Hammond, IN Trash & Recycling: Collection Schedule (2026)

In the City of Hammond, Indiana, the Sanitation Department's collection service is a paid utility, not a free pickup. 041(A)(1) of the Hammond Code of Ordinances sets the current residential garbage and rubbish collection fee at $26 per month, and specifies that any future change to that rate has to come from the Common Council itself, not from the Sanitation Department administratively. 041(B) and (C), the fee is billed monthly and, by agreement with the Waterworks Department, gets folded into the regular water bill; whoever is billed for water at the dwelling is billed for the garbage fee, though if a tenant is billed and does not pay, the owner is on the hook, and either can inspect the Board's collection records to check what has been paid.

That mandatory service does not reach every building in the city. 043(A) excludes apartment buildings, houses or structures with 3 or more units, along with non-residential, commercial and industrial properties that do not currently get city pickup, from the city's collection under this chapter; the owner of an excluded building has to obtain private garbage and rubbish pickup on their own. 043(B) gives that owner a choice between arranging private hauling or buying enough 90-gallon containers to be served, with the Superintendent of the Sanitation Department deciding what is workable for a given location.

042 lets the city treat a delinquent account, roughly 15 days past the bill, as a lien against the property through the Lake County Auditor and Recorder, on top of a civil action for the fee plus 8% annual interest and attorney's fees.