Malden MA Trash, Yard Waste & Sweeping

Featured image: Pleasant Street in downtown Malden. Photo: John Phelan via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 3.0).

Malden, Massachusetts trash pickup is weekly, and this fall residents face three deadlines at once: yard waste pickup ends in November, street sweeping ends Nov. 1, and 2027 trash tags go on sale for December renewal. The Malden Department of Public Works (DPW) is also flagging barrels that break the city’s trash rules. Here is what to know, based on city pages checked Oct. 22, 2026.

Malden trash pickup rules: blue bags or a trash tag

Malden uses a Pay As You Throw system. City pickup covers homes with six units or fewer. Larger buildings and businesses must hire a private hauler. Each eligible household gets one free black trash cart and one blue recycling cart. Trash must be at the curb by 7 a.m. on your trash day, and it must be in one of two forms:

Blue PAYT bags: city-issued blue bags, which can go in any lidded barrel. There is no limit on the number of bags.
Trash tag: an annual sticker on the city-issued 35-gallon black cart, which lets you use ordinary store-bought bags of at least 13 gallons inside that cart.

Lids must close completely. Trash in a lidded barrel with the lid open can bring a fine under city ordinance.

Malden trash tag cost and 2027 renewal

A trash tag costs $75 a year and runs by calendar year, with prorated prices for mid-year purchases. The city says to renew each December by buying the next year’s sticker and placing it over the old one. Tags can be bought online, which can take up to two weeks to arrive, or in person at the Treasurer’s Office in City Hall, which takes cash, check or money order only and hands over the sticker on the spot. The city’s comparison: a household using one large $2 blue bag a week spends $104 a year, so a tag saves $29.

Tag rules: the cart’s total weight may not exceed 35 pounds, nothing may be loose or unbagged, and the tag is valid only on the city’s black 35-gallon cart. Any overflow barrel must use blue bags.

Trash tagging enforcement: what the flyers mean

The DPW has started a citywide trash tagging effort aimed at what it calls unsanitary conditions. Crews are leaving informational flyers on barrels that break the rules during a 60-day education period. After that period, the city says violations may lead to fines. To avoid a flyer, keep bags inside a lidded barrel with the lid shut, and use either a current trash tag or blue bags.

Malden yard waste and leaf pickup schedule

Yard waste is collected seasonally from April to November, during designated weeks, on your regular trash day. The exact weeks vary by address, so the city sends residents to its trash app or the reminder sign-up at cityofmalden.org/trash. Rules for curbside pickup:

Use brown paper yard waste bags or barrels marked “yard waste,” kept separate from trash.
Accepted: leaves, grass clippings and twigs.
Not accepted: branches, logs or dirt.

Residents can also drop off yard waste on Saturdays from 7:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the DPW Yard, 356 Commercial St.

Malden street sweeping schedule ends Nov. 1

Malden’s street sweeping season runs from May 1 through Nov. 1. On a scheduled sweep, cars must be off one or both sides of the street or they can be ticketed. Most residential routes are swept between 7:30 a.m. and noon on a set weekday, with odd-numbered sides on one week of the month and even-numbered sides on another. For example, streets on the “2nd and 4th Monday” route have their even side swept on the fourth Monday, which this month is Oct. 26. The city warns that some streets follow a weekly or even daily schedule, starting as early as 5 a.m., so check the posted signs or the city’s address lookup. You can return your car as soon as the sweeper has passed.

More Malden guides

Additional details

Recycling is picked up weekly on trash day and is single stream, so materials can be mixed. Any covered barrel can become a recycling barrel with a free sticker from City Hall or the DPW.
Extra city carts can be bought online with delivery, or at the DPW Yard for cash, where you take the cart home yourself.
Real Christmas trees are collected during one designated week in January. Check the collection calendar, and leave trees bare and unwrapped. An artificial tree counts as your one bulk item for the week.
The fall hazardous waste day was held Oct. 10, 2026. The city accepts items such as motor oil, oil-based paint, tires and TVs for cash fees on those days.
A trash strike in 2025 interrupted collection until it ended on Sept. 19, 2025, the city said.
DPW: 356 Commercial St., 781-397-7160, open weekdays 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Sources

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Malden Trash Pickup Guide: Trash Tags, Yard Waste Pickup and the End of Street Sweeping