Refuse & Recycling


Household Rubbish Collection
Household rubbish shall be picked up once weekly at rear or side yard location providing there are no obstructions in driveway. Containers shall not exceed 32 gallons in size and/or 50 lbs.in weight  when loaded. Loose rubbish place in wheelbarrows or garden carts will not be picked up from either curbside or rear yard. Persons failing to comply with Grosse Pointe Refuse Collection Regulations shall be subject to warning & penalty (fine) as established by City Council.  A brown refuse cart (64 gallon) for curbside pickup, similar to the recycling cart used in the City, is available for purchase from the City for $65.

Refuse Route & Yard Waste Pickup Schedule - Map

Extra Trip Garbage and Yard Waste Pickup - $75
If you wish for refuse and yard waste to be picked up on a day that is not your regular day, a $75 fee will be charged.  Examples are listed below:

Residents moving in or out of the City who want a pickup on Thursday when their scheduled pickup is Monday, this fee will apply.

Or, if you trim all your bushes over the weekend and wish to have a Monday pickup when Wednesday is the regular pickup day, this fee will apply.

  • Please note that the extra pickup fee MUST be paid in advance.

If you have questions about any limitations on the type or amount of items that may require an extra pickup, please contact the Dept. of Public Works at 313-417-1188 to verify the pickup charge prior to placing the items at the curb and to schedule the pickup.

Construction Debris
Construction done by contractors or residents is the responsibility of the property owner for private removal of all commercial landscape, tree trimmings, building and/or construction materials.

Wayne County Household Hazardous Waste and Electronics Collection Program
Wayne County's Department of Public Services hosts four Household Hazardous Waste Collections per year for County residents. The collections are designed to accept unwanted household chemicals for proper disposal and electronics for recycling from residents. Only household generated products from Wayne County residents are accepted. Program details and dates can be view on the Wayne County Environmental Services page.

Metal Bulky Items
Metal bulky items such as stoves, dryers, refrigerators and play apparatus shall be placed at the curb for pickup on Friday only. Residents must call City Hall (885-5800) to request a metal item pickup prior to the Friday of the week the item will be discarded. There is a $50 charge per item for this service. The fee will be billed to the resident's next water bill. Items cannot be placed at the curb before 4:00 pm on Thursdays.

Small Metal Items
Any metal item that will fit into a 32 gallon trash can, not to exceed 50 pounds in weight or 4 feet length can be put at the curb on your regular trash day.  No fee is charged for these items.

Non-metal Bulky Items
All non-metal bulky items such as carpeting, furniture, mattresses, box springs, or televisions should be placed at the curb on your regular pickup day.

Holiday Rubbish Collection
The rubbish collection schedule will be delayed by one (1) day during the week of holidays, including the following:

New Years Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, President's Day, Memorial Day, Fourth of July, Labor Day, and Christmas Day.

Note:  All rubbish, branches, limbs and yard waste to be picked up at the curb shall not be...

  1. Placed at the curb before 4:00 pm on the day preceding regular pickup…or…
  2. after 7:00 am on the regular pickup day.


Fall Leaf Pickup
Leaf pickup begins in autumn after substantial leaf drop begins.  During fall leaf pickup please do not use yard waste containers.

2023 fall leaf pickup will begin on October 16 and will run through December 7.  To ensure that leaf collection works efficiently, please CLICK HERE for a copy of leaf collection procedures and the 2023 pickup schedule.

Branches & Limbs
All branches and limbs shall be neatly placed at curb on your regular rubbish day all facing the same direction (trunks toward curb). Limbs shall not exceed six (6) feet in length. Intertwined brush shall be bundled.

Yard Waste
When spring arrives yard waste pick up begins (the first full week in April).  Yard waste thats separated from regular rubbish such as grass clippings, plants, trimmings, soil, etc. shall be placed in plastic waste containers marked with “Yard Waste” stickers. Stickers are available at City Hall. Place stickers on containers to be used for yard waste. Biodegradable brown paper bags may also be used for yard waste. Residents may purchase biodegradable bags at local hardware & lawn/garden stores. Both the plastic containers and the biodegradable bags shall not exceed 50 lbs. in weight or 32 gallons in size. Please place yard waste at the curb prior to 7:30 a.m. on you respective rubbish collection day. Please do not co-mingle your yard waste with household rubbish.  Green yard waste toter carts (similar to the larger blue recycling carts) are available for purchase at $65 per cart.  Contact City Hall for more information on the yard waste carts.

* Yard waste will not be picked up in plastic bags.
*  The use of a mulching mower is encouraged since yard waste is minimized and beneficial lawn mulch is produced.

Recycling
Residents shall place all their recyclable materials together in the blue recycling toter cart. The recycling company employees will empty your recyclables into a collection truck.  The recyclables will be sorted and separated by machine at a recycling facility.  If something is left in your bin, then it is not authorized as recyclable at this time.  The following is a complete list of materials that are recycled:     

2022 GFL Curbside Recycling Guidelines

Newspaper - Newsprint, magazines bundled separately, phone books separated, junk mail, glossy inserts, envelopes, office paper, cereal boxes. Place all paper in brown paper grocery bags or tie with string. Also accepted is cardboard (no wax coated), paperboard (cereal boxes, popcorn boxes, cans, etc.) and boxboard. Fold, flatten or cut the boards into 2 ft. x 2 ft. x 6 in. bundles and tie.

Glass - Food bottles & jars only. NO window glass, ceramics, light bulbs, or drinking glasses. Dispose of caps & rinse containers. NO broken glass.

Cans - Food & beverage tin or aluminum cans only. Rinse cans and remove lids.

Plastic - Check for # on/near the bottom of container. Prepare items # 1 - 7 for collection by rinsing and discarding all lids.

  1. (Pete or Pet) such as soft drink, water, catsup, mouthwash, salad dressing bottles
  2. (HDPE) such as milk, water, juice, shampoo dish/laundry soap bottles
  3. (V or PVC) such as clear food and non-food packaging, clear tubing, electrical cable insulation, and plastic pipes
  4. (LDPE) such as dry cleaning, bread bags, squeezable bottles, etc.
  5. (PP) such as catsup bottles, yogurt containers, margarine tubs and vitamin bottles
  6. (PS) such as compact disc jackets, grocery store meat trays, egg cartons and aspirin bottles
  7. (Other) such as three and five gallon reusable water bottles, some citrus juice and catsup bottles

*Please discard all lids in regular refuse, since they are not recyclable at this time

Used Batteries
Residents may drop off used batteries at the City's Public Works Department yard between 7:30 am - 4:00 pm. Monday through Friday.

Recycling Collection Schedule
Place recycling toter cart at the curb for collection on your regular rubbish collection day by 7:00 am.

Recycling Legal Holidays
Recycling collection will follow the rubbish collection when a holiday occurs on your pickup day including the following:

New Years Day, Martin Luther King Jr Day, President's Day, Memorial Day, Fourth of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day.