DETROIT – It may be garbage day for your neighborhood, but if you leave a big pile of trash, you may be surprised to find that it isn’t picked up.
Well, there’s a reason for that!
The Detroit Public Works Department is informing residents about the dos and don’ts of trash day.
When it comes to bulk material such as furniture, mattresses and appliances, you’re only allowed to put out one cubic yard of material in front of your home per pickup. One cubic yard is about the size of a couch, stove or refrigerator. Collectors will only pick up one cubic yard for free.
And there’s a catch; that cubic yard cannot contain remodeling or construction debris or hazardous waste (paint, batteries, fuel, etc.).
If you’re over the limit of how much bulk material you can put on the curb, it won’t be collected, but you do have options.
You can either rent a dumpster and get rid of the material yourself, or you can call the city.
The Department of Public Works will come out and give you an estimate on the cost of disposing your bulk items.
If you choose to use the paid pickup service, you’ll be saving hundreds of dollars in tickets and fines. All you have to do is call 313-876-0049.
If you have a pile of bulk material that exceeds the limit, you will be notified. The city then gives you 48 hours to dispose of the material yourself or call the paid pickup service. If you don’t, you will be fined up to $1,500 for the first offense and up to $10,000 for the fourth offense.
As long as trash and recycling are in the proper containers, and meet the conditions outlined previously, there is pickup on collection days.
There are a different set of rules for yard waste.
If you’re putting yard waste such as leaves, grass clippings, shrubs and twigs on the curb; they need to be packaged right.
Use paper bags or 32-gallon reusable plastic or metal containers. Be sure to mark them "Yard waste."
Brush and twigs should be tied as bundles and placed at the curb. They need to be no more than four feet long and weigh no more than 60 pounds.
As long as yard waste is properly packaged, there’s no limit to what can be collected.
It’s important to note that there will be about four different trucks rolling down the street for pickup.
Garbage trucks come every week.
Yard waste trucks, recycling trucks and bulk material trucks come every other week.
For a complete list of when the four trucks are in which neighborhood, click here.
If there are issues regarding your garbage, recycling or any other waste pickup services please contact your provider at the following numbers.
- GFL at (844) GO.GFLUSA or (844) 464-3587.
- Advanced Disposal at (844) 2-DETROIT or (844) 233-8764.