Decatur, AL Trash & Recycling: Collection Schedule (2026)

Section 19-19(a) of the Decatur City Code sets up a residential refuse collection, hauling and disposal service run by the sanitation department, the city's contractor, or both, with pickup not less than once each week in a residential area. The code does not print a weekday. Under § 19-13(a), containers go out on the days and between the hours the sanitation department designates, and § 19-18(a) leaves the collection day for yard material to the superintendent of the sanitation department.

Where the pickup happens is fixed by § 19-16(a): at the alley where one exists, or otherwise at the edge of the street in front of the house. The resident must set cans outside fences or obstructions, because under § 19-16(c) collection personnel never enter houses, buildings or fences. Section 19-12(a) requires at least one garbage can per family, no more than four per family, with lids kept tightly closed.

The fee is set in § 19-19(b)(1): $17.74 per month per dwelling unit, $38.97 per month for a business establishment the public works director places on a residential route, and $8.04 per month for each container beyond the base two. A dwelling or approved business served by an alley pays an added $5.00 per month unless it is a townhouse on a paved or similarly constructed alley. Every October 1 since 2021 each fee is adjusted by the CPI trailing twelve-month index as of June 30, so the printed dollar amounts are the base figures.

Two relief provisions exist. A household whose sole income is Social Security is exempt and must re-document every twelve months. A dwelling vacant for sixty consecutive days can file a sworn statement with Decatur Utilities and stop being billed until it is reoccupied. Under § 19-19(d), a business on a residential route cannot generate more than two cubic yards of refuse per week or hold more than two carts.