Trash

Trash

The City of Farmington Hills has a long-term contract with Priority Waste for refuse, recycling, bulk item pickup, and yard waste collection.  The City’s solid waste program provides weekly curbside pickup of garbage and recyclables, and from early April until early December, curbside pickup of yard waste is also offered.  These services are made available to all single family homes and to certain condominiums which fit required criteria and choose to receive the services. 

The Division of Public Works administers the rubbish removal program and is responsible for monitoring day-to-day refuse/recycling services. DPW employees dispatch complaints to Priority Waste's supervisory staff and respond to questions and special requests from residents. 

The solid waste portion of rubbish pickup and removal is funded from the City’s General Fund, while a fee is charged for the recycling/yard waste component.  This fee is billed annually as a separate component of the winter property tax statement. 

Garbage cans, bags and bundles should be placed at the curb or at the edge of the street in front of the home no earlier than 6:00 PM on the day before collection.  All containers must be removed from the curb no later than 12 hours following collection.  Pickup will take place between 7:00 AM and 6:00 PM, but times may vary from week to week.  To ensure pickup of all items, please have them at the curbside by 7:00 AM.  Christmas trees placed at the curbside will be collected with the regular trash pickup. Christmas trees placed at the curbside will be collected with the regular trash pickup until the end of January.



Information on our Paper Shredder can be found at https://www.rrrasoc.org/paper-shredder/.


Yard waste pickup begins the week of April 6, 2026, and runs through the week of Dec. 14-18, 2026.

Yard waste collection resumes the week of April 6, 2026, on residents' regularly scheduled collection day and will run through the week of Dec. 14, 2026. 

  
Acceptable yard waste includes leaves, grass, shrub clippings, twigs, and plant materials. There are four options for yard waste disposal in the City of Farmington Hills:
 

  1. In the bag: Break down yard waste and fill brown paper yard waste bags to leave at your curb. You’ll need to roll the bags closed, so be careful not to overstuff them. 
  2. In the can: Place yard waste in a trash can with a yard waste sticker on both sides. Yard waste stickers are available for free at City Hall or the DPW. These containers are limited to 35-gallon size. 
  3. Make a bundle: Brush and small limbs of six inches in diameter or smaller can be tied in bundles no longer than four feet in length and weighing no more than 60 pounds per bundle. Unbundled brush, large limbs and large quantities of dirt or sod will not be picked up. 
  4. Go green: Use a mulching mower to break down leaves and grass clippings to turn yard waste into eco-friendly lawn fertilizer. 

 
If you have questions, please contact the Division of Public Works at 248-871-2850.

Make a selection below for additional information.

Acceptable Items

Care should be taken when disposing of broken glass or other sharp objects, especially if plastic bags are used. Such items should be securely wrapped to prevent puncture of the bag and possible injury to the refuse collector. If objects have nails or other fasteners, they should be removed or hammered down so that the object is safe to pick up.

  • Aerosol Cans – Empty cans go in the recycling cart.  Full cans are hazardous waste. 
  • Air Conditioners
  • Antenna – Cut into a few pieces
  • Apples – Yard waste
  • Appliances (remove doors on refrigerators and freezers) GFL only recycles refrigerators.
  • Aquariums
  • Asphalt Sealer: (dry up, remove lid) If wet, then it is hazardous waste.
  • Basketball Poles: Cut metal pole into 4 ft. sections and bundle. No more than 60 pounds. No concrete.
  • Bathtubs – depends on size and weight
  • Bathtub Surround – 4 ft. or shorter
  • Bed Frames: Take apart
  • Bike Tires
  • Blinds – If longer than 4 ft., cut in half
  • Box Springs
  • Boxes (do not have to break down, but prefer it)
  • Brush or Small Limbs: 6 inches in diameter or less. Not to exceed 4 ft. lengths or weigh no more than 60 lbs. per bundle. YARD WASTE ONLY
  • Bushes (have to be in bags and cut up)
  • Cabinets: 4 ft. in length or less
  • Cap (Truck) – will accept the inside liner of cap, not the actual cap.
  • Car ramps
  • Cardboard
  • Carpet: Cut up into 4 ft. lengths, rolled up and tied.  No more than 60 lbs. each.  Padding (prefer bundled but can be placed in bags).
  • Ceiling Tiles – bagged – 40 lb. limit
  • Cell Phones
  • Christmas Trees
  • Compressor
  • Computer Equipment (batteries are hazardous waste)
  • Cooking Oil is hazardous waste
  • Copper Tubing and Pipes: 4 ft. lengths and bundled
  • Copy Machines
  • Corn Stalks – both trash and yard waste
  • Countertops: 4 ft. or shorter (granite under 50 lbs.)
  • Decks: 4’ x 4’ in size and bundled. Nails hammered down or removed.
  • Dehumidifiers
  • Diabetic Needles: Collect in hard plastic container.
  • Doors: Take all types (shower doors tape) 
  • Door Frames: 4 ft. lengths and bundle
  • Drywall (bagged/30 lb. limit per bag)
  • Duct Work: 4 ft. lengths
  • Electronic Thermometer – remove batteries
  • Electronics – All phones, dvd players + cords, landlines
  • Fences, cyclone (4 ft. or less, rolled and tied, posts bundled)
  • Fences, metal (bundled, length doesn’t matter; posts must be 4’ or less and bundled with no cement)
  • Fences, wood (4’ x 4’, bundled, no more than 50 lbs. per bundle, bundled posts)
  • Fences: chain link, metal, and wooden. 4 ft. or less and bundled. No cement.
  • Fire Extinguishers: Environmental Recycling Group (ERG) in Livonia takes full.  Household Hazardous Waste Events will NOT accept.
  • Fireplace Inserts
  • Furnace
  • Furniture
  • Garage Doors: If double then cut in half. Will take rails no longer than 4’ lengths and bundled.
  • Gas Grills: Propane tank must be removed. 
  • Gasoline Plastic Containers (empty, with lid off)
  • Generator
  • Glass: Tape an “X” in the middle.  4 or 5 ft.  If broken, put in a paper bag and label. 
  • Gutters: Cut or bent in 4’ lengths and bundled.
  • Hammock stand – as is.
  • Hay Bales, Hay, or Straw is trash.
  • Helium Tanks: Hazardous Waste
  • Hospital bed if not too heavy.
  • Hot Tubs: Cut into 60 lb. pieces. If you can’t cut, then call for a Special Pick-Up.
  • Hot Tub Cover
  • Insulation
  • Jacuzzi cover – 4x8 Styrofoam wrapped in vinyl
  • Kitchen Cabinets – yes, 4’ sections
  • Ladder (4 ft.)
  • Laminate Flooring is construction material.  Can be put out in small amounts. 
  • Landscape Timbers bundled (4 ft. – no more than 6” in diameter) reasonable amount
  • Laundry Tubs
  • Lawn Furniture
  • Lawn Mowers: Remove oil and gas.  
  • Logs (under 6” in diameter)
  • Mattresses
  • Metal Coat Hangers
  • Metal Sheds: Break down to 4’ x 4’
  • Mesh from grass seed is trash.
  • Microwaves
  • Mirrors: 4 ft., tape an “X” in the middle and tape corners if sharp.  If broken, put in a paper bag and label.
  • Mopeds
  • Mulch (40 lb. limit) yard waste (not acceptable in trash program)
  • Oil Tanks: Must be empty. 100–200-gallon limit.
  • Organ – Break it down
  • Pallets – 4’ x 4’ – two at a time
  • Paneling: 4’ x 4’ or smaller, no nails, do not bundle
  • Patio Heater
  • Patio Umbrella – 4’ sections
  • Pea Gravel (50 lb. limit)
  • Picnic Tables: Cut the table in half horizontally and take off metal legs.
  • Ping Pong Table (cut in half)
  • Plumbing Pipes: 4’ lengths and bundled.
  • Plywood: 4’ x 4’ sections. Stacked with no nails.
  • Pool Covers and Liners: Cut into pieces. No pieces more than 60 pounds.
  • Pool Table (MDF wood cut in half – slate break down into 3 pieces)
  • Porch Swing
  • Propane Tanks – NO – (Household Hazardous Waste Events or Environmental Recycling Group (ERG) in Livonia)
  • Pumpkins (or yard waste)
  • Railroad Ties: Four feet in length, no need to bundle. 1 beam/week
  • Refrigerators: Take doors off
  • Rubber Mulch (label bag)
  • Sandbags: Under 60 lbs.
  • Satellite Dish – Under 4 ft. in length (no cement attached)
  • Shower Door – Tape
  • Shredded Paper – is NOT recyclable, trash only
  • Sinks
  • Sleep Number Bed Base – Have to disassemble
  • Smoke Detectors
  • Snow Blowers: Remove gas
  • Straw
  • Styrofoam
  • Sump Pumps
  • Subfloor, Particle Board – 4x4 (do not bundle)
  • Swing Sets: Cut into 4’ lengths, bundle, broken down, no cement)
  • Televisions
  • Toilets
  • Trampoline (broken down and stacked neatly)
  • Trash Incinerators
  • Treadmills
  • Vinyl Flooring (4’ x 4’, rolled up and bundled) no wood subfloor
  • Walnuts (yard waste)
  • Water Cooler – must empty water, under 50 lbs, & be less than 4’
  • Water Heater
  • Water Softener (take salt out)
  • Wheelchair (motorized – no battery)
  • Windows: If glass is broken, then put in a bag.
  • Wood Chips: 40 lb. limit (yard waste)
  • Wood Deck: 4’ x 4’ sections bundled with nails hammered down or removed
  • Wood Flooring: 4’ x 4’ sections bundled, no more than 50 lbs. per bundle
  • Wood/Lumber – 4’ lengths, remove nails, bundled, no more than 50 lbs. per bundle

Sharps Disposal

To safely dispose of sharps (medical devices including needles, syringes, lancets, blades or any device that could puncture or cut the skin), use an FDA-approved sharps container when possible. Otherwise, a rigid plastic container that can be sealed and labeled properly is a good alternative. When the sharps container becomes full, be sure to seal and label it, and place the container into your trash. Click here to read more information regarding sharps disposal.

Not Acceptable

  • Asbestos
  • Asphalt
  • Automotive Parts
  • Bricks
  • Building Materials
  • Car, Truck, Motorcycle, or Snowmobile Parts (scrap metal dealer or salvage yard)
  • Cement
  • Ceramic Tile
  • Clay
  • Concrete
  • Construction Debris
  • Dirt
  • Drums
  • Gravel
  • Hazardous Materials
  • Hot Ashes
  • Ironing Board
  • Kiln
  • Logs over 6” in diameter
  • Masonite
  • Metal Pressure Tank
  • Piano
  • Riding Lawnmowers
  • Rocks, Stones, Boulders
  • Sand
  • Sheet Metal
  • Sheet Rock
  • Shingles/Roofing Materials
  • Siding
  • Snowmobiles
  • Sod
  • Subfloor
  • Tires (tire retailer)
  • Tree Stumps

Bulk items include large pieces of furniture, mattresses/box springs, refrigerators or freezers (with doors removed), stoves, and other such items incidental to housekeeping in single-family residences. Mattresses/box springs that are infested with bed bugs MUST be wrapped in plastic. Plastic mattress bags are available for purchase from area home improvement centers.

Bulk items will be picked up on your regularly scheduled collection day. You do not have to call in advance for bulk item pickup.
 

Spring Yard Waste Pickup Will Start the Week of April 6, 2026
Compost Available to Farmington/Farmington Hills Residents
Compost is available free of charge to Farmington Hills and Farmington residents at a new location on the site of the William Grace Dog Park at 29040 Shiawassee Road, east of Middlebelt.  In compliance with City park hours, compost is available to residents only (not for commercial use) from dawn until dusk. For further information about compost, call the Division of Public Works at 248-871-2850.

Yard waste collection will continue through the week of Dec. 14-18, 2026.
 
Acceptable yard waste includes leaves, grass, shrub clippings, twigs, and plant materials. There are three options available for yard waste disposal:

  1. Place yard waste in a trash can (35-gallon size limit) with a yard waste sticker on both sides. Yard waste stickers are available free from City Hall or the DPW.
  2. Put yard waste in brown paper yard waste bags. Please do not overstuff bags.
  3. Use a mulching mower and recycle leaves and grass clippings back into the lawn.

Small limbs (six inches in diameter or less) and brush must be tied in bundles that do not exceed four feet in length or weigh more than 60 pounds per bundle. Unbundled brush and large limbs will not be picked up. Brush or twigs placed in cans or bags should not stick out above the top of the container. Large quantities of dirt or sod are also not accepted for pickup.
 
If you have questions, please contact the Division of Public Works at 248-871-2850.

Garbage is a mixture of garbage and rubbish (not yard waste or recyclables). Garbage can be placed at the curb in any of the following containers:

  • 95-Gallon Trash Carts: Effective Oct. 9, 2023, the City of Farmington Hills will begin using 95-gallon trash carts as provided by the City’s hauler. There are many homeowner benefits to using the new trash carts, which are safer and are a more efficient means to place the refuse curbside.  They will also provide for improved contractor safety and operations. 
  • Metal or Plastic Containers: Must not be less than 10 gallons or more than 35 gallons in capacity. Should be watertight with handles and tight-fitting lids. Total weight of containers and contents must not exceed 60 pounds. Please do not fill containers above the rims.
  • Plastic Bags: Must not be less than 10 gallons or more than 30 gallons in capacity and not less than two mil in strength. Total weight of bag and contents must not exceed 40 pounds. Cardboard boxes are not acceptable containers.

City of Farmington Hills 2026 Holiday Garbage/Recycling/Yard Waste Collection Schedule

 

Collection will not be scheduled on the following holidays: Memorial Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day

 

Memorial Day – Monday, May 25, 2026

Monday – No collection scheduled

Collection one day behind Tuesday – Saturday

 

Labor Day – Monday, Sept. 7, 2026

Monday – No collection scheduled

Collection one day behind Tuesday – Saturday

 

Thanksgiving Day – Thursday, Nov. 26, 2026

Regular collection Monday – Wednesday

Thursday – No collection scheduled

Collection one day behind Friday – Saturday

 

Christmas Day – Friday, Dec. 25, 2026

Regular collection Monday – Thursday

Friday – No collection scheduled

Collection one day behind Saturday

 

New Year's Day – Friday, January 1, 2027

Regular collection Monday – Thursday

Friday – No collection scheduled

Collection one day behind Saturday

 

Regular collection will occur during the weeks of these holidays in 2026:

Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Presidents’ Day, Good Friday, Juneteenth,

Independence Day, Columbus Day, and Veterans Day.

Regular collection Monday – Friday

 

Please note: Yard waste pickup will start during the week of April 6, 2026, and end the week of Dec. 14, 2026, with the last pickup day on Friday, Dec. 18, 2026.


Printer Friendly - 2026 Holiday Garbage.pdf

Please call the DPW at (248) 871-2850. We will have the Priority Waste Supervisor contact you for a cost quote and schedule the pickup.

In keeping with the City’s contract with Priority Waste, the City does not offer any special removal of tree debris.  This policy stands whether the tree fell during a storm or if it was removed voluntarily by a private contractor.  If a tree comes down on residential property, it is the responsibility of the homeowner to remove the branches and any other storm-related or removal-related debris left behind.
 
Pickup of tree branches and storm debris, or debris left by a tree removal contractor, follows the standard yard waste collection guidelines below and occurs on the regularly scheduled garbage day.

  • Small limbs (six inches in diameter or less) and brush must be tied in bundles that do not exceed four feet in length or weigh more than 60 pounds per bundle.
  • Unbundled brush and large limbs will not be picked up.
  • Tree limbs larger than 6 inches in diameter will not be picked up by the City’s rubbish hauling contractor.  Disposal of these larger limbs is the responsibility of the homeowner and may require hiring a contractor.
  • Tree debris may be placed at the curbside for composting in a trash can (35-gallon size limit) with a “Yard Waste” sticker on both sides (“Yard Waste” stickers are available free from City Hall or the DPW) or in brown paper yard waste bags.
  • Tree debris, such as brush or twigs, should not stick out above the top of the container.
  • If a homeowner had tree branches or a tree stump chipped, it is their responsibility to properly dispose of the chippings according to these standard yard waste guidelines.   

If you have questions, please call the DPW at (248) 871-2850.