Every-Other-Week Recycling Pilot Program

Why is the City rolling out this pilot program?

The EOW Pilot Program is the result of years of operational analysis and environmental planning focused on making Albuquerque's recycling system more sustainable. The pilot will allow the City to evaluate environmental and operational benefits under real-world conditions and help guide future recycling planning. 

• Environmental Benefits
• Affordability of Service
• Maintaining Reliability
• Protecting Our Streets
• Why Was My Home Selected?
• Will this Affect My Trash Pickup?

Environmental Benefits

Switching to an every-other-week recycling format citywide will allow our department to save an estimated 12,026,000 lbs. of carbon dioxide each year. For context, that's the rough equivalent of taking 1,300 passenger vehicles off the road annually, according to EPA studies. Those studies also suggest it would take approximately 100,000 tree seedlings growing for 10 years to sequester just one year of those emissions.

In addition to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, the program is expected to decrease other pollutants produced by heavy-duty diesel vehicles, including nitrogen oxides (NOx) and fine particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5). These pollutants contribute to the formation of ground-level ozone and haze and can affect local air quality, particularly for children, older adults, and individuals with asthma or other respiratory conditions. By reducing unnecessary truck trips, the City can help improve the air we breathe while continuing to provide reliable curbside recycling service.

Affordability of Service

As an enterprise fund, the Solid Waste Management Department is primarily funded through the monthly fees paid by residents—not the City's General Fund. That makes it especially important to use resources responsibly and operate as efficiently as possible. By aligning recycling collection with current material availability, the City can reduce fuel consumption, extend the life of collection vehicles, and make better use of taxpayer-funded equipment and infrastructure. These efficiencies help control long-term operating costs while preserving the high level of service residents expect. Albuquerque currently provides residential trash and recycling service for just $18.50 per month—among the lowest rates in New Mexico and the nation—and this pilot supports our commitment to keeping service both affordable and reliable for years to come.

Maintaining Reliability

Each day, our trucks travel roughly 250 miles. In a year, that's more than 75,000 miles. As any vehicle owner knows, with more mileage comes more wear-and-tear. On average, our trucks will require 14 new tires per year. By reducing collection frequency, we're keeping 112 tires out of the landfill. That number doesn't include the wide array of other mechanical issues that can arise over that mileage-- all of which require new materials, emissions, and other indirect resources to address

Protecting Our Streets

When fully loaded, our trucks can weigh in excess of 62,000 lbs. That's roughly the equivalent of 15 passenger vehicles!

Repeatedly driving vehicles of that size over neighborhood streets contributes to long-term wear on pavement, especially on residential roads that experience frequent stop-and-go traffic. By reducing the number of recycling collection routes, the City can lessen the cumulative impact heavy vehicles have on local infrastructure while still providing dependable recycling service.

Fewer collection routes also mean fewer trips through neighborhoods, reducing overall traffic, noise, and roadway stress. Combined with lower emissions and reduced wear on collection vehicles, biweekly recycling helps create a more sustainable system that benefits residents today while helping preserve City infrastructure for the future.

Why was my home selected?

The pilot includes neighborhoods from across Albuquerque that provide a representative mix of housing types, recycling participation, and existing collection routes.

Homes were selected primarily to create efficient collection routes while providing a broad sample of neighborhoods that allows the City to accurately evaluate the program's performance.

This approach helps ensure the pilot reflects how the program would operate across Albuquerque while maintaining reliable service throughout participating neighborhoods.

Will This Affect My Trash Pickup?

No. This will not affect your weekly curbside trash pickup. Weekly trash pickup will continue as usual. You can use the tool above to look up your trash and recycling collection days.