Trash service looks simple — a truck comes, the bin empties — until you're the one holding a missed pickup, a mystery bill, or a couch nobody will take. In Macon-Bibb, one county department runs the whole system, a contractor drives the trucks, and the schedule has a rhythm worth learning. Here's how it works.
The short answer
The Macon-Bibb County Solid Waste Department runs garbage, recycling, yard waste, and bulk pickup for the whole county. The trucks themselves are driven by Ryland Environmental, a company under contract with the county. Garbage goes out every week; recycling and yard/bulk waste run every other week, on your same garbage day — and here's the part almost everyone misses: recycling weeks and yard/bulk weeks alternate. One week the extra truck is for recycling, the next it's for yard debris and bulk items.
Who actually runs it
The county sets the rules, owns the system, and hires the hauler; Ryland is the contractor doing the collecting. That split matters when something goes wrong: the schedule and the rules are the county's, but the truck on your street is Ryland's. County code (Chapter 22 of the Code of Ordinances) guarantees every household at least one garbage pickup a week and biweekly single-stream recycling.
- Solid Waste Department: (478) 803-0499
- Ryland: (866) 898-4411
Your pickup day, and the rules at the curb
The county publishes an interactive collection-day map — find your address and it shows your day of the week.
The curb rules, straight from the county:
- All garbage must be bagged before it goes in the can.
- Garbage cans go out after 7:00 p.m. the night before (or by 6:00 a.m. on pickup day) and come back in by 7:00 p.m. on pickup day.
- Leave about 3 feet of clear space around the cans so the truck's arm can grab them.
- Not allowed in the cart: liquids like paint and oil, construction debris, and carpet.
For what belongs in the recycling bin, use the county's recycling page — it carries the current accepted-and-rejected materials list.
The Convenience Centers
For loads that don't fit at the curb, the county runs drop-off Convenience Centers — three open now, of five planned:
- 1010 11th Street (near the old landfill entrance) — seven days a week, 8:30 a.m.–4:00 p.m. This is the full-service one: it's also the only location taking concrete, batteries, and paint.
- 4214 Fulton Mill Road (behind the Animal Welfare Center) — Thursday–Sunday, 8:30 a.m.–4:00 p.m.
- 1520 Ninadel Drive — Saturday–Sunday, 8:30 a.m.–2:00 p.m.
Bring your driver's license — the centers are free for Bibb County residents, and the license is how you prove it. They take bagged household garbage, furniture, tires, yard debris (no logs or stumps), building material, and recycling; scrap metal goes to 11th Street or Fulton Mill only. They do not take oils, hazardous liquids, insulation, or roofing material — and the county doesn't currently publish a disposal path for those, so call Solid Waste at (478) 803-0499 before you load up.
The bill
Garbage service is mandatory for every residential property in the county — occupied or vacant — and county code sets the base fee at $60 a quarter ($240 a year), billed to the property owner through the Tax Commissioner, due at the end of March, June, September, and December. Unpaid garbage fees become a lien on the property, collectible like unpaid property taxes.
If you rent, you won't get a county garbage bill — it goes to the owner. A monthly trash charge on your rent or utilities statement is your landlord or complex passing costs through, not a government bill; apartment complexes and mobile-home parks can also opt out of county collection entirely by contracting a private hauler, which is why many renters pay a private trash charge instead. Homeowners whose income falls below the federal poverty guidelines can apply each year by 5:00 p.m. on November 1 to have the fee waived on their primary residence; owners rated 100% disabled by the Social Security Administration or the VA qualify for an exemption on the same deadline. Applications go to the Solid Waste Department (327 Lower Poplar Street).
When the truck doesn't come
Missed pickups and service requests have three doors, any of which works:
- SeeClickFix, the county's report-a-problem tool
- The Solid Waste Department: (478) 803-0499
- Ryland directly: (866) 898-4411
Where to go next
- SeeClickFix: report a problem — for missed pickups and illegal dumping.
- Who handles property taxes? — the Tax Commissioner, who also sends the garbage bill.
- What does Macon-Bibb County government do? — where Solid Waste fits in the bigger picture.
- Ask Mulberry — ask about your pickup day, the centers, or the rules.
Macon-Bibb Solid Waste — Household Garbage (sw.maconbibb.us) — service provided by Ryland; garbage must be bagged; cart timing (out after 7:00 p.m. the night before or by 6:00 a.m., in by 7:00 p.m.); 3 feet of clearance; no liquids such as paint and oil, no construction debris, no carpet.
Macon-Bibb Solid Waste — Recycling (sw.maconbibb.us) — recycling collected every other week on the same day as garbage pickup; current accepted-materials list.
Macon-Bibb Solid Waste — Yard Waste (sw.maconbibb.us) and Bulk Waste (sw.maconbibb.us) — each collected by Ryland every other week on the garbage day, on an automatic schedule; interactive collection-day map linked.
Ryland Environmental 2026 Collection Calendar (sw.maconbibb.us) — the alternating rhythm: every week of 2026 is either a recycle week or a yard/bulk week.
Macon-Bibb Solid Waste — Convenience Centers (sw.maconbibb.us) — three of five planned centers operating; locations, hours, the driver's-license residency rule, accepted items (including tires; concrete, batteries, and paint at 11th Street only), and the refusal of oils, hazardous liquids, insulation, and roofing material.
Macon-Bibb Solid Waste — Request Service (sw.maconbibb.us) — missed-pickup reporting via the department, Ryland, or SeeClickFix.
Bibb County Tax Commissioner — Property (maconbibbtax.us) — garbage bills are billed quarterly, due March 31, June 30, September 30, and December 31; service is mandatory for all residential premises, vacant or occupied.
Macon-Bibb Code of Ordinances, Ch. 22, Sec. 22-21 (Municode) — the residential solid-waste fee is levied on the owners of each developed residential premises at a base of $60.00 per quarter ($20.00 per month), billed quarterly and collected through the Tax Commissioner; unpaid fees become a lien collectible like delinquent taxes; mobile-home parks and multi-family dwellings may be exempted with a private-vendor contract; indigent and 100%-disabled owner-occupant exemptions apply by November 1 (as re-enacted by Ord. No. O-24-0032, June 4, 2024).
Macon-Bibb Code of Ordinances, Chapter 22 — Solid Waste (Municode) — the county may collect with its own employees or by contract; each user is guaranteed at least one weekly garbage pickup and biweekly single-stream recycling.
Last reviewed August 2026. Schedules, center hours, and the hauler contract can change; the Solid Waste Department at (478) 803-0499 is the authoritative source.