Trash and recycling pickup in Huntsville: schedule, holidays and bulk pickup

Last checked Oct. 17, 2026. Facts on this page come from the City of Huntsville’s residential garbage collection, curbside collection, collection schedule and hazardous waste pages, and the Recycling Alliance of North Alabama’s schedule and FAQ.

The City of Huntsville picks up household garbage once a week from the green cart it provides. Recycling is picked up once a month by a separate agency, the Recycling Alliance of North Alabama (RANA), on its own schedule. To find your garbage day, enter your address in My Huntsville Services.

Who to call

• City Sanitation (garbage, yard waste, bulk trash, carts): 256-883-3964, 4205 East Schrimsher Lane; 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday
• RANA (recycling carts, missed recycling): 256-801-2278, support@recycling-alliance.com
• Household Hazardous Waste Facility: 256-882-0155, 1055 A Cleaner Way
• Report a problem online: Huntsville Connect

Garbage: the weekly pickup

• Put the cart at the curb no later than 7 a.m. on your collection day, no more than 2 feet from the curb or road, with the arrows on the lid pointing toward the street.
• Keep it at least 5 feet away from other carts, mailboxes, utility poles, fences and parked cars so the automated truck can reach it.
• Only city-issued 60- or 96-gallon carts are collected.
• Trucks will not return for a cart set out late, blocked or holding banned items such as paint, chemicals, rocks, dirt or construction debris.

The city’s fee is $21.50 a month for a 96-gallon cart, and an extra cart is $9 a month on a one-year minimum. Fees are billed on your monthly Huntsville Utilities bill. Request a cart, a repair or off-street help on the service requests page.

Holiday schedule

When the city delays collection for a holiday, there is no pickup that day and the rest of the week runs one day late. If your day falls on the holiday, put the cart out the evening before the next business day. The remaining 2026 holidays:

Earlier in 2026 the city also delayed pickup for New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Memorial Day and Labor Day, and ran normally on Good Friday, Juneteenth and July 3.

Recycling has its own holiday list. RANA delays routes only for New Year’s Day, Memorial Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas; if one falls on or before your recycling day in the same week, collection moves to the next day, Saturdays included. Its next delays are Thanksgiving, Nov. 26, and Christmas, Dec. 25, then New Year’s Day, Jan. 1, 2027.

Recycling: once a month, sign up first

Curbside recycling is free but opt-in: register for a 95-gallon cart on the RANA sign-up page, and allow up to six weeks for delivery. Routes are numbered by week of the month (first, second, third or fourth Monday and so on), and RANA’s color-coded calendar shows your week. Call 256-801-2278 if you do not know your route.

Put these loose in the cart, never bagged:

• No. 1 and No. 2 narrow-neck plastic bottles (no other plastics)
• Aluminum and steel cans
• Paper
• Flattened cardboard

Carts go out by 7 a.m.; drivers can collect as late as 8 p.m. Report a miss within three business days.

Bulk trash and yard waste

Bulk trash and yard waste go out with your regular collection. The city’s rules:

• Grass, leaves and clippings in bags of 50 pounds or less.
• Tree limbs no longer than 5 feet.
• Furniture, boxes and appliances such as refrigerators, washers and water heaters may go out.
• Piles go behind the curb, never in the street, gutter, on a storm drain or sidewalk, or next to utility boxes.
• Up to 10 cubic yards of limbs is free. Each additional 5 cubic yards costs $55. Loose yard waste that does not meet the rules is $45 a cubic yard.
• Not collected: dirt, rocks, bricks, cinder blocks, shingles, concrete, land-clearing debris or anything left by a contractor.

Hazardous waste and electronics

The Solid Waste Disposal Authority’s Household Hazardous Waste Facility, 1055 A Cleaner Way, is a drive-through site open 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays, rain or shine, for Huntsville, Madison and Madison County residents. It takes TVs and computers, motor oil, gasoline and antifreeze, cleaners, pool chemicals, paint and solvents, pesticides, household and car batteries, expired medicines, used needles and fluorescent bulbs. Old license plates go in the blue bins at Madison County License Department offices. Christmas trees go at the curb beside your cart.

What this means for you

• Look up your garbage day once on My Huntsville Services and note your RANA recycling week.
• Thanksgiving week, Thursday routes run Friday, Nov. 27.
• Signed up for recycling but no cart after six weeks? Call RANA at 256-801-2278.

More guides: property taxes, moving to Huntsville and who to call at City Hall.

Frequently asked questions

What day is trash pickup in Huntsville?

It depends on your address. Enter it in the city’s My Huntsville Services lookup at maps.huntsvilleal.gov/address to see your garbage collection day. Carts must be at the curb by 7 a.m.

How often is recycling picked up in Huntsville?

Once a month. Curbside recycling is run by the Recycling Alliance of North Alabama (RANA), is free and is opt-in: you must register for a cart. Call 256-801-2278 for your collection day.

Is trash pickup delayed for Veterans Day and Thanksgiving in Huntsville?

Yes. Collections are delayed by one day the week of Veterans Day, Wednesday, Nov. 11. On Thanksgiving, Thursday, Nov. 26, Thursday routes are collected Friday. Christmas, Friday, Dec. 25, brings no delays.

Does Huntsville pick up bulk trash and yard waste?

Yes, with your regular collection. Bag grass and leaves (50 pounds or less per bag), cut limbs to 5 feet or less, and put piles behind the curb by 7 a.m. Up to 10 cubic yards of limbs is free; each extra 5 cubic yards costs $55.

Where do I take paint, batteries and old electronics in Huntsville?

To the Solid Waste Disposal Authority’s Household Hazardous Waste Facility, 1055 A Cleaner Way, a drive-through site open 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays. Call 256-882-0155.