Huntsville & Madison Bulk Trash Pickup Rules

City of Huntsville

How it works

City of Huntsville Sanitation collects household garbage weekly in your city-issued cart. Yard debris, boxes, furniture, appliances, and other household items are also collected weekly at the curb. There is no separate bulk request in most cases. Set items out by 7 a.m. behind the curb, and keep them out of the street, gutters, storm drains, and sidewalks, and away from mailboxes, poles, and utility boxes. Find your route on the city’s collection schedule page.

Limits

• Tree limbs: 5 feet long or shorter
• Bags and piles: 50 pounds or less
• Anything that fits in a container must be containerized
• Small amounts of building materials are allowed only when you did the work yourself, with no contractor, and they must be containerized
• Piles over 10 cubic yards are billed as excess bulk, $55 for each additional 5 cubic yards (2025 rate), on your Huntsville Utilities bill. Loose, uncontainerized yard waste can also carry a charge.

What Huntsville will not take

• Dirt, rocks, bricks, cinder blocks, and concrete
• Shingles
• Land-clearing tree debris
• Construction debris, and anything from a contractor or commercial project
• Paint, chemicals, and solvents
• Dead animals and medical waste

Where Huntsville residents can take things

• Huntsville Landfill, 4100 Leeman Ferry Road, run by the Solid Waste Disposal Authority. Call ahead for hours and fees.
• Household hazardous waste drop-off, 1055 A Cleaner Way SW. It is a drive-through, open Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. It takes paint, chemicals, pool supplies, batteries, electronics, and more.

Questions? Call Huntsville Sanitation at 256-883-3964, or see the city’s curbside collection page.

City of Madison

How it works

Madison uses two separate services. Madison County collects your household garbage cart. Republic Services, under contract with the city, collects “trash,” meaning yard debris and bulky items, once a week on a schedule set by street. The city’s guidelines say to set trash out by 6 a.m. on your collection day. Check the City of Madison garbage and trash page for your street’s day.

Limits

• About 5 cubic yards per household per week, roughly one pickup-truck bed. Extra is left with a notice and picked up the next week.
• Tree limbs: 8 feet long or shorter, with side branches trimmed
• Leaves, grass, and shrub clippings must be bagged, because the claw truck cannot pick them up loose
• Cardboard must be flattened and bundled
• Refrigerators and freezers must have the doors removed, the Freon drained, and the compressor removed
• Do not combine your pile with a neighbor’s without Republic’s approval

What Madison will not take

• TVs, computers, and microwaves
• Tires
• Paint, oil, batteries, gas, and gas tanks
• Clothing, blankets, paper, food, and glass bottles or jars
• Construction materials. Hired contractors and lawn services must haul their own waste.

Madison residents can also use the Huntsville household hazardous waste facility on A Cleaner Way for paint and chemicals.

Outside City Limits

Unincorporated Madison County (places like Harvest, Meridianville, Hazel Green, New Market, Toney, and Monrovia): County Waste Control collects garbage. Bulk items and limbs are handled by your County Commission district, with limits that vary by district.

Unincorporated Limestone County: The county collects household garbage only. Furniture, appliances, bulk items, limbs, yard waste, and construction debris are not picked up at all. The county holds free Trash Attack Days on the first Saturday of April and October at the Republic Services transfer station in Athens.

Quick Comparison

	Huntsville	Madison	Haul Of Fame
Who carries it to the curb	You	You	We carry it out for you
How much per pickup	Extra fees over 10 cu. yd.	About 5 cu. yd. a week	As much as you need gone
When	Your weekly route day	Your street’s weekly day	Scheduled with you
TVs, computers, microwaves	Check with the city	Not accepted	Yes
Remodel and contractor debris	Not accepted	Not accepted	Yes
Shingles	Not accepted	Not accepted	Ask us
Hazardous waste	Not accepted	Not accepted	Not accepted

When to Call a Junk Removal Crew

City pickup is a great service for small, tidy piles. Call us when the pile is too big, the items are on the not-accepted list, you cannot carry it to the curb, or you need it gone before collection day. Text photos to 256.258.9581 for a quote, or read what affects junk removal cost.