Departments and Agencies » Department of Public Works » Solid Waste/Yard Waste

Department of Public Works

Solid Waste/Yard Waste

311 Call Center:
311 or (313) 224-INFO (4636)



Refuse Collection Dos and Don'ts

In order for everyone's waste to be regularly collected, each household should follow these dos and don'ts:

DO put your container at curbside by 7 a.m. on your pickup day, and remove it by 9 p.m.

DO NOT put your container out before 6 p.m. the day before your pickup day.

DO NOT put refuse outside of your container. Only items placed inside your container will be collected.

DO NOT place any unwrapped garbage, including liquids and food, inside the container. All refuse must be bagged before placing it in the container.

DO NOT overfill your container. All refuse must fit inside of the container.

DO NOT place concrete, yard waste, dirt, plaster or other heavy items in your container.

DO follow all refuse guidelines, or you could face fines up to $1,000 per day.
 Yard Waste Collection
The Department of Public Works will pick up yard waste — leaves, grass clippings, and twigs — on the same day as your scheduled weekly trash collection. The yard waste collection begins in April through the first week in December (weather permitting).

DPW will collect Christmas trees during the first two weeks of January. Place trees near the Courville container on your weekly trash collection day.

All yard waste must be placed at the curb at least six feet from your Courville container in biodegradable paper bags or a personal garbage can. DPW will not collect yard waste in plastic bags. Residents who set out yard waste more than 24 hours before their scheduled pickup will be subject to a fine.

DPW encourages residents to mulch yard clippings and to compost all yard waste, leaves and vegetation matter.

DO place your yard waste at the curb by 7 a.m. on your weekly trash collection day at least six feet away from your Courville container.

DO NOT put yard waste out more than 24 hours before weekly collection day.

DO place your material in biodegradable paper yard bags, which can be purchased at a local hardware or grocery store. You also may place yard waste — not in bags — in a personal can (not to exceed 32 gallons).

DO put branches and twigs less than two inches thick into bundles not to exceed four feet in length. Do not tie the bundles.

DO NOT place yard waste in your Courville trash container.

DO NOT put yard waste in plastic bags.

  
 Container Storage
Pursuant to City of Detroit Ordinance # 22-2-43
Residents must store their container on their property, in either the side or rear yard. The container cannot be stored at the curb, in the front yard or on the front porch. Storage in this manner allows the premises to be maintained in an orderly, aesthetically pleasing manner that will help the resident and the City in its efforts to keep Detroit clean. The container has a
hinged lid that opens and shuts easily and is designed to keep odors in, but rain and rodents out.
  
 Holiday Schedule

If any of the following holidays is on or before your collection day, your service will be one day later:

New Year's Day

Martin Luther King's Birthday

Memorial Day

Independence Day

Labor Day

Thanksgiving Day

Christmas Day
  
Mayor Dave Bing

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