Montgomery, AL Trash & Recycling: Dumpster Rules (2026)
Key Facts
- Contractor-serviced containers
- must sit in rear of property (§25-36(b))
- Placement authority
- sanitation department decides, not owner
- Small businesses
- may use city service or private contractor
- 'Bulk container' defined
- any dumpster/storage facility (§25-181)
- Covers
- business, multi-dwelling, industrial, construction sites
Summary
Businesses, apartment complexes and condominiums that use a contractor for garbage service have to place their containers, defined citywide to include any dumpster, in the rear of the property under Sec. 25-36(b), with the sanitation department deciding the exact spot rather than the property owner.
(a)Small business and commercial units. Small business and commercial units that have garbage requirements not exceeding the capacity of containers issued by the department will be serviced by the department if desired. Time of placement and location of containers by business establishments shall be placed at places to be determined by the department on the days and between the hours designated by the department. Small businesses and commercial units have the option of obtaining this service from a commercial contractor.(b)Businesses, apartment complexes, condominiums serviced by contractors. Containers must be placed in the rear of businesses, apartment complexes, and condominiums. The department shall determine the place that container is to be placed.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 27).
Full Breakdown
Sec. 25-36 splits commercial garbage service into two tracks. Small businesses and commercial units whose garbage doesn't exceed the capacity of city-issued containers can stay on municipal service, and the sanitation department sets the time and location of those containers on the days and hours it designates; those same small businesses can opt for a private contractor instead if they prefer. Businesses, apartment complexes and condominiums that use a contractor, rather than the city, fall under Sec. 25-36(b): their containers must be placed in the rear of the property, and the department, not the owner or the contractor, determines exactly where that container sits.
Chapter 25's definitions section, Sec. 25-181, describes what these commercial containers typically are: a 'bulk container' is any dumpster or stationary storage facility placed for temporary containerization of solid waste at a place of business, a multiple-dwelling complex, an industrial site or a construction site. Read together, the two sections mean a commercial dumpster in Montgomery can't simply sit at the curb or in a customer parking area; it has to go behind the building, and the sanitation department, which sets placement citywide, has the final say on the exact location even when a private hauling contractor, not the city, is servicing the container.
Violations & Fines
Sec. 25-36 doesn't spell out its own fine schedule, but placement of commercial containers is a requirement under Chapter 25's collection and disposal article, so Sec. 25-32's general penalty applies to a violation: a fine of no less than $1.00 nor more than $200.00, or imprisonment or hard labor for up to six months, or both.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where does a business dumpster have to go in Montgomery?
Can a small business skip city trash service and hire its own hauler?
What counts as a 'dumpster' under Montgomery's code?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Montgomery
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