How to Switch Trash Providers in Colorado Springs (2026)

Colorado Springs has no city trash service. Every household hires its own hauler, which means there is no utility to transfer, no city paperwork, and nothing stopping you from switching whenever you want. The only real risks are paying for weeks of service you won’t use and ending up with a full can and no cart in the driveway.

Switching is also more relevant than it used to be. Since 2023 the market has consolidated hard: Carefree Disposal and Infinite Disposal were absorbed into Apex Waste Solutions, GFL’s Colorado business went to Republic Services, and HBS Trash sold its residential routes to WM in June 2026. A lot of homeowners are now with a company they never chose. If your bill has crept up since the handoff, here’s how to move without a service gap.

Step 1: Find out what you actually agreed to

Local and regional haulers here tend not to lock you in. Apex, for example, advertises no long-term contract on its residential service. If you’re with a local company, there’s a good chance you can cancel with a phone call — just confirm it before you count on it.

The national haulers are where you read the fine print. Service agreements from big companies commonly renew automatically unless you cancel inside a notice window, so check your paperwork or online account for a term length, an auto-renewal clause, and any early-termination fee. Waste Connections’ residential service agreement includes binding arbitration, which tells you these documents have teeth — know what’s in yours before you act.

The fastest way to get answers: call your current hauler and ask, “What would it cost me to cancel today, and how much notice do you need?” Then ask them to email you the answer so there’s no dispute later.

Step 2: Time the cancellation to your billing cycle

Quarterly billing is common among Springs haulers, and that’s where switchers lose money.

Apex is the clearest example of the setup: no long-term contract, so you can cancel anytime — but billing is flat-rate quarterly, and whether unused weeks come back to you depends on a refund policy we haven’t verified. Cancel two weeks into a quarter without checking and you may have donated the other eleven to your old hauler.

So before you cancel anything, find your paid-through date on your last bill or online account. Set your cancellation to take effect at the end of that period, and ask directly whether the company prorates or refunds unused service — policies differ, and you want the answer before the switch, not after.

One more small trap: if you cancel and later go back, some haulers charge for the round trip. SOCO Waste, for instance, has a verified $25 reactivation fee.

Step 3: Sign up with the new hauler before you cancel the old one

The no-gap rule is simple: line up the new service first, with a start date that meets or overlaps your old paid-through date. Then cancel.

While you’re getting quotes:

• Compare who serves your address first. Not every hauler runs every neighborhood — you can compare providers by ZIP code using the comparison tool on our homepage.
• Ask for the all-in monthly number, not the base rate. Surcharges vary wildly. Waste Connections’ documented fuel, environmental, and admin surcharges can stack to 20–35% on top of base. Republic’s documented fees include an environmental recovery charge (roughly 18%) plus fuel and admin charges. WM has folded those charges into its base residential rates since 2023, so its quotes run closer to all-in. No hauler publishes its base residential rates, so treat any number you’re quoted — including the estimates above — as yours to verify in writing.
• Ask about first-bill fees. Waste Connections, for one, has charged a cart delivery fee on the first bill. Ask every hauler whether cart delivery costs anything.
• Use the new-customer promos. SOCO Waste has offered new-customer promo codes — 4free! and 1stfree! — so ask what each is currently worth when you sign up. Apex has run first-month-free promotions as well. These exist precisely to make switching painless; ask what’s currently available even if you don’t see a code posted.
• Confirm your pickup day so you know exactly when the new service kicks in.

Step 4: The cart swap

Your trash cart belongs to the hauler, not you. The swap usually goes like this:

1. The new hauler drops off your cart, typically within a week or so of signup (ask for their timeline when you order).
2. On or after your last paid pickup, the old hauler collects its cart. Leave it at the curb, empty. You don’t need to scrub it — just don’t send it back full.
3. Don’t put trash in the old cart after your cancellation date. It won’t get picked up, and now it’s in someone else’s container.

If the new cart is late and garbage is piling up, ask whether bagged trash is okay for the first pickup. Extra-bag allowances help here: SOCO includes two extra bags per week and Apex allows up to three bags alongside the cart.

The clean-switch checklist

1. Find your paid-through date with your current hauler.
2. Ask them about cancellation notice, fees, and refunds — in writing.
3. Compare haulers for your ZIP and get all-in quotes.
4. Sign up with a start date that meets your old end date; grab any promo.
5. Cancel the old service effective on your paid-through date.
6. Swap carts: new one arrives, old one goes to the curb empty.

FAQ

Will I get a refund if I cancel mid-quarter?

Don’t count on it. Refund and proration policies vary by hauler and are rarely published anywhere. The safe play with any hauler is to set your cancellation for the end of your paid period and confirm the refund policy in writing first.

How long does the cart swap take?

Plan on up to a week for the new cart to arrive and a similar window for the old one to be collected, though it varies by hauler. Order your new service a week or two before your old service ends and the carts usually cross paths without drama.

Am I locked into a contract with my current hauler?

If you’re with a local company, quite possibly not — Apex advertises no long-term contract, and other locals may work the same way, but confirm your own terms rather than assuming. National haulers are likelier to have service agreements with auto-renewal and notice windows, so check before assuming you can walk.

Can I get a better deal without switching at all?

Sometimes. Get a competing quote, then call your current hauler and ask them to match it — in a market this competitive, haulers have a real incentive to keep you. The bigger lever is a group deal: Pinecliff’s HOA-organized service, for example, publishes rates of $11.50/month for trash and $7.25/month for recycling — roughly half what individual subscribers typically pay. If you have an HOA or an organized street, it’s worth a conversation.