hours 7am – noon
President’s Day – the third Monday in February; office hours 7am – noon
Columbus Day/Indigenous Peoples Day – the second Monday of October; office hours 7am – 3pm
The Day After Thanksgiving – the fourth Friday of November; office hours 7am – 11am

2024 Holiday schedule change

The only days we do not collect garbage, recycling, and compost are Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. Please see the adjusted schedule for those holiday weeks below.

WEEK OF CHRISTMAS 2024
NORMAL COLLECTION DAY	MONDAY 12/23/24	TUESDAY 12/24/24	WEDNESDAY 12/25/24	THURSDAY 12/26/24	FRIDAY 12/27/24
COLLECTION MOVES TO	no change	no change	THURSDAY 12/26/24	FRIDAY 12/27/24	SATURDAY 12/28/24

WEEK OF NEW YEAR'S 2024-2025
NORMAL COLLECTION DAY	MONDAY 12/30/24	TUESDAY 12/31/24	WEDNESDAY 1/1/25	THURSDAY 1/2/25	FRIDAY 1/3/25
COLLECTION MOVES TO	no change	no change	THURSDAY 1/2/25	FRIDAY 1/3/25	SATURDAY 1/4/25

Don't Trash Those Trees

Christmas trees don’t belong in the landfill! We’ll pick them up and make sure they’re composted. Just a heads up—please cut the trees in half (no longer than 5ft in length) to keep our drivers safe from injury when lifting them.

Please put your trees out on the curb on any regular collection day along with your compost cart, beginning Thursday, January 2, 2025.

If you need to drop off your tree for recycling, Zero Waste Marin has provided a list of Christmas tree drop off locations in Marin.

put these holiday items in the right cart

Before you toss anything, remember that reusing items is crucial—it helps reduce waste, conserve resources, and protect the environment.

How to Gift or Tip Your Driver

Tipping garbage, recycling, and compost collectors during the Christmas and New Year’s holidays is a long-standing tradition for some. The drivers really appreciate and are thankful for these generous gestures.

However, gifts left on carts at the street have become targets for “scrooges” who are known to drive or walk along the streets snatching them before the collectors arrive. Unfortunate, but true.

The two best ways to give gifts are:

If you feel comfortable, you may hand your directly to your drivers/collectors. They’ll be happy to meet you!
Send a gift card, check or package to our office.

- If you send a check, please do not make it payable to Mill Valley Refuse Service. Instead, call our office at (415) 457-9760 so we can provide you with the name of your collectors. Or simply specify on your envelope which driver (trash, recycle or yard waste) you want your gift to go to, and include your address so our collectors can identify from whom the gift came.
- If you want to tip more than one collector, please send separate gifts (one envelope is okay) so we can give your gift directly to the driver(s).
- Please send gift cards or packages to:

Mill Valley Refuse Service
Attn. Holiday Gift
112 Front St.
San Rafael, CA 94901