RECYCLE AT HOME
Recycling at home will divert a large amount of your waste. See links below for more information.
Curbside Recycling in the City of Atlanta
Multi-family Recycling in the City of Atlanta
Yard trimmings pick-up in the City of Atlanta
Curbside Recycling in the City of Atlanta
If you live in house with less than 5 units in the City of Atlanta, you are eligible for curbside recycling pick-up.
How can I get a bin?
You may call the Recycling Hotline at (404)330-6333 or email publicworks@atlantaga.gov for a bin. The City of Atlanta provides curbside recycling collection every week.
While you are waiting on a bin, you may place your recycling in a clearly marked container that is labeled “RECYCLING”. City issued "RECYCLING" stickers are available upon request by calling the Customer Service Center at (404) 330-6333, or via email request to: publicworks@atlantaga.gov.
When is recycling picked up?
Your recycling is picked up on your designated collection ay each week.
What can I put in my bin?
All items listed below can be placed in the same container. All materials are sorted later at the recycling center or "MRF".
Large amounts of cardboard may also be taken to the following drop sites: Liddell Substation, 1540 Northside Drive, NW |
What is NOT allowed in the bin?
- Coated cardboard such as milk and frozen food boxes.
- Hazardous waste: Spray or aerosol cans of any kind and paint cans, motor oil, bleach bottles;
- Plastics with no recycling numbers or a #"8" or greater.
- Drinking glasses, mirrors, window glass, ceramics such as plates & coffee mugs, pyrex dishes, china, light bulbs, and any other non-container glass
- Packaging materials like “peanuts”, tissue paper, plastic bags, or polystyrene
- polystyrene (styrofoam)
- Food contaminated items like pizza boxes
Find out where to handle some of these items by searching Earth911.
Where does my recycling go?
Click here to find out where your recycling goes in Georgia.
Click here to see your recyclables being processed.
Yard Trimmings Pick-Up in the City of Atlanta
Why do I need to separate yard trimmings from my trash?
Georgia law prohibits yard trimmings from being processed with household garbage because yard trimmings are not accepted at landfills. Therefore, the City has a special collection every other week for yard trimmings. In 2008, The City of Atlanta collected approximately 30,000 tons of yard trimmings.
Why is it important that yard trimmings are separated?
- Reduces our need for landfills.
-
Can be used again for compost or processed for boiler fuel.
- Biodegradable material like grass clippings and leaves decompose in landfills creating unwanted methane gas.
What qualifies as “yard trimmings?”
Items include grass clippings, leaves, pine straw, shrub prunings, discarded Christmas trees, nursery vegetative materials, and small branches not exceeding 4 feet in length and 6 inches in diameter. Logs and larger branches must be cut into four-foot lengths and stacked neatly at the curb.
How do I separate yard trimmings from other solid waste?
- Place yard trimmings in an approved container such as a 32-gallon plastic container clearly marked "YARD TRIMMINGS", and place the container at the curb. A 32-gallon container can be obtained at minimal cost at home or hardware stores.
- Place yard trimmings in special paper Kraft bags available from most hardware and grocery stores. Yard trimmings placed in PLASTIC BAGS will NOT be collected.
- Or, instead of putting your yard trimmings at the curb, you can compost them. Check out these helpful hints for composting.
Where do my yard trimmings go?
The yard trimmings are taken to William B. Hartsfield Solid Waste Reduction Plant on James Jackson Parkway, and then processed as boiler fuel for various mills. (Source: City of Atlanta, Comprehensive Solid Waste Management Plan 2005)
Yard Trimming Collection Schedule
Currently, yard trimming collection is based on the day of your household garbage collection. For example, if your household garbage is collected on Monday or Tuesday, your yard trimmings will be collected on the during the 1st and 3rd week of each month. If is collected on Wednesday or Thursday, your yard trimming will be collected on the 2nd and 4th week of each month. For a schedule of collection, click here.
Multi-family Residential Recycling
The City does not currently offer recycling services to the multi-family dwellings. Some private waste haulers provide recycling services for the multi-family complexes they service for garbage collection.
If you live in an apartment or condo in a multi-family dwelling, talk to your building manager or owner to request recycling. Also available is a multi-family recycling toolkit. To access the toolkit click here.
An improved recycling ordinance for multi-family dwelling was passed by Atlanta City Council in the Fall of 2007. This ordinance clarifies recycling requirements and the city’s enforcement powers regarding multi-family recycling.
Basically, it states that the owners of multi-family owners must:
- Furnish commercial containers for the collection of recyclables.
- Owners and Associations subject to this section shall have until July, 2008 to comply with requirements
- As a condition for the approval for any building permit for new multi-family dwelling, all plans must demonstrate that the space allocated shall be of a size necessary to locate and service containers.
- Each owner or Association member will be required to submit an annual report to document recyclables collected.
- Waivers can be granted for applicants that can prove that it is physically impossible or economically unreasonable to add addition space for containers.
For information on recycling outside the City of Atlanta limits, click here or contact your Keep Georgia Beautiful affiliate.