Residential Collection Procedures

Please view “Yard Trimmings Collection” below for changes to 
the number of approved containers for weekly curbside collection.

Click here for a list of acceptable and unacceptable items 
to be placed in the 95-gallon garbage roll cart.

All household garbage must be free of liquids and placed in secure, durable plastic bags prior to placement in county-issued roll carts. No excess bags are permitted outside of roll carts but can be scheduled as a special collection (prepaid fee applies). Additional roll carts are available to accommodate large volumes of household garbage (increase in annual sanitation assessment fee applies). Roll carts should not be placed curbside prior to 7 p.m. the day before residents’ scheduled collection day but must be available curbside by 7 a.m. on residents’ scheduled collection day. Roll carts must be returned to residents’ homes within 24 hours after servicing. Roll carts should not block mailboxes, driveways, sidewalks, drainage systems or roadways. Only county-issued roll carts will be serviced.

Residents must ensure that loose garbage and liquids are not placed in garbage roll carts. It is the resident's responsibility to clean any loose garbage that falls out of garbage roll carts during servicing.
 

Recyclable materials should be commingled and loosely placed inside a county-issued recycling roll cart. Up to 10 flattened cardboard boxes will be serviced; any number of unflattened boxes will incur a special collection fee. Roll carts should not be placed curbside prior to 7 p.m. the day before residents’ scheduled collection day but must be available curbside by 7 a.m. on residents’ scheduled collection day. Roll carts must be returned to residents’ homes within 24 hours after servicing. Roll carts should not block mailboxes, driveways, sidewalks, drainage systems or roadways. Only county-issued roll carts will be serviced.
 

The Center for Hard to Recycling Materials (CHaRM) offers two drop-off facilities in Atlanta and Decatur that encourage the reuse and diversion of household hazardous waste and hard-to-recycle items from the landfills and water systems. At these locations, DeKalb residents can responsibly dispose of many items that the Sanitation Division does not accept as part of its recycling program. CHaRM's acceptable items include paint, chemicals, plastics #4, #5, #6, etc. Please visit CHaRM Atlanta's website http://livethrive.org/charm for more information.

Yard trimmings include 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 receptacles not exceeding 40 gallons. Approved receptacles include durable metal and plastic containers or durable biodegradable paper bags and must have two handles. Each paper bag must be folded at the top to minimize rain deterioration. Yard trimmings placed in plastic bags will not be collected. Up to 5 approved yard trimmings containers or biodegradable bags are included in residents’ weekly yard trimmings curbside collection. More than 6 containers or bags will require a special collection fee. Branches and limbs must be trimmed of twigs, vines, and leaves; cut to a maximum of four (4) feet in length; bundled and tied; and stacked neatly at the curb. Twigs, vines, and leaves must be placed in an approved receptacle as outlined above. Trees must be cut as small as possible, with each piece not exceeding 25 pounds. Tree limbs cut by professional or hired contractors should not be left at the curb. Receptacles should not be placed curbside prior to 7 p.m. the day before residents’ scheduled collection day but must be available curbside by 7 a.m. on residents’ scheduled collection day. Receptacles must be returned to residents’ homes within 24 hours after servicing. Receptables should not block mailboxes, driveways, sidewalks, drainage systems or roadways.
 

Please watch the video below for instructions on how to properly place your items at the curb for collection.

If items placed at the curb are compliant with curbside collection procedures and are not serviced by the end of the business day on a resident’s collection day, contact (404) 294-2900. A service request will be created. While the designated day for servicing missed collections is Friday of the week the service request is created, every attempt will be made to service missed collections prior to Friday. Residents not adhering to approved collection procedures may not be serviced or may experience a delay in service.