Dearborn Heights, MI Trash & Recycling: Bulk Item Disposal (2026)

City Code § 17-35(b)(3) creates a distinct category for "special pick-up items," meaning waste the city collects through a scheduled special pick-up rather than routine curbside service. Unlike ordinary garbage or yard waste, these items are exempt from the receptacle and bagging rules of § 17-35(b), but the trade-off is timing: they cannot be stored outdoors at all except when left out in anticipation of the scheduled special pick-up itself. Whether a given item qualifies is tied to the city's own program description: § 17-35(b)(6) defines an item as "deemed acceptable to the city" only if the city's official website states it is acceptable for its waste hauling program.

For anything the city will not take under its hauling program, § 17-35(b)(5) requires a person seeking to store that item outdoors to first get written permission or a permit from the city; without one, outdoor storage of a rejected item is itself a violation. Bulk items set out for a special pick-up are still subject to the general public-view rule in § 17-35(c) at all other times, and once left at the curb they fall under the same city-property protections that § 17-39 gives to curbside recyclables against unauthorized removal.