Monday, March 9, 2026
Citywide replacement of trash and recycling carts this spring aimed at improving recycling rates and quality-of-life
Mayor Brett Smiley today joined Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, Providence City Councilwoman Jo-Ann Ryan, Executive Director and Co-Head of Closed Loop Partners’ Catalytic Capital & Private Credit group Ray Hugel, Chief Executive Officer of the Recycling Partnership Keefe Harrison, Providence Director of Sustainability Priscilla De La Cruz and Providence Director of Public Works Patricia Coyne-Fague to share details on the citywide replacement of trash and recycling carts for all residents. Starting on March 16 and continuing throughout this spring, the City of Providence will be replacing all of Providence’s aging carts with the goal of improving the Providence’s recycling rates and elevating the quality-of-life of neighbors.
“Since the start of my Administration, we have been focused on making Providence cleaner, greener and more efficient,” said Mayor Brett Smiley. “That’s why we are investing in new trash and recycling carts, along with education and enforcement strategies to change behavior and get the City’s recycling program back on track. By combining these investments with targeted outreach, we are helping Providence neighbors manage waste more effectively, improve recycling rates and enhance quality-of-life while supporting long-term sustainability.”
Trash carts have not been replaced citywide since 2013. This has led to inconsistent sizing, color coding and labels across the city. Mismatched carts lead to confusion about which cart is for trash, and which cart is for recycling, resulting in bags of trash being thrown away in recycling carts. Additionally, years of wear and tear have resulted in damaged carts which increases the likelihood of contaminated loads, animal and rodent access and overall non-compliance. The recycling carts will be all blue, while trash carts will remain gray with a black lid, with each cart clearly labeled. Additionally, the new standardized trash carts will be larger than the existing trash carts to help avoid overflow trash bags from being placed in recycling carts.
“Recycling, when done right, is good for the planet and keeps local taxes down,” said Senator Whitehouse. “I’m very pleased that the funding to replace Providence’s aging, hodgepodge recycling carts comes from my bipartisan Save Our Seas 2.0 Act.”
Cart delivery will begin March 16, 2026 and continue over the next three months. Residents can learn when carts will be delivered to their address by visiting providenceri.gov/carts and clicking the “Cart Delivery Schedule” button and entering their address into the search field. The new carts will be delivered and the old carts will be removed on residents’ normal trash and recycling collection days during that period. To help ensure a smooth delivery of new carts and removal of old carts, residents should place all their carts, full or empty, at the curb the evening before their delivery date and leave them there until 6PM. on that same delivery date.
“These new carts come just as we’re all getting ready to do a little spring cleaning,” said Majority Leader Pedro J. Espinal (Ward 10). “Time, traffic, and weather are all hard on our trash carts. The fact that these old carts will themselves be recycled and used for new carts truly shows the city’s commitment to the environment and sustainability.”
The delivery list is based on the best available data, but if a delivery is missed or residents’ old carts are not removed, residents can call 3-1-1 or fill out a missed-delivery form at providenceri.gov/carts and the City will get the carts delivered promptly.
Standardized trash and recycling carts are just one strategy in the City’s efforts to improve recycling rates and reduce costs of improper recycling citywide—contaminated recycling costs the City about $2M annually. The City will be working with Waste Management to target education and enforcement as part of this roll out. This will be coupled with a community-based public education campaign that will combine in-person public education and mail-based education information citywide.
“Contaminated recycling isn’t just bad for the environment, it costs our city millions each year,” said Finance Chair Jo-Ann Ryan, Councilwoman (Ward 5). “As chair of Providence’s Special Commission on Waste Management, I am proud to help advance recommendations like investing in new, standardized carts to strengthen our waste removal system. These new carts will reduce confusion, improve collection citywide and help make Providence a cleaner, more sustainable community in every neighborhood.”
The new carts are funded by grants from U.S. EPA and The Recycling Partnership, with support from American Beverage’s Every Bottle Back Initiative with Rhode Island’s beverage companies and low-interest financing from Closed Loop Partners. The old carts will be recycled, and the resin will be used for new carts in the future. All new carts will be manufactured using approximately 30% recycled resin. With standardized carts and better education, it is expected that the city will see savings from reduced landfill fees. Updates and multilingual FAQs about the cart-replacement project will be posted on the City’s website at www.ProvidenceRI.gov/carts.
To learn more about the City’s current waste services and programs, visit https://www.providenceri.gov/public-works/recycling-office/