Belen trash pickup delayed one day after Memorial Day closure

Belen households should expect their garbage day to move back one day next week, with no trash collection on Monday, May 25, for Memorial Day. The city said residents need to set polycarts at the curb by 7 a.m. on the day after their regular collection day so trucks do not pass them by during the holiday shift.

The delay affects the full week’s pickup routine, not just Monday service. City officials said the Belen Transfer Station and Conejo Collection Center will also be closed on Memorial Day, which matters for residents trying to clear out extra trash, bulky items or leftover debris from holiday gatherings. Universal Waste Systems, Inc., the collection contractor named in the notice, is part of the holiday schedule, and the city’s instruction is clear: do not count on normal Monday service and plan for a one-day delay across the route.

That guidance applies beyond city neighborhoods that rely on curbside pickup. Belen’s solid-waste page says the convenience center south of the city is available to all Valencia County residents, so the holiday closure will also affect county residents who use that site for disposal. The transfer station’s regular schedule is Tuesday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., and Saturday from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., with Sunday and Monday closed. Memorial Day, listed on the city’s 2026 holiday schedule, falls on Monday, May 25, 2026.

The city posted the notice on May 20, giving residents several days to adjust before the holiday weekend. That timing comes as Belen prepares for a separate Memorial Day observance of its own: a 10 a.m. ceremony and Veterans Visitors Center Phase 1 groundbreaking at the Veterans Memorial at Eagle Park, 305 Eagle Lane, in Belen. The pairing of a civic ceremony and a solid-waste closure underscores how the holiday will affect both public gatherings and basic household services across the city.