Residential & Special Collection

- Sanitation Requirements for Home-based Businesses

Household Garbage Collection Procedures
All household garbage must be drained free of liquids and placed in individual trash bags that are securely tied and placed inside a county-issued garbage roll cart.  Household garbage must be placed at the curb before 7 a.m. on a resident’s scheduled collection day, and should not block mailboxes, driveways, sidewalks, drainage systems or roadways.  Residents are not allowed to place refuse at the curb prior to 7 p.m. on the day before their scheduled collection day.  Containers must be returned to residents’ homes after collection.  Additionally, containers should not remain at the curb for more than 24 hours after being serviced.  If household garbage has not been collected by the end of the business day on the scheduled collection day, please call the Sanitation Division at (404) 294-2900 and collection will occur the following business day.

Bulky Items Collection Procedures
All bulky items are collected by special collection vehicles and are included in the residential annual assessment fees.  Bulky items include furniture, mattresses and box springs, household appliances, playground equipment, lawn mowers, hand tools, accessories etc. and/ or other items not collected on the weekly servicing days.  Call Sanitation at (404) 294-2900 to report bulky items as soon as they have been placed at the curb.  The collection period is between 5-7 business days.

Special Collection Service
Special collection services are provided for a fee to residents to properly dispose of tires, uncontainerized/ improperly prepared yard waste, construction and demolition materials; rocks, dirt, concrete, wood, metal fences, decking and other materials not identified. These special items are collected using specialized vehicles, and are not included in annual residential sanitation assessment fees. Once special collection service requests have been submitted, the field collection team will visit the site to complete an assessment for determining the appropriate collection fee. A notice advising of this fee will be left at the customer's location. Once the fee has been paid, it will take approximately 7-10 business days to complete the special collection request. For scheduling, please contact the Sanitation Division's customer service team at (404) 294-2900.

Yard Debris Collection Procedures
All yard debris must be properly prepared for collection.  Yard debris includes: grass clippings, leaves, twigs, branches, limbs, tree parts, shrubbery, vines, garden plants, etc., and other naturally occurring vegetative matter.  Grass clippings, leaves, twigs, shrubbery, vines, garden plants and small items must be placed in approved 20-40 gallon receptacles.  Approved receptacles include durable metal and plastic containers or durable biodegradable paper bags.  Each container must have two durable handles.  Each paper bag must be folded at the top to minimize rain deteriorating the paper bags.  Yard waste in plastic bags will not be collected.  All approved receptacles must be placed at the curb without blocking mailboxes, utilities, driveways, sidewalks, drainage systems or roadways before 7:00 a.m. on the scheduled day of yard debris collection for your service area.  Branches and limbs must be trimmed of twigs, vines, and leaves and cut to a maximum of four (4) feet in length, and stacked neatly at the curb.  The removed twigs, vines and leaves must be placed in an approved receptacle as outlined above.  Trees must be cut up as small as necessary, where each piece does not exceed a maximum of 50 pounds.  Tree limbs that are cut by professional or hired contractors should not be left at the curb for collection by Sanitation.  Please contact the Sanitation Division at (404) 294-2900 if there are large piles of yard debris on the curbside not meeting the above restrictions, or if your yard debris has not been serviced by close of business on the scheduled day.