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

Section 5-8-030(A)(2) sets the baseline: the public works department provides regular weekly collection of household garbage, recyclable material, and yard trimmings under 200 cubic feet. Anything bigger than that routine service triggers a request-and-fee process. Residents must contact the public works sanitation division to request pickup of trash items, and collection of bulk trash and recyclable items carries an additional service charge added to the resident's utility bill, set by a fee schedule the mayor and council approve. The Code also limits what can go out for bulk brush and yard-debris pickup: Section 5-8-040(A)(6) requires all branches, limbs and shrubbery to be cut in lengths of six feet or less, with no single piece exceeding four inches in diameter or 100 pounds in weight.

Even within that spec, the public works director retains discretion to cap volume at any one address: Section 5-8-040(A)(8) allows the director to limit trash or yard trimmings that exceed 1,000 pounds at a single location to one truckload per scheduled collection, an important detail for anyone clearing out a large amount of brush or bulky items at once. Refrigerators and freezers set out for collection must have their doors removed first under Section 5-8-040(A)(5), and commercial tree, shrubbery, clearing, grading and building contractors are responsible for hauling their own debris rather than relying on city bulk pickup under Section 5-8-040(A)(7).