Georgia trash pickup is run by cities, counties and private haulers, not by the state, and your pickup day comes from your city’s or hauler’s own lookup. Among the largest cities, Atlanta, Columbus and Augusta collect curbside themselves. Georgia has a ban on yard waste in landfills, but no statewide bottle deposit, PaintCare paint, mattress or electronics recycling program.
Find your city
- Atlanta — Office of Solid Waste Services. Holiday delays follow the published city table, not a national calendar.
Other large cities and their official collection pages:
- Columbus: Columbus Consolidated Government Public Works, Integrated Waste, Waste Collections Division. Since September 9, 2024, recycling, yard waste and bulk waste are collected on the same day as household garbage, which must be in a city-issued black or brown cart. Official page ↗ Look up your collection day ↗
- Augusta: Augusta Environmental Services Department. City curbside recycling ended August 1, 2025; residents who want recycling now sign up with Coastal Waste & Recycling, which bills them directly, with service scheduled from January 1, 2026. Official page ↗ Look up your collection day ↗
Missing your city? Suggest a City.
Who collects in Georgia
- Atlanta Solid Waste Services — municipal department
- Scrap tires are banned from Georgia landfills; EPD publishes a guide to tire recycling options and a calendar of local scrap tire collection events. Source ↗
- Georgia EPD says homeowners may legally put solid household hazardous waste in the garbage but not liquids, and that reuse and recycling options for it are extremely limited. Source ↗
- Georgia’s Department of Community Affairs directs residents with recycling questions to their own local government or a local Keep Georgia Beautiful affiliate. Source ↗
National haulers (Republic Services, WM, Waste Connections) hold contracts in many places; the city or county names the hauler for each street.
State-level rules
- Container deposit: No statewide container deposit law. NCSL names ten deposit states: California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, Oregon and Vermont; Georgia is not one of them. Source ↗
- Paint: Not a PaintCare state. Georgia is not among the states in PaintCare’s fee table, which lists every state where PaintCare operates. Leftover paint goes through the local household hazardous waste program; see paint. Source ↗
- Mattresses: No statewide mattress take-back program. The Mattress Recycling Council runs Bye Bye Mattress only in California, Connecticut, Oregon and Rhode Island. See mattresses. Source ↗
- Electronics: No statewide electronics law. NCSL’s list of 25 states and DC with electronics recycling laws does not include Georgia, and no state electronics landfill ban was found in Georgia EPD sources. Source ↗
- Yard waste: Banned from landfills statewide. State law, O.C.G.A. 12-8-40.2, bars yard trimmings from municipal solid waste landfills and from being mixed with household trash, except at construction and demolition landfills, inert landfills and lined landfills that capture landfill gas for energy or other beneficial use. Source ↗
State agency
- State agency: Georgia Environmental Protection Division, Department of Natural Resources, Land Protection Branch. Its Land Protection Branch runs the state Solid Waste Management Program, which permits solid waste handling facilities and inspects and monitors them. Official website ↗
- Contact: (404) 657-8600
Flag of Georgia. Public-domain artwork. Source. Resized to 480 pixels wide.
Materials with their own rules
Paint · Lithium-ion batteries · Household hazardous waste · Mattresses · Pizza boxes · Christmas trees
Neighboring states
Alabama · Florida · North Carolina · South Carolina · Tennessee
Sources
Official pages used: epd.georgia.gov · epd.georgia.gov · atlantaga.gov · atlantaga.gov · columbusga.gov · columbusga.gov · augustaga.gov · augustaga.gov · augustaga.gov · ncsl.org · paintcare.org · mattressrecyclingcouncil.org · law.justia.com · epd.georgia.gov · dca.georgia.gov.
Back to all states.