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

Code Section 82-33(a) requires arrangements for the storage of refuse and recyclables, and the location of containers, to be approved by the director of sanitation before a building permit is issued for a commercial establishment, condominium, or multiple dwelling. Section 82-33(b) requires that location to stay approved for any container serviced by city collection vehicles; the city will not collect from an improperly placed container. Where two or more businesses share a container, Section 82-33(c) and (d) make the users and occupants jointly responsible for keeping the surrounding area clean.

Refuse must go in watertight bags with cardboard flattened first, and Section 82-33(g) lists items a commercial container holding will go unemptied over: large appliances, furniture, tires, liquids like paint or motor oil, logs or limbs over four feet or six inches thick, mattresses, construction debris such as concrete or roofing material, and anything uncontainerized or protruding. Section 82-33(j) requires any commercial container placed into service after the ordinance's enactment to meet the Section 82-1 steel-construction specifications (12-gauge reinforced walls, a uniform 72-inch width) and hold no less than four and no more than eight cubic yards for front-loading trucks, or up to three cubic yards for rear-loading trucks.

G) require dumpsters and loading areas to be paved with impervious material and screened from view of any public plaza, sidewalk dining area, sidewalk, or right-of-way, with dumpsters serving residential uses enclosed on three sides by opaque walls at least 8 feet high plus a gate or door.