Bessemer, AL Trash & Recycling: Collection Schedule (2026)
Key Facts
- Hauler requirement
- City council franchise required, Sec. 90-29
- Hauler insurance
- At least $1,000,000 all-perils liability policy
- Property duty
- Must keep sufficient garbage cans on-site
- Disposal limit
- Only authorized disposal areas, Sec. 90-35
- Separate cans
- Ash and cinder cans kept apart from garbage cans
Summary
Only a city council franchised hauler may collect garbage or trash on Bessemer streets and alleys under Code of Ordinances section 90-29. Every dwelling, restaurant, or business that generates garbage must keep enough garbage cans or containers on-site to hold it under section 90-32, and deposit it there for city pickup.
Any person operating a garbage pickup or trash removal service and operating on the streets and alleys of the city shall obtain a franchise from the city council prior to the commencement of business. ... (a)Any owner or person in charge or control of any dwelling, hotel, restaurant, delicatessen or store where food for human consumption is prepared or kept for sale, or any other place where garbage originates, shall keep and maintain at or in such premises a sufficient number of garbage cans or special garbage and rubbish containers to receive the garbage originating upon such premises.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Republication).
Full Breakdown
00 covering its trucks and operations. On the customer side, section 90-32 requires any owner or person in charge of a dwelling, hotel, restaurant, delicatessen, or store where food is prepared or sold, or any other place where garbage originates, to keep enough garbage cans or special containers on the premises to hold the garbage produced there, and bars disposing of that garbage anywhere except in those cans for pickup by the city's garbage and rubbish disposal system. Section 90-33 requires a separate set of rubbish cans for ashes, cinders, and other nonburnable waste, and bars putting garbage in a rubbish can.
Section 90-35 makes it unlawful to dispose of garbage or refuse anywhere except in an authorized disposal area. Together these sections mean a Bessemer property cannot simply skip collection: it must maintain adequate containers and use the city's franchised collection or disposal system rather than dumping or burning its own waste. 00, up to six months, or both.
Violations & Fines
Operating an unfranchised garbage or trash removal business on city streets and alleys violates section 90-29; failing to keep enough garbage cans on a property that generates garbage, or dumping garbage anywhere but an authorized disposal area, violates sections 90-32 and 90-35. None of these sections carry a unique fine, so the general penalty in section 1-8 applies: up to $500.00, up to six months imprisonment or hard labor, or both.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can any hauler pick up trash in Bessemer?
Does a Bessemer property owner have to provide its own garbage cans?
Can I burn or bury my own household garbage instead of putting it out?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Bessemer
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Collection Schedule in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Jefferson County handle collection schedule.