Smyrna, GA Trash & Recycling: Recycling Rules (2026)

Section 86-2.2 of the Smyrna Code lists the solid waste services the city provides. Under subsection (a), garbage and dry solid waste are collected once weekly. Subsection (c) adds curbside recycling: the city or its contractor provides weekly collection of recyclable materials, the plastic container is provided by the city, and the fee is included on the monthly sanitation bill from the city. Sanitation rates are set by the Mayor and Council. Section 86-4 says the rates are available through the city clerk's office and adjust in the same manner and at the same percentage as the rates that suppliers or service providers charge the city.

What counts as recyclable is defined in Section 86-1. Recyclable materials means plastic beverage bottles and jugs, glass bottles and jars, corrugated cardboard, newspaper, bimetal and aluminum cans, magazines, telephone books, automobile batteries, used motor oil, dry paint cans, metal, and large appliances. Section 86-2.1 separately prohibits certain items from disposal within the city: hazardous waste, any item containing refrigerant, pressure cylinders, oxygen tanks, paint, rubber tires, yard waste, inert building material, motor oil, and cooking oil. Those items are to be disposed of at the appropriate recycling facility or approved landfill. The code prints used motor oil and dry paint cans on the recyclable list and motor oil and paint on the prohibited list, so a resident with either item should call the city before setting it out.

Recyclables are protected from outside pickers. Section 86-9 prohibits scavenging, which Section 86-1 defines as salvaging or rummaging through the recyclable materials, garbage, disposed products or solid waste of another by anyone the city has not authorized, without the consent of the owner or generator. Section 86-8 makes it the duty of the sanitation department to make inspection trips at regular intervals to determine whether garbage, trash, and recyclable materials are being properly collected, removed and disposed of. Section 86-32.1 adds that the city is not liable for damage to private containers used for yard waste or recycling services, so a resident who swaps the city container for a private one carries that risk.