| Residential & Special Pick-Up
Residential Collection Service
The Sanitation Division provides collection of household garbage twice per week in the unincorporated areas of the county and the city of Lithonia. Currently, this collection service is provided to an estimated 165,000 residential households, a few home based and small businesses. Residents are allowed an unlimited amount of household solid waste curbside in approved receptacles: 20-32 gallon metal or plastic cans or bags and paper boxes. Garbage is manually collected by a crew consisting of a driver and two collectors using a rear loader high compaction vehicle. Back door service is provided at no extra charge to residents who are exempt for medical reasons from placing their containerized refuse on the curb. Backdoor service is also available to other customers for an additional charge. Residential collection and disposal fees are levied annually as a special assessment on the property tax notice.
Household Garbage Collection Procedures
All Household Garbage must be placed in individual trash bags that are securely tied or placed inside an approved receptacle. Approved receptacles include 20-32 gallon durable metal and or plastic containers with two durable handles and a detachable lid. Household Garbage must be placed at the curb before 8:00 a.m. not blocking mailboxes, utilities, driveways, sidewalks, drainage systems or roadways. Containers must be returned to your home after collection. Containers cannot stay at the curb more than 24 hours for any reason. If your Household Garbage has not been collected by 2:00 p.m. on the scheduled day of collection, call Sanitation at (404) 294-2900 and the Garbage will be collected the following business day.
Bulky Items Collection Procedures
All bulky items are collected by special collection vehicles and are included in the residential annual assessment fee. Bulky items include furniture, mattresses & box springs, household appliances, playground equipment, lawn mowers, hand tools, accessories, etc. and/ or other items not collected on the weekly servicing days. Appliances with doors must be properly secured or removed. Lawn mowers and other accessories must have all gas, oil and lubricants removed prior to placement at the curb. Bulky items must be placed at the curb without blocking mailboxes, utilities, driveways, sidewalks, drainage systems, or roadways. Call Sanitation at (404) 294-2900 to report bulky items as soon as they have been placed at the curb. The items will be collected within 1- 5 business days.
Special Collection Service
Special collection services are provided for a fee to residents to properly dispose of tires, deceased animals, un-containerized/ improperly prepared yard waste, construction and demolition materials; rocks, dirt, concrete, wood, metal fences, decking, and other materials not identified. These special items are collected using specialized vehicles and are not included in the annual residential assessments. For scheduling, assessment, and pre-payment of services, call Sanitation at (404) 294-2900.
Curbside Recycling Service
The County offers 3 types of Recycling Services.
1. Basic Service- The County provides weekly residential curbside recycling service for newspaper and aluminum cans. Aluminum cans are collected on the first collection day of the week and newspapers on the 2nd collection day of the week. These items must be bundled and tied.
2. Comprehensive Subscription Curbside Recycling Program-The most effective curbside recycling program whereby residents participate at the maximum levels possible. Residents are to only place items to be recycled that have been identified as part of the program, and participants follow all rules associated with the correct way items should be prepared and placed at the curb for recycling. See brochure in the link listed.
Residential Subscription Curbside Recycling Program Brochure
3. Recycling Drop-off-locations- Mixed Paper Containers are located at all DeKalb County Fire Stations and many DeKalb County Public Buildings. (Citizen Recycling Drop Off Locations) These containers are green in color with a slide through slot opening in the front. All Mixed Papers may be dropped off at these locations that include: Newspapers, Phone Books, Magazines, Catalogs, Office Paper, Cardboard, Chipboard, and Junk Mail. The paper items must pass through a six-inch ( 6” ) by four-feet ( 4’ ) slot opening to be recycled. Simply breakdown all your cardboard boxes at home, throw away all packaging in your household garbage and take the folded cardboard and other papers to the closest mixed paper container and slide them through the opening.
The cost of these services are included the annual solid waste assessment.
Residential Curbside Recycling
Yard Debris Collection Procedures
All Yard Debris must be properly prepared for collection. Yard Debris includes: grass clippings, leaves, twigs, branches, limbs, tree parts, shrubbery, vines, garden plants, etc., and other naturally occurring vegetative matter. Grass clippings, leaves, twigs, shrubbery, vines, garden plants, and small items must be placed in approved 20-40 gallon receptacles. Approved receptacles include durable metal and plastic containers or durable biodegradable paper bags. Each container must have two durable handles. Each paper bag must be folded at the top to minimize rain deteriorating the paper bags. All approved receptacles must be placed at the curb without blocking mailboxes, utilities, driveways, sidewalks, drainage systems, or roadways before 8:00 a.m. on the scheduled day of yard debris collection for your service area. Branches and limbs must be trimmed of twigs, vines, and leaves and cut to a maximum of four (4) feet in length, and stacked
neatly at the curb. The removed twigs, vines, and leaves must be placed in an approved receptacle as outlined above. Trees must be cut up as small as necessary, where each piece does not exceed a maximum of 50 pounds. Call Sanitation at (404) 294- 2900 if there are large piles of yard debris at the curbside not meeting the above restrictions or if your yard debris has not been serviced on the scheduled day by 2:00 p.m. Note: Trees placed curbside by professional Tree Cutters or Services will be assessed a fee and must be prepaid prior to collection by DeKalb County Sanitation.
Mowing & Herbicide Division
The mowing season begins in April and continues thru November. The Sanitation Mowing & Herbicide Division is responsible for the mowing of approximately 5,000 miles of right of ways and vacant lots. Six mowing routes are operated by one Crew Supervisor and two operators. One operator is responsible for the spraying of herbicide chemicals on county rights-of-way to retard grass and weed growth. |
