Battle Creek, MI Trash & Recycling: Pickup Rules & Schedules (2026)

Chapter 1064 of the Battle Creek Codified Ordinances sets the pickup routine. Section 1064.27(a) bars placing garbage or refuse for collection earlier than 1:00 p.m. local time on the day before scheduled collection. After the contents are collected, the customer must remove empty containers and recycling bins or carts from the curb or front door area no later than 9:00 a.m. local time on the day following collection.

Section 1064.26 governs placement. For backyard pick up, a person can place containers or plastic bags in the back or side yard once each week. For curbside unlimited collection, all containers, bags, bundles and bulky wastes go at the curbside in a manner that prevents scattering, and the City contractor can decline to collect any item not so placed. Doors from white goods must be removed before the appliance is stored and placed for collection. Recycling bins or carts go at the curbside, or, for a qualified disabled person, at or near the front door so they are readily observable from the curbside.

Section 1064.26(c) puts the burden on tenants, lessees, occupants, possessors or owners to provide a safe and convenient entrance for collectors, with containers placed where they can be emptied without attack from animals. Under 1064.26(d), refuse cannot be stored so close to personal effects that the collector cannot tell what is to be collected.

Section 1064.25 has the City contractor collect refuse and recycling on the same designated weekday. On holidays, refuse is collected the following day, and the City Manager can approve bi-weekly recycling or a temporary change of day for emergencies including forecasted extreme weather. Each residential unit can set out only refuse generated by that unit. Under section 1064.23(a), containers and recycling bins or carts cannot be stored in the front yard as defined by section 1230.06.