Trash & Recycling

Waste Collection & Recycling

• Trash will be collected twice a week instead of once per week. The first collection will all go to the landfill and the second collection will all go to RePower South where it will be separated and reused for products and fuels. You can choose how much or how little you want to put in the landfill and how much or how little you want to send to a facility for recycling/reuse. Please do not put organic yard debris of any kind in the second collection of the week. 
• For your first collection of the week, Amwaste will collect household garbage and small yard waste (small amounts of bagged leaves, pine straw, grass clippings, small limbs, etc). They will also collect up to two cubic yards of waste set beside your cart. All these items total must fit into two cubic yards or roughly a standard-size pickup truck bed filled to the top (not overflowing). Examples of items you can put out on the first pickup are chairs, microwaves, single bed mattresses, carpet rolls, etc. No single item can weigh more than 50 pounds. 
• The second collection of the week is dedicated solely to household trash and recyclings. Organic yard debris should NOT be included in this collection.
• Routes begin as early as 7:00 a.m., so be sure to have materials out for collection by 6:30 a.m. on your scheduled service days.
• All household trash and recycling should be bagged.
• Residents are allowed up to two carts through the City's contract with Amwaste. These are billed via Pelham Water Works. Additional carts are available, and homeowners should contact Amwaste directly because extra carts are contracted and billed directly through Amwaste.

Bulk Collection & Large Yard Debris

• There are no longer two bulk collection days per year. Instead, you can request a pickup of bulk trash and large piles of organic yard debris anytime.
• Heavy trash items, such as mattresses, carpets, and appliances, should be placed prior to scheduling the pickup. You can request your pickup via our Request Tracker or call Amwaste at 205.788.1400. Bulk trash items will be collected within two business days.
• Large organic yard debris pickup must also be scheduled and will be collected within ten business days from the time of your request. Large organic yard debris is vegetative waste, yard waste, limbs, shrubs, and bagged grass clippings GREATER than the two cubic yards collected beside the cart on the first service day of the week. If your materials are not picked up within ten business days following your request, please report the missed pickup here.
• Tree limbs cannot exceed six feet in length.
• Landscaping and/or construction debris should be removed by the contractor performing the service. Only homeowner-generated materials should be scheduled for pickup by Amwaste. A roll-off dumpster should be utilized for construction and/or renovation projects that generate significant debris.

Carts & Placement

• Continue to use your existing cart for service.
• If your cart needs repair, submit a ticket through the Request Tracker or call 205.620.6420.
• Carts should be placed on the curb with the arrows on the lid pointing to the street and no more than three feet from the curb.
• Carts should NOT be placed on the sidewalk; storm drain cover; gutter; steep slope; on an elevated platform; under a low-hanging utility line or other obstruction; or within 6’ of any fixed objects such as a mailbox, hedges, retaining wall, vehicle parked on street, etc.
• Backdoor collection for medically certified customers will continue without interruption.

Materials Collected by AmWaste

• Rolled carpet
• Glass doors (glass must be broken and placed in a cardboard box)
• Alkaline manganese and carbon-zinc batteries
• Fluorescent bulbs
• Household amounts of pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers
• Moving boxes (broken down)
• Packing materials (bagged)
• Appliances (refrigerated appliances require a Freon removal tag issued by a certified technician)
• Mattresses

Materials NOT Collected by AmWaste

• Construction debris
• Blocks
• Bricks
• Concrete
• Piles of dirt
• Tile
• Tires
• More than household amounts of hazardous waste
• Car batteries
• Large car parts (engines, rotors, etc.)
• Landscape or railroad cross ties
• Medical waste
• Needles
• Animal carcasses