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

Under Sec. 2.5, rubbish set out for Southfield's residential collection must be kept dry until pickup, using substantial metal, plastic or wood containers or another container type the city has authorized. Newspapers have to be tied in bundles, and cardboard cartons must be flattened and tied rather than left as loose boxes. Anything too bulky or oddly shaped for a can, described in the code as articles of rubbish that cannot be placed in containers, can instead be flattened, folded or tied for the crew to carry.

Sec. 2.4 backs this up on the container side: garbage itself must go in metal containers of ten to twenty gallons with metal handles or a bale and a tight-fitting cover, or another container type the city authorizes, and it must be securely wrapped; garbage and rubbish may be mixed in the same container. None of this is optional advice. Sec. 2.5(9) tells crews that whenever a container, bundle or article does not conform to these preparation rules, the crew is to tag it rather than take it, and the tag has to state the reason the pickup was refused.

That leaves the resident to fix the problem, rebundle newspapers, break down a box, dry out wet rubbish, and wait for the next scheduled collection day rather than a special return trip. The rules apply on top of, not instead of, the size and weight caps set elsewhere in the same section for bundles and brush.