With no trash collection going on this week in Oxford, city officials are relaxing the city’s trash collection rules next week.

This will mean that Oxford Environmental Services will be picking up bags that are put out next week alongside the 96-gallon city-issued cans.

City ordinance normally requires all trash to be in bags and placed inside the cans and no free-standing bags are generally allowed. An exception to this is trash pick-up after Christmas.

“Because we were unable to collect garbage this week, we will collect bagged garbage beside their garbage carts,” said Amberlynn Liles, Oxford Environmental Services superintendent. “This will be an exception for this week only.”

Mayor Robyn Tannehill is asking the community to be patient.

“Routes will be running behind due to excessive volumes,” Tannehill said. “It will be a bottleneck and the transfer station and landfill.”

Residents need to make sure all trash is in a bag and placed next to their carts next week when collection resumes.