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

Last checked Oct. 17, 2026. Facts on this page come from the City of Tuscaloosa Garbage and Trash, Recycling, Holiday Schedule and trash FAQ pages.

The City of Tuscaloosa Environmental Services Department picks up garbage, bulk trash and recycling once a week, all on the same day. City garbage service is mandatory for every single-family home inside the city limits, and it starts when you open a city water account. To find your day, use the city’s Find My Pickup Day map or call 311.

Who to call

• Tuscaloosa 311 (missed pickup, carts, bins, bulk trash): dial 311 inside the city limits, or 205-248-5311
• Environmental Services: 3440 Reese Phifer Ave., 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Friday, 205-248-4900, esd@tuscaloosa.com
• Not sure you are in the city? Check the city limits map

If you live outside the city limits, in Northport or unincorporated Tuscaloosa County, the City of Tuscaloosa does not collect at your home. You can still use the city’s free recycling drop-off trailers listed below.

Garbage: the cart

Garbage is everyday household waste. It goes in bags, and the bags go inside the city cart. Bags left on the ground are not collected.

• Put the cart at the curb by 6 a.m. on your collection day. The city’s FAQ allows until 7 a.m. from Labor Day to Memorial Day; 6 a.m. is safe all year.
• Take the empty cart off the curb by 8 a.m. the day after pickup.
• Keep it more than 3 feet from other carts, recycling bins, trash piles, parked cars, mailboxes, fences and fire hydrants, and out from under low utility lines and limbs.
• In the Historic District, carts may not be stored in the front yard. The city publishes the Historic District cart placement rules.

Cost: garbage is billed per cart on the city water bill: $12 a month for the first residential cart and $36 a month for each additional cart. Bulk trash and recycling pickup carry no charge.

New, broken or missing cart: carts belong to the property. The property owner, not a tenant, calls 311 to get a cart or have one repaired or replaced.

Help at the house: the city runs a disabled collection program for households where no one can roll the cart out. It needs a physician’s signature and is renewed each year. Call 311.

Trash: limbs, yard waste and bulky items

“Trash” is the city’s word for bulk material set out loose at the curb, collected on your regular day for homes that pay for city garbage service.

Collected: old furniture and other bulky items, limbs and brush, bagged leaves and grass clippings, pine straw, and rocks, bricks and demolition waste from your own household. Appliances are collected separately and recycled; a refrigerator must be empty and taped shut, or have its doors removed.

The rules:

• Out by 6 a.m. on collection day, at the curb and never in the street.
• Bag all leaves and small items.
• Cut limbs to less than 8 feet long and 8 inches across.
• Keep the pile more than 3 feet from mailboxes, cars and fences, and not under utility lines.

Not collected: household garbage, hazardous waste (paint, light bulbs, batteries, chemicals), recyclables, tires, loose glass, electronics, and anything left by a paid contractor or tree trimmer. The contractor hauls away its own debris. Glass can go out only if it is broken small and taped inside a box.

Free curbside recycling

Every home with city garbage service can get a free recycling bin, collected on the same day as garbage. Ask for a bin, or an extra one, through 311.

Accepted: aluminum cans, steel “tin” cans, corrugated cardboard and cereal boxes, brown paper bags, mixed office paper, newspapers and magazines, and plastic bottles and jugs marked No. 1 or No. 2.

Not accepted: plastics No. 3 to No. 7, grocery bags and plastic film, bubble wrap, foam cups, juice boxes and cartons, chip bags, foil and pie plates, clothes hangers, diapers, medical waste and construction material.

Drop-off recycling trailers

Apartment dwellers, businesses with private dumpsters and people outside the city can recycle free at the city’s drop-off trailers around Tuscaloosa County, including:

• Tuscaloosa Environmental Services, 3311 Reese Phifer Ave.
• Kentuck at Queen City, 1901 Jack Warner Parkway
• University of Alabama recycling drop-off, 1115 14th St.
• McAbee Activity Center, 3801 Loop Road
• Bobby Miller Activity Center, 300 Bobby Miller Parkway
• Munny Sokol Park, 5901 Watermelon Road
• Shelton State Community College, 9500 Old Greensboro Road
• Tuscaloosa Regional Airport, 7601 R Cardinal Airport Road

The recycling page lists all 15 sites, and its map shows which ones take glass.

Electronics: take computers, monitors, printers, phones, tablets, flat-screen TVs, microwaves and rechargeable batteries to the Richard A. Curry Environmental Complex, 3440 Reese Phifer Ave., 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays, at no charge. Call 205-248-4900 first for a large load.

Holiday schedule for the rest of 2026

There is no garbage, trash or recycling pickup on a city holiday, according to the city’s 2026 holiday schedule.

The schedule does not say when Friday routes run in the Thanksgiving and Christmas weeks; call 311 that week. The city has posted its observed holidays for 2026 through 2030.

What this means for you

• Veterans Day moves Wednesday and Thursday routes back one day.
• Two-day closures at Thanksgiving and Christmas: check with 311 before a Friday pickup.
• Recycling and bulk trash are included in the $12 cart fee.

More guides: who to call at City Hall, parks and trails in Tuscaloosa and moving to Tuscaloosa.

Frequently asked questions

What day is trash pickup in Tuscaloosa?

Garbage, bulk trash and recycling are collected once a week, all on the same day. Look up your day on the city’s Find My Pickup Day map or call Tuscaloosa 311 at 205-248-5311.

What time does the garbage cart need to be out in Tuscaloosa?

By 6 a.m. on your collection day, the city’s garbage page says. Empty carts and bins must be off the curb by 8 a.m. the day after pickup.

Is Tuscaloosa trash pickup delayed on Thanksgiving?

Yes. City Hall closes Thursday, Nov. 26, and Friday, Nov. 27, 2026, and Thursday’s garbage, trash and recycling are picked up Friday, according to the city’s 2026 holiday schedule.

Does Tuscaloosa have curbside recycling?

Yes, and it is free. Homes with city garbage service get a recycling bin, collected on the same day as garbage. Call 311 to request a bin at no charge.

How much is garbage pickup in Tuscaloosa?

$12 a month for the first residential cart and $36 a month for each additional cart, billed on the city water bill. Bulk trash and recycling pickup cost nothing extra.