Shelby County garbage rates go up on Thursday, October 1, 2026, for households on the county’s residential collection contract in Alabama. The basic plan, one 90-gallon cart collected once a week, rises from $24.89 to $26.05 a month, a $1.16 increase, the county announced on September 23 (Shelby County).
Photo: The Shelby County Courthouse in Columbiana, Alabama. Rivers Langley (SaveRivers), 2012-02-24. CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source. Resized for web.
The contract covers unincorporated Shelby County and the municipalities that have chosen to take part. Waste Management is the service provider; the county’s contract is with Waste Away Group, Inc., through September 30, 2028 (Shelby County resolution).
The new rates
| Service | What it includes | Monthly until September 30 | Monthly from October 1 | Quarterly from October 1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residential I | One 90-gallon cart, collected once a week | $24.89 | $26.05 | $78.15 |
| Residential II | Two 90-gallon carts, collected once a week | $36.90 | $38.63 | $115.89 |
| Residential III | One 90-gallon cart, collected twice a week (local covenant) | $36.49 | $38.20 | $114.60 |
| Yard waste | Added to any residential package | $160.45 | $167.99 | $503.97 |
| Additional cart | Extra 90-gallon cart per residential unit | $12.89 | $13.49 | $40.47 |
The monthly figures are from the county’s announcement; the quarterly figures and service descriptions are from its Garbage Services page. The county’s community recycle bins go from $580.24 to $607.51 a load (Shelby County resolution).
Why the rates changed
The increase is the contract’s yearly consumer price index adjustment. The county’s resolution puts it at 4.70%, the change from May 2025 to May 2026 in the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics index for water, sewer and trash collection services (Shelby County resolution).
What customers need to do
Waste Management bills customers every quarter, so the new rates first show up in the payment for October to December. The county says customers on autopay with Waste Management should update the amount for that payment to avoid coming up short (Shelby County).
- Bills, autopay and service requests: Waste Management at 1-800-607-9509 or its Shelby County page, home.wm.com/shelby-county-al, which also has pickup and holiday schedules.
- Other questions: Shelby County Environmental Services at (205) 669-3737.
The county’s service reminders stay the same: carts out early, because routes begin at 7 a.m.; all garbage bagged; and lids fully closed, with no overloaded carts (Shelby County).
What this is not
This is the county contract. A household in a Shelby County city that runs or contracts its own collection, and is not one of the participating municipalities, pays that city’s rate instead. The rate is a Shelby County, Alabama figure; Shelby County, Tennessee, around Memphis, is a different county.
