Dearborn Heights, MI Trash & Recycling: Pickup Rules & Schedules (2026)

City Code § 17-35(d) governs curbside or autoside placement. Receptacles must meet the storage standards of § 17-35(b), and the maximum volume in any one receptacle is 35 gallons for yard waste and 96 gallons for other waste (32 gallons before November 1, 2016); waste that is bundled rather than containerized is capped at 32 gallons. Every receptacle, regardless of type, is limited to a maximum weight of 50 pounds under § 17-35(d)(3). Residents cannot set waste out earlier than 6:00 p.m. the day before their regularly scheduled collection day, and empty receptacles must be retrieved from the curb no later than 8:00 p.m. on collection day itself, after which they must go back out of public view per § 17-35(c).

The department of public works publishes each area's collection-day schedule on the city's website under § 17-35(e)(2), and it is a separate violation of § 17-35(e) to park a vehicle on a public street between 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. on a scheduled collection day (holidays excepted). All solid waste generated in the city must go through the city or a licensed hauler under § 17-29(a), tying pickup service to the city's contract with the Central Wayne County Sanitation Authority described in § 17-26.