Marietta, GA Trash & Recycling: Recycling Requirements (2026)
Key Facts
- Curbside timing
- After 5:00 p.m. night before pickup
- Ownership transfer
- On placement at collection point
- Owner
- City or authorized contractor
- Materials covered
- Newspaper, mixed paper, cardboard, plastic, metal cans
- Container removal
- By end of collection day
Summary
Marietta's recycling containers must be protected from animals and litter, with newspaper sacks set out after 5:00 p.m. the night before pickup. Once placed at a designated collection spot, recyclables legally become city or contractor property.
Individual nondisposable "recycling" containers shall, at all times, be protected from animals, children, or objects that may cause the contents of the container to be littered. Containers or paper sacks containing newspaper to be recycled may be placed curbside the night before collection, after 5:00 p.m. All nondisposable recycling containers are to be removed from the curbside by the end of the collection day. ... B.Ownership of Recyclable Waste Materials. Upon the placement of recyclable waste material at a designated recycling collection location or in the designated recycling container placed for collection by the city or authorized contractor, the recyclable waste material shall become the property of the city or authorized recycling contractor.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 56).
Full Breakdown
Section 5-8-160 defines the mechanics of the city's curbside recycling program. the night before the scheduled collection, with empty containers required off the curb by the end of collection day, mirroring the timing for regular garbage under Section 5-8-040(A)(2). 3 defines recyclable waste material broadly as discarded newspapers, mixed paper, cardboard, plastic and metal cans separated out from other refuse. Subsection B is the ownership rule that matters for anyone trying to intercept recyclables before the truck arrives: once material is placed at a designated recycling location or container for collection, it becomes the property of the City of Marietta or its authorized recycling contractor, not the resident who set it out and not any third party.
Subsection D preserves a resident's separate right to donate, sell, or otherwise dispose of recyclable material on their own, so long as that disposal happens before it is placed for city collection under this section.
Violations & Fines
Improperly storing recycling containers so contents litter, or disputing the city's ownership of material once placed at a designated collection point, is enforced by the public works director and, absent a specific fine in this section, falls back to the Section 11-4-080 general penalty of up to $500 or six months in jail.
Frequently Asked Questions
When can I put recycling out at the curb in Marietta?
Who owns my recycling once I put it out in Marietta?
What counts as recyclable waste under Marietta's ordinance?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Marietta
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Recycling Requirements in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Cobb County handle recycling requirements.