COLUMBUS, Ga. - Columbus residents pay $24 a month for garbage service, and the black cart is only part of what the city hauls away. The Columbus Consolidated Government's Public Works pages also describe weekly yard waste and bulk pickup, a free blue recycling cart and a landfill open only to county residents. The rules, limits and fees below come from the city's Integrated Waste division pages as posted this week.

Leaves are falling and Thanksgiving week will shift the pickup schedule, so the rules matter now. The city collects garbage and recycling on the same day, and bulk and yard waste on a separate shared day, with the day set by where you live. Carts must be at the curb before 7 a.m. on collection day, and crews will not come back for anything set out after the truck has passed.

The monthly fee and the carts

Residential collection costs $24 a month, according to the city's Resources page. Low-income households pay $18 a month under a 25% offset that is rounded to the nearest dime. Commercial customers pay $336 a year for one 96-gallon curbside cart and must hire a private dumpster service for anything more.

Since Sept. 9, 2024, household garbage must be inside a city-issued black or brown cart, the Collection Information page says. Anything outside the cart is not collected. A second brown cart costs $55 and can be ordered by calling 311, with no added monthly collection charge. ## Yard waste: 4-foot limbs and the Tree for Fee

Leaves, grass clippings and pine needles go in the green rolling cart, with no bags and no household garbage mixed in, the Resources page says. Tree and shrub trimmings can be stacked together at the curb. The limit is firm: cut limbs can be no longer than 4 feet and no more than 6 inches in diameter, and anything bigger is left behind.

A tree that has been cut down is a different job. The city handles it through a "Tree for Fee" request, which costs $50 per load plus a $76.50-per-ton tipping fee, billed separately, according to the Collection Information page. Residents should allow a week from the request, call 706-225-4661 to schedule, and expect the fee to be reduced by the same percentage if they already pay a reduced garbage fee.

Landscaping and construction contractors cannot leave their waste at the curb. City Ordinance 13-167.2(8) requires them to haul away what they generate on a property, the city says. A homeowner who hires a crew should make sure removal is part of the deal.

Bulk items: furniture yes, construction debris no

Large appliances and bulk furniture are collected weekly on the yard waste day, the city says. Bulk solid waste and large yard waste piles must be scheduled by calling 311. The bulk truck will not take mixed piles, so keep furniture and limbs apart.

Construction and demolition material is never collected curbside. The city's list includes carpet, lumber, wood, toilets, sinks, shingles, car parts, trees, concrete and dirt, all of which must go to Pine Grove Landfill. Bricks, stone, cement blocks, sand and gravel are on the Resources page's not-accepted list as well.

A few items have their own rules. Tires are limited to five per household at a time, must be off the rim, and must be passenger car or light truck tires. Paint cans must be empty or solidified with sand, dirt or cat litter, and needles or syringes must be in a hard plastic or metal container with a secure lid, with collection arranged through 311.

Pine Grove Landfill: who can dump and what it costs

Pine Grove Municipal Landfill is at 7900 Pine Grove Way, phone 706-225-4516, and it is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., according to the city's Landfill page. It also opens from 8 a.m. to noon on one Saturday a month, and the last 2026 date is Dec. 5 after the Nov. 7 Saturday. Arrive 30 minutes before closing for a normal load and 90 minutes before closing for a large one.

Only Muscogee County residents may dump, and they need a valid ID and a water bill, the city says. Contractors working in the county must show proof of the job location, such as a work order or invoice. Loads cannot be mixed, and no sorting is allowed on site, so each trip must be one type: household garbage, construction waste or green waste. Both landfills take cash, checks and credit or debit cards.

| Category | Rate per ton | Examples | | --- | --- | --- | | Household garbage | $85.00 | Garbage, furniture, paper, glass, plastic | | Construction waste | $85.00 | Roofing, plywood, treated wood, concrete, insulation | | Concrete, dirt and rock | $85.00 | Certain sizes and quantities only | | Organic waste | $76.50 | Limbs, stumps, trees, shrubs, land-clearing debris | | Special handling and metal | $102.50 | Asbestos, animals, medical waste, sludge | ## Granite Bluff: yard clippings, dirt and concrete only

The Granite Bluff Inert Landfill at 7589 River Road, phone 706-225-4525, charges $76.50 a ton and is open Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., closed Wednesdays, according to the city. It accepts grass clippings, leaves, clean soil, rocks, bricks, concrete without rebar and cured asphalt. Since May 13, 2019, it has not accepted limbs, stumps, trees or shrubs, which go to Pine Grove instead. The Saturday dates posted on its page are 2025 dates, so call before making a weekend trip.

Recycling and hazardous waste

The blue 65-gallon recycling cart is free and delivered to the house after a call to 706-653-4000, the Recycling page says. It takes plastics 1 through 7, flattened cardboard, paper, and rinsed aluminum and steel cans, all loose with no bags. It does not take glass, plastic bags, Styrofoam, batteries, tangling items such as hoses and cords, wrapping paper, toys, tires or wax-coated containers.

Drop-off trailers sit at four spots: the Georgia Welcome Center on Williams Road, Cooper Creek Park on Milgen Road, the Recycling Center on Pine Grove Way and a Victory Drive site at 22nd Avenue, the city says. The Recycling and Sustainability Center at 8001 Pine Grove Way opened in 2013 and offers free tours. Household hazardous waste such as antifreeze, solvents, pesticides, mercury, rechargeable batteries and fluorescent bulbs is collected at an annual event there, most recently Oct. 24, and is not accepted at the curb or the landfill the rest of the year.