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

Sec. 82-19(a), part of Article II of the solid waste chapter, requires the city to collect refuse including ashes, garbage, household trash, and containerized 'yard trash' from each residential establishment once a week. The section expressly excludes hazardous refuse, which the city will not collect under any circumstance, per the chapter's definition of hazardous refuse in Sec. 82-1 as anything explosive, flammable, poisonous, corrosive, or otherwise dangerous. The public works director is responsible for preparing the actual schedules that tell residents which day of the week their route runs, and that authority extends to suspending collection during severe weather or another unforeseen disaster until the following week.

Collection itself is made from curbside or an approved city alley at the exact spot the director determines under Sec. 82-19(b); alley pickup can be denied where a garbage truck cannot easily access the alley. Nonresidential establishments are handled separately: Sec. 82-36 makes clear the city does not collect refuse from businesses unless the city manager approves an exception, so the weekly schedule guaranteed under Sec. 82-19 is a residential benefit tied to establishments as defined in Sec. 82-1.