Decatur, AL Trash & Recycling: Bin Placement Rules (2026)

Chapter 19 of the Code of Decatur, Alabama, puts the placement duty on the person being served. Section 19-13(a) requires all garbage cans and approved containers to be placed at places the sanitation department determines, on the days and between the hours it designates. Containers must be situated so wind or animals cannot overturn them, and they must be fully accessible and convenient to workers and to the collection equipment (§ 19-13(b) and (c)).

Section 19-16(a) sets the pickup point. Garbage is collected at the alley where alleys exist, and where they do not, at the edge of the street in front of the house. The resident places cans at the alley or street on the outside of fences or obstructions. Collection personnel never enter houses, buildings or fences (§ 19-16(c)). Access matters too: occupants must provide a safe and convenient entrance for collectors, and vicious animals must be confined or the containers placed where collectors can empty them without attack. If a resident fails to comply after notification, service is discontinued until the problem is corrected (§ 19-15).

The container itself is regulated. A garbage can is a watertight receptacle of 10 to 30 gallons with a tight-fitting lid, one handle on the lid and two on the can, and cans over 30 gallons are not serviced (§ 19-1). Each family unit needs at least one can and no more than four, lids must stay tightly closed except when filling or emptying, and a can with ragged or sharp edges must be replaced within ten days of notice or the superintendent can collect it and dispose of it as waste (§ 19-12(a)). The city furnishes one container for garbage and refuse and a separate one for leaves, grass and shrubbery trimmings (§ 19-19(a)).

Builders of apartment houses, multiple units, business places and industrial buildings must submit plans showing container locations and pickup points for sanitation department approval before getting a building permit (§ 19-13(d)).