Columbus, GA Trash & Recycling: Bulk Item Disposal (2026)

Under Columbus, Georgia Code of Ordinances Section 13-167.2(11), junk that will not fit into an approved solid waste container must be set out next to the container for collection. Junk weighing less than 100 pounds that the standard garbage packer truck cannot handle is collected by the Department of Public Works, but only after the owner or occupant arranges the pickup directly with the department; there is no automatic bulk day. Anything the department's equipment or personnel cannot safely handle, or is not required to collect, is the owner's or occupant's responsibility to transport to a city-authorized disposal site. Iceboxes, refrigerators, ice chests, deep freeze units and cold storage vaults with a self-locking door cannot be set at curbside for collection unless the lock has been removed or the door permanently fastened or removed, a suffocation-hazard rule that predates modern appliance recycling programs.

Tree limbs, branches and trunks are handled separately: under Section 13-167.2(6)-(7), material an owner cuts while pruning is normally the owner's own responsibility to dispose of, but the Department of Public Works will collect branches, limbs and tree trunks removed by the owner or agent for a fee set by Columbus City Council under Section 13-169.1(j): $50.00 per load or $76.50 per ton, billed on the customer's water and sewer bill, with a 25-percent low-income offset. To qualify for collection, branches and limbs must be cut into lengths of four feet or less, not exceed six inches in diameter, and be placed at curbside. Enforcement runs through special enforcement officers from the Department of Public Works, the Department of Inspections and Code, the Department of Public Health and the Fire Prevention Division, trained and badged by the Police Division, who prosecute violations in Recorders Court under Section 13-167.16.