Solid Waste / Recycling

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The Sanitation Division is responsible for the weekly collection of household waste, yard waste, and curbside recycling. The division works under the general direction of the Sanitation Division Manager who coordinates the daily work schedules of thirty-one employees.

The monthly residential service sanitation fee is $27 for residential service and the Division provides limited commercial collection services.

sanitation truck

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2026 Holiday Sanitation Collection Schedule

New Year's Day (Thursday, January 1, 2026)

Sanitation collection schedule for the week will be as follows:

Monday’s, Tuesday’s and Wednesday’s garbage, recyclables and commercial collection will occur on your regular collection day.
Thursday’s will occur the day after your regular collection day.
There will be no appliance pick up on Thursday, January 1st. Appliance collection will resume on Thursday, January 8^th.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day (Monday, January 19, 2026)

The Sanitation collection schedule for the week will be as follows:

Garbage, recyclables and commercial collection will occur the day after your regular collection day.
There will be no appliance pick up on Thursday, January 22nd. The next available appliance pick-up will be Thursday, January 29th.

Memorial Day (Monday, May 25, 2026)

The Sanitation collection schedule for the week will be as follows:

Garbage, recyclables and commercial collection will occur the day after your regular collection day.
There will be no appliance pick up on Thursday, May 28th. The next available appliance pick up will be Thursday, June 4th.

Labor Day (Monday, September 7, 2026)

The Sanitation collection schedule for the week will be as follows:

Garbage, recyclables and commercial collection will occur the day after your regular collection day.
There will be no appliance pick up on Thursday, September 10^th. The next available appliance pick up will be Thursday, September 17^th.

Thanksgiving (Thursday, November 26, 2026)

The Sanitation schedule for the week is as follows:

Monday’s, Tuesday’s and Wednesday’s garbage, recyclables and commercial collection will occur as regularly scheduled.
Thursday’s garbage, recyclables and commercial collection will occur the day after your regular collection day.
There will be no appliance pick up on Thursday, November 26^th. The next available appliance pick up will be Thursday, December 3rd.

Christmas Eve (Thursday, December 24, 2026)

The Sanitation division will be working on Christmas Eve, Thursday, December 24th.

Sanitation collection schedule for the week will be as follows:

Monday’s, Tuesday’s, Wednesday’s and Thursday’s garbage, recyclables and commercial collection will occur on your regular collection day.
There will be no appliance pick up on Thursday, December24^th. The next available appliance pick up will be Thursday, December 31st.

Household Garbage & Bulk Items/Appliance Collection

Household Garbage Placement

Household garbage must be placed in the Green cart (kitchen, bathroom, personal and/or indoors-type wastebasket trash) to be picked up. Garbage on top of the cart lid or beside the cart will not be picked up. Propping the lid up is acceptable if the garbage is bagged, but cart cannot be overflowing. Items such as bagged grass, bagged leaves, boxes, branches, boards, carpet, metal, will not be collected by the Automated Truck (Green cart). Other trucks will pick up these items on your regular collection day.

Excess Household Garbage

Please ensure that all household garbage is placed inside the green garbage cart for collection. Due to the use of automated garbage trucks household garbage not placed inside the cart will not be collected. Excess household garbage can be stacked inside the cart with the lid propped open. If the excess household garbage will not fit inside the green garbage cart as shown above an additional cart may be ordered or the excess trash can be taken to the Collierville Solid Waste Transfer Station on Saturdays between 8AM and 12 Noon.

Bulky Items and Appliances

Bulk items such as furniture, boxes, dishwashers, mattresses, and clean-outs will be collected on the regular weekly collection day. Appliances such as refrigerators, freezers, air conditioners, stoves, water heaters, dryers and washing machines will be picked up on a call in basis each Thursday. Appliances containing refrigerant such as refrigerators, freezers, and air conditioners, will be collected only if the refrigerant has been evacuated and tagged by a certified technician. Public Services should be notified for an appliance pick-up at (901) 457-2800 before Wednesday afternoon of each week.

Prohibited Items for Collection

The Town of Collierville will not pick up gasoline, paint in liquid form, pool chlorine, batteries, motor oil, antifreeze, transmission fluid or tires and these items must not be placed in the green garbage cart. Some of the local businesses recycle these items. Gasoline, oil based paints, solvents, cleaners, pesticides, pool chlorine, hazardous chemicals and batteries can be taken to the Memphis and Shelby County hazardous waste disposal facility located at 6305 Haley Rd in Memphis. The hazardous waste disposal facility is open Tuesdays and Saturdays from 8:30 AM to 1:00 PM. Additional information can be found on Shelby County’s Household Hazardous Waste Website.

For additional questions contact the Collierville Public Service Department at (901) 457-2800.

Proper Needles and Sharps Disposal

Disposing of your needles and sharps the wrong way can cause needle sticks and injury that may result in transmission of disease. The general public can be at direct risk to injuries from sharps. If these hazardous materials are not separated from standard waste, individuals can unknowingly come in contact with them.

The Shelby County Health Department provides residents of Shelby County with a safe, simple, economical method for disposing of used needles or sharps. Needles and sharps can be disposed of safely at the Central Laboratory located at 814 Jefferson Ave Memphis, TN 38105, Room 258 between the hours of 8:00 AM- 4:30 PM.

To dispose of sharps and needles at the Central Laboratory facility all materials must be placed in an approved sharps container. The Shelby County Health Department will provide residents with an approved sharps container for a minimal fee required to offset the cost of the container and its safe disposal. The container fee must be paid in cash, checks and credit cards are not accepted.

When the approved sharps container is full, permanently close the top following the directions on the container. Once closed, return the filled sharps container to the Central Laboratory and obtain a new sharps container for future disposal.

Additional information can be found on the Shelby County Health Department website here or call 901-222-9523.

If you are unable to transport your needles and sharps to the Shelby County Health Department for disposal, please utilize the following guidelines to properly dispose of your needles and sharps:

Put all sharps and needles in a strong, plastic container. Acceptable sharps containers include Medical-issue sharps containers and heavy-duty plastic laundry detergent bottles. DO NOT USE milk containers, water bottles, clear plastic containers, glass containers or soda cans.

sharpbottle SharpContainer

When the your sharps container is ¾ full, put the lid on, seal it with duct tape, and label the container with DO NOT RECYCLE. Needles and Sharps CAN NOT BE RECYCLED through your curbside recycle collection service. Needles and sharps mixed with recyclable materials pose a significant health hazard for personnel that manually sort recyclable materials collected.

Sealed and labeled sharps containers can be placed in your green garbage cart and disposed of with your household garbage.

Sharps should never be thrown loosely into the trash or toilet. Sharps that retract after use, or are very small, should be disposed of like all other sharps.

Proper Paint Disposal

Placing wet paint in the garbage or pouring paint out into the street is against the law and can harm the environment. Please dispose of your paint properly in one of the following ways:

Reuse leftover paint for touch-ups or donate it to a community organization.
For water-based paint, remove the lid and allow the paint to dry. Absorbent material (kitty litter, oil dry, etc.) can be added to the paint to speed up the drying process. Once the paint is dry, it can be placed in your green garbage cart.
Oil base paint can be taken to the Shelby County Household Hazardous Waste Facility located at 6305 Haley Rd. (NO - latex paint)

Controlling Pest & Reducing Odors

1. Always keep the lid of your cart closed.

2. Keep your household trash in sealed plastic garbage bags.

3. Never put food waste directly into your cart.

4. Periodically wash out your cart using water and a mild detergent.

5. Keep your cart properly maintained (ensure your cart is free of holes that would give pests access to your garbage).

6. Leave food scraps in your refrigerator or freezer until the night before collection.

7. Store your cart in a cool dry place when possible and keep it out of sunlight.

8. Sprinkle baking soda in your cart to reduce odors.

9. If pests like raccoons, possum, cats, or dogs are getting into your garbage cart sprinkle ammonia or moth balls inside the cart and it will act as a deterrent to the animal.

10. Commercial pest sprays can also be applied to the carts contents to deter pests (follow manufacturers instructions and ensure the spray will not adversely react with or damage the cart).

Yard Waste & Loose Leaf Collection

The Public Service Department would like to remind all residents to please separate their brush and yard trimmings from other items such as bagged grass/leaves and junk at the curb.

By separating your clean brush from other materials such as grass bags, cardboard, steel or plastic pieces, the Solid Waste Collection Division is able to take the brush to a mulching facility where the material can be ground and beneficially reused as mulch. This allows our Town the ability to improve the environment and save space in local landfills.

Correct:

correct placement

Incorrect:

In addition to separating your materials at the curb, you can also help the environment by Grass-cycling. Grass-cycling is the natural recycling of grass clippings by leaving them on the lawn when mowing. It is a simple and effective way to help conserve landfill capacity while saving time, work, and money and the benefit is a greener, healthier lawn. All mowers can grass-cycle. Simply remove your mower's collection bag and properly block the discharge. Many manufacturers have attachments or special designs that improve a mower's grass-cycling performance. Check with your local retailer for more information.

LOOSE LEAF COLLECTION

Loose Leaf Truck

November thru February

Current Collection Schedule: Loose leaf collection will begin on the first Monday in November and will run until the last week in February. For more information please call (901) 457-2800 Ext 1; then press 5. Pine needles will not be collected by loose leaf collection crews. Please bag all loose piles of pine needles and place them at the curb for collection during your regular garbage day.

Loose leaf collection routes are scheduled to follow the regular solid waste collection schedule as closely as possible. However, loose leaf collection may not occur on the same day as your regular collection day due to leaf volume and inclement weather.

For example all loose leaves on Monday’s route may take more than one day for collection prior to moving to Tuesday’s route. This would delay collection of Tuesday’s route and other collection days throughout the week. In some instances, there can be more than a week's delay in collection although on average, loose leaf collection will normally take place within a few days of your regular collection day.

For leaf disposal without delay, leaves can be mulched using a mulching lawnmower blade or can be bagged and collected on your regular solid waste collection day.

We request leaves be placed close to the streets edge but out of the street to reduce storm drainage blockages.

PLACEMENT OF YARD WASTE

Please ensure that all yard waste is piled away from utility boxes or other structures that could be hidden from view and damaged during yard waste collection.

The following pictures are examples of damage that was a result of yard waste piled over a cable utility box.

damagedcable1 damagecable2

Last year our town generated approximately 13,355 tons of solid waste associated with the collection of loose leaves, bagged leaves and bagged grass. Of that 13,355 tons 12,473 tons where sent to a landfill and 882 tons where composted. Bagging these materials and placing them into the curbside garbage collection system uses valuable landfill space, removes nutrients from the environment, and costs the Town and citizens more in increased taxes and service fees.

Of the landscape waste, approximately half is composed of tree leaves. Mulching is a simple and effective way to recycle leaves and improve your landscape. A light covering of leaves can be mowed, without the catch-bag, leaving shredded leaves in place on the lawn. This technique is most effective when a mulching mower is used.

During times of light leaf drop, or if there are only a few small trees in your landscape, this technique is the most efficient and easiest way to manage leaf accumulation. As organic mulch decomposes, valuable nutrients are released for use by landscape plants. The tree leaves that accumulate in and around a landscape represents a valuable natural resource that can be used to provide a good source of organic matter and nutrients for use in a landscape.

Leaves contain 50-80% of the nutrients a plant extracts from the soil and air during the growing season. Leaves may be collected and worked directly into garden and flowerbed soils. A 6-8 inch layer of leaves tilled into a heavy, clay soil will improve aeration and drainage. The same amount tilled into a light, sandy soil will improve water and nutrient holding capacity. In vegetable gardens and annual planting beds, collect and work leaves into the soil during the Fall. This allows sufficient time for the leaves to decompose prior to Spring planting.

For additional information call the Public Services Department at (901) 457-2800.

CONTRACT RELATED WORK/ EXCESSIVE BRUSH AT RESIDENTIAL PROPERTIES

If debris is left because of contractor related work, The resident or contractor must dispose of such materials privately.

If the resident does the work themselves they have two options:

Pay for debris materials left after sanitation collects its maximum amount. Drivers will alert Sanitation Supervisor for assessment. The Supervisor will advise the homeowner what the charge will be and the fee will be collected before the work is done.

Sanitation will collect maximum amount of debris the following weeks until debris has been removed.

GRASS-CYCLING

grasscyclesymbol

BENEFITS OF GRASS-CYCLING

Grass-cycling is the natural and easy process of leaving grass clippings on the lawn when mowing.

Recycling grass clippings is simple, effective and saves time, work, money and it helps conserve landfill capacity.

Grass-cycling is not new. Many parks and golf courses have been practicing grass-cycling successfully for years.

The end result is a greener, healthier lawn.

parkbench

GRASS-CYCLING DOES NOT CAUSE THATCH BUILD-UP

An 11-year study at the USDA research station in Beltsville MD showed that thatch is mainly composed of grass roots, not clippings. Clippings left on the lawn decay quickly and release nutrients back to the established grass.

GRASS-CYCLING DOES NOT SPREAD LAWN DISEASE

Watering, fertilization, and sharpness of the mower blade have a greater influence on the occurrence of lawn disease than grass-cycling.

DON’T BAG CLIPPINGS, NURTURE THE LAWN

· No need for bagging

· Uses less water and fertilizer

· Reduces use of landfill space

· Clipping nutrients encourage a healthier lawn

· Less mowing, hauling.

sprinklerheads

WATERING PLAN

Established lawns need irrigation to supplement natural rainfall yet may require more water in hot weather, even in dry cool periods.

In hot dry weather, lawns may need as much as 1” of water every 5 to 7 days or up to 3-hours with the typical sprinkler.

Try to water in early morning. Watering in evenings may encourage disease.

Portable sprinklers offer reasonable prices for watering, distribution and range methods. Select a sprinkler based on the size and shape of your lawn.

Stationary sprinklers are good for small patches that need extra water.

Rotary and impact sprinklers are for circular watering on lawns that are medium to large.

Oscillating sprinklers send a fan of water over a large rectangular area. Revolving sprinklers work in smaller areas, shooting a circular pattern of jets of water.

A time-controlled irrigation system can maximize efficiency with an automatic lawn watering schedule.

FERTILIZE PROPERLY

Lawns need properly timed fertilizer applications to become dense and green. Over fertilization weakens your lawn and causes excess top growth. Grass-cycling, in conjunction with proper fertilization, enhances the health of your lawn. Grass-cycling greatly reduces the need for fertilizer because grass clippings return nitrogen to the soil.

baggedgrass

QUICK FACTS

Grass-cycling, reduces costs and improves the environment because it reduces the number of grass bags taken to the landfill.

The Town collects an average of 6,300 tons of bagged grass or approximately 77,300 bags each year. All bagged grass collected is taken to a landfill for disposal.

Collection of bagged grass costs the Town $275,000 per year for collection and disposal.

GRASS-CYCLING MOWING TIPS

Cut when the grass is dry. Keep your mower sharp.

Set your mower to cut at the proper height.

Mow often. Try not to remove more than one-third of the lawn height each cut. Frequent moving may be needed at times.

Proper mowing is essential to grass-cycling and can increase lawn quality by 30% or more.

All mowers can grass-cycle. Simply remove your mower’s collection bag.

Many manufacturers have attachments or special designs that improve a mower’s grass-cycling performance.

Frequent mowing at a low cutting height deprives the root system of nutrients and moisture. Longer grass blades create more shade, providing the soil protection from the sun.

MOWING HEIGHT FOR CERTAIN GRASS TYPES

Kentucky Blue Grass – 3.0”

Fescues & Ryegrass – 3.0”

Bentgrass – 1.0”

Bermudagrass – 1.0” to 2.5”

Zoysia – 1.0” to 1.5”

St. Augustine – 3.0”

Centipedegrass – 1.5”

Grass-Cycling Brochure PDF

Curbside Recycling

Collierville encourages its residents to reuse, reduce and recycle in order to minimize the amount of garbage that is disposed of at the landfill. 96 gallon recycle carts are made available to residents for a non-refundable $75 fee. Recycle carts are collected weekly the same day as your household garbage collection. For more information on what CAN and CAN NOT be recycled, please review the information below. Glass is no longer acceptable as a recyclable material.

Any resident with a damaged Recycle cart in need of repair or replacement should call Public Services at (901)457-2800.

For New Residents that would like to recycle, a 96 gallon recycle cart will be made available for a non-refundable $75 fee and it will remain the property of the Town of Collierville.

To report a missed recycle collection or for additional information about Collierville's Recycling Program, contact Collierville Public Services at (901) 457-2800.

RecycleListDont

All materials collected through the Towns curbside recycle collection service are transported to the West TN Regional Recycling Hub where the materials are processed and recycled for beneficial reuse. Please help us to improve the environment and reduce the amount of material landfilled by only placing acceptable items in your recycle bin for collection. The Town is charged an additional contamination fee for all unacceptable materials collected from your cart that can not be recycled and those items are taken to the landfill for disposal by the processing facility.

Below is a detailed list provided by the West TN Regional Recycling Hub that identifies items acceptable and items not acceptable.

Paper, Plastic, Cardboard, & Aluminum/Tin.

Paper: newspaper, office paper, junk mail, books, magazines, notebook paper, paper bags, etc

Plastic: #1-#2. Milk jugs, detergent bottles, plastic jars, water bottles, shampoo bottles, etc

Cardboard: Boxes, cereal and food boxes

Aluminum & Tin: cans, trays, foil, pie pans, steel cans like soup cans, tin, etc

The Hub DOES NOT recycle: Glass, metal chairs, food, diapers, Styrofoam, dog leashes, cords, hoses, chains, needles, clothing, plastic straps, wood, yard brush, plastic furniture, shoes, vinyl siding, plastic totes, kitchen sinks, toilets, phones, vacuums, Kids car seats, kids’ plastic toys, rubber balls, etc.

- NO rigid plastic: toys, chairs, buckets, Christmas trees, totes

- NO plastic bags, plastic film

- NO plastic #3-#7: plastic wrap, totes, buckets, plastic toys, car seats, DVD players,etc.

- NO waxed juice cartons, Styrofoam egg cartons, Styrofoam cups

- NO shredded paper

- No Bathroom tissue, diapers, personal hygiene products, etc.

- No Batteries, paint

For more information please reference the Sanitation Guidelines or call the Public Service Department at (901)457-2800.

Household Hazardous Waste & Vehicle Tires

Shelby County Household Hazardous Waste Facility

6305 Haley Road
Memphis, TN 38134

Days and hours of Operation:
Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday
8:00 AM - 1:00 PM (Excluding Holidays)

Recycle Hotline Phone: 901-222-7729

shelbycountytn.gov/439/Household-Hazardous-Waste

To provide needed capacity for household hazardous materials, the acceptance of latex and other water-based paints is suspended. These types of paints can be dried by leaving them in the sun and placed in a separate garbage bag with the curbside pick-up. Additional information regarding the safe disposal of latex paint is outlined in the attached brochure. If you have any questions or need additional information regarding use of this facility, please contact 901-222-7729. Please continue to assist us in the proper disposal of household hazardous materials that can negatively impact our environment.

Printable Brochure: HHW Facility Brochure

Vehicle Tires

Tire Recycling Center

Macs Tire Recyclers Recycling Centers
3000 Elvis Presley Blvd
Memphis, TN 38103

Phone:
(901) 396-5448

Collierville Transfer Station

Residents with additional household garbage that does not fit in the green garbage containers or large bulky items (sofas, mattresses, chairs or other similar items) may take their material to the Town's Solid Waste Transfer Station on Saturdays between the hours of 8:00 AM and 12:00 PM. Large bulky items may also be placed at the curb for collection on your regular solid waste collection day. The Town's transfer station is available to Collierville residents only and located at 450 East South Street.

ColliervilleTransferStation

Collierville, TN

Popular Searches

Solid Waste / Recycling

Quick Links

Service & Request Forms

Household Garbage Placement

Excess Household Garbage

Bulky Items and Appliances

Prohibited Items for Collection

Proper Needles and Sharps Disposal

Proper Paint Disposal

Controlling Pest & Reducing Odors

LOOSE LEAF COLLECTION

PLACEMENT OF YARD WASTE

CONTRACT RELATED WORK/ EXCESSIVE BRUSH AT RESIDENTIAL PROPERTIES

GRASS-CYCLING

Shelby County Household Hazardous Waste Facility

January 2026

Jan 2026