- Internal
- Government
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- Public Works
- Solid Waste / Recycling
- Residential Collection
- Curb Side Residential Garbage Collection
Curb Side Residential Garbage Collection
Residential Garbage Collection is provided either on a Monday or Tuesday. The City of Huntsville will provide each active utility account with a GREEN garbage cart. These carts are available in two sizes, a 48-gallon cart and a 96-gallon cart. Customers inquiring about collection days at a particular address may contact the Solid Waste and Recycling Services Division at 936-294-5712.
On the day of collection, the City-issued GREEN garbage cart must be placed within two feet of the curb or the street's edge no later than 6:00 am. Garbage must be bagged and placed inside the cart. No items outside of the cart or on the ground will be collected. No garbage will be collected from personal garbage cans. Please do not place garbage on top of the cart lid. The cart needs to be five feet from all vehicles, trailers, boats, mail boxes, fire hydrants, utility poles, fences, other carts, etc.
Moved recently? Once you have opened and activated your city utility account, the Utility Billing Department will send the Solid Waste and Recycling Department a report that lets us know that a new account has been opened. If there are no carts showing in our system, we will create a work order and will usually make delivery of your garbage cart within five to seven days. If after this time you still have not received your cart, please call 936-294-5712 to let us know that you are still waiting for delivery.
What do I do if my garbage won't fit in my cart?
If you have garbage that will not fit in your GREEN garbage cart, you can bring the garbage to the Transfer Station Facility for disposal. Please see more information about the Transfer Station Facility on our Solid Waste/Recycling page.
If you continually have garbage that does not fit into your GREEN garbage cart, you can request a second GREEN garbage cart to be assigned to your address. The charge for a second cart is $13.73. Please call 936-294-5712 to request a second cart. City ordinance does not allow more than two carts per utility account.
What do I do if I want to change the size of my garbage cart?
Just give us a call and let us know at 936-294-5712. We have two sizes of garbage carts, a 48-gallon, and a 96-gallon. Garbage service rates will not be reduced if you switch from a 96-gallon to a 48-gallon cart.
What do I do if my garbage cart is damaged?
If your lid breaks, a wheel falls off, or the can cracks, there is no reason to worry. Please call 936-294-5712 and request a replacement cart. Leave the damaged cart outside where it can easily be located. We will send out someone within 5 to 7 days to deliver a new cart, and pick up the damaged cart.
If your lid keeps breaking, check to see which way it is left on the street's edge. Our trucks have mechanical arms that reach out and grab these garbage carts. If the handle of the cart is facing the road, not the house, the lid can get stuck on this arm and can get pulled off. Turn the cart so that the handle is facing away from the road and there should be no more broken lids.
What do I do if my garbage cart is missing?
This does happen, and there could be multiple reasons. The most common reason is that there was a storm and the cart simply floated away. If this happens, please look for the cart in the direction that the water would flow on your street. If you are unable to locate the cart, call 936-294-5712 and request a replacement cart.
There will be a $50 replacement cart fee applied to your utility bill.
If your cart has gone missing for any other reason, please contact us at 936-294-5712 and request a replacement cart. This most often happens when a garbage cart is left on the street's edge continuously. To avoid this, please do not put out your cart any sooner than 8:00 pm the night before it is serviced, and pull your cart from the street's edge after the cart has been serviced.
My garbage keeps getting missed, why?
There are several reasons why this might be happening.
Answer 1 - The cart was placed at the streets edge after the truck had already gone down your side of the street.
The garbage routes can change on a daily bases due to changes in drivers, traffic patterns, truck break downs, more or less carts than usual being set out on a particular day, or the driver had to change his route due to a customers request to return to a particular location. The driver will start his route at 6:00 am, and due to the different reasons as to why a route might change, even though you usually notice your driver coming through your street around 10:00 am, that could change and the driver could be down your street at any time. This is why it is important to have your cart at the streets edge by 6:00 am.
Answer 2 - The driver has not been on your side of the street yet.
The trucks are designed to pick up one side of the street at a time. In order to be efficient with time, the routes are written so that the driver can drive as far as possible with making as few turns as possible, so your driver might not be back down the other side of your street for several hours. If there has been a breakdown in the middle of the route, this could further delay the driver's return.
Answer 3 - The cart was blocked in some way.
If your cart was placed too close to an obstacle, or a vehicle was parked in front of the cart at the time that the driver came to your location for servicing, the driver was not able to provide service. Often the vehicle blocking the cart does not belong to the customer that has been blocked. It could be a neighbor, a visitor, a yard service crew, tv/cable trucks, construction workers, etc.
Answer 4 - The cart was set too far back off of the streets edge.
The arms of the trucks that reach out and grab your garbage cart are only so long. If the cart is set too far back off of the road, the driver will not be able to grab the cart. The cart must be set as close to the streets edge as possible. Find or create a location on your property that meets this requirement. If you would like suggestions or help with finding a solution to this problem, please contact us at 936-294-5712.
On the day of collection, the City-issued GREEN garbage cart must be placed within two feet of the curb or the street's edge no later than 6:00 am. Garbage must be bagged and placed inside the cart. No items outside of the cart or on the ground will be collected. No garbage will be collected from personal garbage cans. Please do not place garbage on top of the cart lid. The cart needs to be five feet from all vehicles, trailers, boats, mail boxes, fire hydrants, utility poles, fences, other carts, etc.
Moved recently? Once you have opened and activated your city utility account, the Utility Billing Department will send the Solid Waste and Recycling Department a report that lets us know that a new account has been opened. If there are no carts showing in our system, we will create a work order and will usually make delivery of your garbage cart within five to seven days. If after this time you still have not received your cart, please call 936-294-5712 to let us know that you are still waiting for delivery.
What do I do if my garbage won't fit in my cart?
If you have garbage that will not fit in your GREEN garbage cart, you can bring the garbage to the Transfer Station Facility for disposal. Please see more information about the Transfer Station Facility on our Solid Waste/Recycling page.If you continually have garbage that does not fit into your GREEN garbage cart, you can request a second GREEN garbage cart to be assigned to your address. The charge for a second cart is $13.73. Please call 936-294-5712 to request a second cart. City ordinance does not allow more than two carts per utility account.
What do I do if I want to change the size of my garbage cart?
Just give us a call and let us know at 936-294-5712. We have two sizes of garbage carts, a 48-gallon, and a 96-gallon. Garbage service rates will not be reduced if you switch from a 96-gallon to a 48-gallon cart.What do I do if my garbage cart is damaged?
If your lid breaks, a wheel falls off, or the can cracks, there is no reason to worry. Please call 936-294-5712 and request a replacement cart. Leave the damaged cart outside where it can easily be located. We will send out someone within 5 to 7 days to deliver a new cart, and pick up the damaged cart.If your lid keeps breaking, check to see which way it is left on the street's edge. Our trucks have mechanical arms that reach out and grab these garbage carts. If the handle of the cart is facing the road, not the house, the lid can get stuck on this arm and can get pulled off. Turn the cart so that the handle is facing away from the road and there should be no more broken lids.
What do I do if my garbage cart is missing?
This does happen, and there could be multiple reasons. The most common reason is that there was a storm and the cart simply floated away. If this happens, please look for the cart in the direction that the water would flow on your street. If you are unable to locate the cart, call 936-294-5712 and request a replacement cart. There will be a $50 replacement cart fee applied to your utility bill.
If your cart has gone missing for any other reason, please contact us at 936-294-5712 and request a replacement cart. This most often happens when a garbage cart is left on the street's edge continuously. To avoid this, please do not put out your cart any sooner than 8:00 pm the night before it is serviced, and pull your cart from the street's edge after the cart has been serviced.
My garbage keeps getting missed, why?
There are several reasons why this might be happening.Answer 1 - The cart was placed at the streets edge after the truck had already gone down your side of the street.
The garbage routes can change on a daily bases due to changes in drivers, traffic patterns, truck break downs, more or less carts than usual being set out on a particular day, or the driver had to change his route due to a customers request to return to a particular location. The driver will start his route at 6:00 am, and due to the different reasons as to why a route might change, even though you usually notice your driver coming through your street around 10:00 am, that could change and the driver could be down your street at any time. This is why it is important to have your cart at the streets edge by 6:00 am.
Answer 2 - The driver has not been on your side of the street yet.
The trucks are designed to pick up one side of the street at a time. In order to be efficient with time, the routes are written so that the driver can drive as far as possible with making as few turns as possible, so your driver might not be back down the other side of your street for several hours. If there has been a breakdown in the middle of the route, this could further delay the driver's return.
Answer 3 - The cart was blocked in some way.
If your cart was placed too close to an obstacle, or a vehicle was parked in front of the cart at the time that the driver came to your location for servicing, the driver was not able to provide service. Often the vehicle blocking the cart does not belong to the customer that has been blocked. It could be a neighbor, a visitor, a yard service crew, tv/cable trucks, construction workers, etc.
Answer 4 - The cart was set too far back off of the streets edge.
The arms of the trucks that reach out and grab your garbage cart are only so long. If the cart is set too far back off of the road, the driver will not be able to grab the cart. The cart must be set as close to the streets edge as possible. Find or create a location on your property that meets this requirement. If you would like suggestions or help with finding a solution to this problem, please contact us at 936-294-5712.
