Decatur, AL Trash & Recycling: Dumpster Rules (2026)

Chapter 19 of the Code of Decatur, Alabama, defines open top waste containers, dumpsters and roll-off boxes as steel bins made to hold solid waste, with provisions for motorized lifting and emptying by specially designated truck-mounted equipment (§ 19-1). A property owner who wants one can arrange it under § 19-12(b) only subject to the approval of the superintendent of the sanitation department, and the property is then classified as a business establishment. Section 19-13(d) requires anyone planning an apartment house, multiple unit, business place or industrial building to submit plans showing where garbage containers, commercial containers or pickup points will sit, for sanitation department approval, before obtaining a building permit.

Business establishments include licensed businesses, apartments and multi-family dwellings of more than six family units, nursing homes, schools, libraries, government buildings, hospitals, trailer courts and anyone generating more than two cubic yards of refuse per week (§ 19-1). Under § 19-20 the sanitation department collects solely from city-furnished containers. Monthly rates run by container size and weekly pickups: a 2-yard container emptied once a week costs $21.00, a 4-yard container once a week costs $35.00, and an 8-yard container six times a week costs $135.00. A business without a dumpster pays a $7.00 minimum, and an extra pickup beyond schedule adds $25.00.

The superintendent decides container size and pickup frequency. A business that disagrees applies in writing to the city clerk for a resurvey and appeals to the council, though no refund or extra charge applies to the month of filing. The superintendent can allow groups of businesses to share a container and fixes each one's share of the fee (§ 19-20(b)). Bills are due when rendered and delinquent after ten days, and if unpaid five days after delinquency, both electric and refuse service are discontinued. Alleys and access ways used for commercial collection must be kept free of hazards to sanitation personnel (§ 19-15).

Private roll-off hauling has a landfill charge: non-municipal solid waste in a roll-off container of ten cubic yards or greater costs $10.00 per cubic yard (§ 19-38(8)).