Daily printout: Dec. 17, 2025

The Postal Service has announced release dates for its first batch of 2026 stamps, along with the cities where dedication ceremonies will be held:

• Angel’s Trumpets, Friday, Jan. 9, Kenosha, WI;

• Love, Tuesday, Jan. 13, no ceremony;

• Muhammad Ali, Thursday, Jan. 15, Louisville, KY;

• Colorado Statehood, Saturday, Jan. 24, Denver;

• Black Heritage: Phillis Wheatley, Thursday, Jan. 29, Boston;

• Lunar New Year: Year of the Horse, Tuesday, Feb. 3, Houston;

• Bruce Lee, Wednesday, Feb. 18, Seattle;

• Harriet Powers, Saturday, Feb. 28, Washington, DC;

• Lowriders, Friday, March 13, San Diego; and

• Sunflowers, Saturday, March 14, Strongsville, OH.

USPS announced its planned 2026 stamp releases in October.

Additional release dates and ceremony locations will be announced later.

The Postal Service is reminding employees to safeguard the mailstream from improperly wrapped or damaged packages containing hazardous materials.

Once packages containing damaged, leaking or nonmailable hazardous materials are identified, they should be brought to a designated rewrap or hazardous material mail staging area for assessment.

Hazardous items that are disposed of locally could be regulated and require special attention.

Potentially regulated items include aerosol cans, batteries, bulbs and lamps, bleach and other cleaning supplies, compressed gases, devices that contain mercury, drugs and other pharmaceuticals, fertilizer, hand sanitizer, lighter fluid and other fuels, lighters and matches, oils, paints, perfumes, pesticides, solvents and thinners.

Publication 52, Hazardous, Restricted, and Perishable Mail, has an explanation of how to identify damaged or leaking parcels and parcels containing non-mailable hazardous materials.

Once identified as hazardous materials, the incident should be logged using the Mail Incident Reporting Tool, which helps USPS and the Postal Inspection Service track such incidents. The Postal Service’s hazardous materials standard operating procedure document has additional procedural information.

The Damaged, Leaking and Non-Mailable Parcels — Waste Management Environmental Compliance Bulletin, available on the Environmental Affairs Blue page, has more information on the waste classification process and proper disposal.

For state-specific waste disposal requirements or questions, employees should consult their region’s designated USPS environmental specialist.

The latest episode of the “Mailin’ It!” podcast goes behind the scenes of the Postal Service’s peak delivery season, the large surge in mail and packages sent during the holiday season.

The guests are Isaac Cronkhite, the organization’s chief processing and distribution officer, and Elvin Mercado, chief retail and delivery officer.

The 30-minute episode was released Dec. 15 and is available on Link and other postal websites, as well as most podcast platforms.