Decatur, AL Trash & Recycling: Pickup Rules & Schedules (2026)

Chapter 19 of the Code of Decatur, Alabama, sets weekly service and detailed set-out standards. Section 19-19(a) requires collection, hauling and disposal of garbage not less than once each week in a residential area. The city provides one container for garbage and refuse and one separate container for leaves, grass and shrubbery trimmings, and extra containers can be requested as supply allows.

Section 19-18 governs special materials. Leaves and grass clippings are containerized and set out on the collection day set by the superintendent of sanitation. From October 1 to May 1, quantities greater than three approved containers can go in loose piles beside the part of the street right-of-way used by vehicles, placed so storm drainage in gutters and ditches is not blocked. Pasteboard boxes must be flat, cut and tied in bundles. Ash containers must be metal with handles and tight lids, filled no higher than five inches below the top, no heavier than 50 pounds with contents, with no live coals and wetted to prevent dust. Bulky waste goes beside the sidewalk and curb or in an accessible place the department approves. Tree limbs are cut to five feet or less with protruding branches trimmed, and no bundle or limb can exceed 75 pounds. Anyone setting out an icebox, refrigerator or other container large enough to enclose a human being must first remove the snap lock or doors.

Some waste stays off the truck. Building debris, dirt, stumps, tree trunks, and limbs or branches four inches or larger in diameter are not removed (§ 19-7). Dead animals up to 50 pounds are picked up, but a dead animal cannot remain on premises longer than 12 hours, and animal excreta cannot go in garbage cans (§ 19-11).

Service is fee-based: $17.74 per month per dwelling unit as printed, $8.04 for each container beyond the base two, and $5.00 more for alley service, adjusted each October 1 by the CPI. A household living on Social Security alone is exempt, and a unit vacant 60 consecutive days can file a sworn statement to stop charges (§ 19-19).