An Update on Bulk Item Pickup in Elkins (and the Schedule for November 2025)

Elkins residents who use the City’s sanitation services have benefits beyond weekly garbage collection—including a free monthly bulk item pickup. While the Sanitation Department generally follows a consistent schedule, this hard-working crew occasionally has to adjust it with little notice.

These changes can occur for several reasons, including during the summer, when most sanitation employees take time off. (For context, Elkins’ sanitation crew only gets six holidays off per year—far fewer than most private- and public-sector employees.) Occasionally the City’s fleet of trucks or garbage transfer station reach excess capacity.

Reminder, the free bulk item pickup is not the same as a special trash pickup. The special trash pickup is for customers who need to:

• Dispose of an especially large number of items, large or small, and,
• For customers who need to dispose of either several bulk items at once, or,
• Who need to dispose of one large item sooner than their monthly free bulk pickup day.
• This page outlines the process for scheduling, and fees for, special trash pickups.

The free bulk item pickup means exactly that: One bulk item a month.

Here’s a reminder about how to dispose your free monthly bulk item:

• Place the one item (like an appliance or mattress) for bulk pickup curbside no later than 6 a.m. on the day of pickup.
• Items must be placed curbside even if your household trash is normally picked up in an alley.
• Remember, there’s a chance that the item may not always be collected on the given day. Call the operations department if this occurs.

While we’re here, here’s how to dispose of your regularly picked up trash:

• Use proper trash bags (kitchen-sized, 30-gallon, or 55-gallon contractor bags). Sanitation workers will not dump cans or retrieve small bags (like grocery bags) from inside them.
• Depending on where you live, please place garbage and bulk items on the strip or median between the sidewalk and street (so your neighbors can still park!). If your home’s front door is relatively close to the street and there’s no median, please place it on the edge of the sidewalk. If your weekly trash is picked up in the alley, it’s fine to leave your weekly trash there – but bulk items are picked up curbside.
• Always avoid leaving trash or bulk items on your property or leaning against your home. The sanitation crew doesn’t enter private property—and we’re sure you’d prefer that strangers stay off yours, too.
• Take a glance at the images below for a visual.

The City of Elkins strives to notify residents of schedule changes via text alerts, Facebook posts, and the weekly City Hall News (published every Saturday in the Inter-Mountain, both print and online; it’s also reposted in our news section on Saturday mornings).

For November 2025, note the slight variation in bulk item pickup based on your regular garbage pickup schedule:

• Monday weekly trash: November 3
• Tuesday weekly trash: November 11
• Wednesday weekly trash: November 19
• Thursday weekly trash: November 28
• Friday weekly trash: November 28 (Note: Bulk pickup regularly scheduled for Thursday and Friday pickups in November both will occur on Friday, November 28 because of the Thanksgiving holiday)

*Note that during Thanksgiving week, Wednesday’s and Thursday’s regularly scheduled garbage pickup will occur on Wednesday morning, Nov. 26, because of the holiday. Monday’s regularly scheduled garbage pickup has been moved up a day to Sunday morning, Nov. 23. More info is here: https://cityofelkinswv.gov/alert/city-hall-closed-thanksgiving/

Reminder: The following is the City’s standard monthly bulk pickup schedule. The City strives to announce changes by the 15th of each month for the following month.

Questions? Contact the Sanitation Department at 304-636-1414, ext. 1437.

Final Thought: Keeping Elkins clean is a team effort—the City’s sanitation crew thanks all of you for doing your part!