News | Contact | Meeting Notices | Water Advisories Select Language English Spanish HOME I WANT TO... RESIDENTS DEPARTMENTS NEWS ABOUT Bulk Trash Collection The City of Kalamazoo offers a quarterly collection of bulk trash to City residents (in the months of March, June, September, and December). To find out when your collection day is, please see the Bulk Trash Schedule Map or search for your address using the schedule below (if you live on a private street, please call (269) 337-8215 for further details). If your collection day falls on Independence Day, Christmas, or Labor Day, your pickup and all remaining pickups in that week will be delayed one day (in this case Friday collection will occur on Saturday). Place items intended for collection at or near the curb lawn no earlier than 6:00 a.m. on the day before the scheduled pick up, and no later than 7:00 a.m. the day of the scheduled pick up. Please note: All items not picked up, for any reason, must be removed from the curb lawn within two days following the completion of the regularly scheduled pick up for the area. If items are placed at the curb lawn too soon, or left out on the curb lawn on days other than those allowed for bulk trash collection, the City may take immediate enforcement action, without notice, and bill the associated costs to the property owner. To report a missed bulk trash collection, please call (269) 337-8215 within two business days of the scheduled collection. A clause in the bulk trash contract requires the contractor to collect all reported misses of eligible materials within 48 hours of notice by the City. Again, trash that has been allowed to remain on the curb lawn for more than two days after the scheduled collection (and not reported as missed) is considered to be a public nuisance and could be subject to corrective action. Acceptable items: Up to 7.5 cubic yards of bulk trash material (household junk and debris) will be accepted from each residential property each quarter. Small quantities of carpet will be collected only if cut to sections no larger than 4' x 4' and rolled. Unacceptable items: More than 7.5 cubic yards of household junk and debris; regular household trash, food, small items that could be put in household trash carts, human waste, yard waste, dead animals, tires, large auto parts, rocks, sand, glass, concrete, remodeling/renovation materials, infested items posing a risk to workers (see paragraph below), nor any materials placed in opaque/non-transparent plastic bags. Due to potential health risks, items placed in opaque/non-transparent plastic bags will not be accepted. Smaller bulk items must be placed in open boxes or clear plastic bags. Collection Schedule Use the map below to find your pickup day for bulk trash, brush, and Spring Clean-Up. Although they are on the same day, please note that brush collection occurs monthly between the months of May and October, and bulk trash collection occurs only in the months of March, June, September, and December. Find your Collection Day The City of Kalamazoo is happy to parter with Recycle Coach to offer customized collection information on our website, your mobile devices, or on the Recycle Coach website. The service provides customized collection schedules and service alerts, and can also be used to find out the best way to dispose of an item or report a missed collection. It's not just for recycling- you can use it to find your brush, bulk trash, spring clean-up, and leaf collection days too. The service is available for free by downloading the app on iTunes or Google Play. Disposing of Bed Bug infested items One way bed bugs are transferred from place to place is through infested furniture and discarded objects. When a bed bug infestation is discovered often the first step people take is to discard belongings. For disposal through the City bulk trash program infested items must be securely wrapped (encased) in clear plastic and LABELED as “INFESTED WITH BED BUGS” before they are set out. We require the item(s) be made obviously broken or defaced to protect workers and prevent others from unknowingly collecting and reusing them (e.g. slash mattresses and plush furniture, break box spring frames, and label items with the words “bed bugs”). The City will NOT take items infested with bed bugs that have not been defaced and securely wrapped in clear plastic. Please see the Michigan Manual for the Prevention and Control of Bed Bugs for other helpful information on the topic of Bed Bugs. For safety of the workers, any plastic wrapping should be clear in color ONLY. Disposal alternatives Certain items that cannot be accepted by our recycling program may still be recycled, reused, or disposed of in other ways. Clothing, housewares, and other items may be donated to Goodwill, the Kalamazoo Gospel Mission, the Kalamazoo Deacons Conference, the Salvation Army, or Nuway. The Kalamazoo County Household Hazardous Waste Center accepts a wide variety of items including batteries, electronics, used motor oil, chemicals, explosives, and many others. Michigan Department of Environmental Quality’s recycle search directory also provides options for recycling electronics. Used, unmixed motor oil can also be taken to Pep Boys, AutoZone, Uncle Ed's Oil Shoppe (mixed oil can go to the HHW Center). Packing peanuts may be taken to Mail Room, Pak Mail, or the UPS store, and plastic grocery bags can be taken to Wal-Mart and Meijer. Tires are accepted by Discount Tire, Firestone, and Kzoo Tire Co. Propane tanks are accepted by Amerigas (larger size) or the HHW Center (smaller size). Please help to protect our environment by taking the time to safely and responsibly dispose of items. Schupan and Sons will also accept and even pay for certain items including batteries (all lead acid and some lithium-ion & nickel-cad), computers, (including R2 RIOS certification to ensure data is thoroughly erased), house wires, aluminum gutter and siding, and appliances. Help keep our city clean Bulk trash, garbage containers, recycling bins, recycling materials, or brush left or placed on the curb lawn outside of the designated time for collection could result in you being charged for the cost of its removal. Garbage containers (Herby Curby containers or recycling bins) may be placed at the curb "no earlier than 8:00 p.m. on the day prior to the scheduled collection, and these containers must be removed from the curbside (or street side if there is no curb) not later than 11:00 p.m. of the collection day" (Kalamazoo City Code of Ordinances, 15A-2(a)). Solid Waste (quarterly trash or seasonal brush) deposited for public collection "shall not be deposited earlier than 7:00 a.m. of the day preceding the day of regularly scheduled monthly collection for the district in which such solid waste is deposited." (Kalamazoo Code of Ordinances, 31-21). Any solid waste, "which is not, for any reason, collected by the city or its authorized contractor on the day on which collection is actually performed in the district in which the solid waste is deposited, shall be removed from public view within two(2) days following completion of the regularly scheduled monthly collection for that district." (Section 31-22). Violations of the above types can result in immediate corrective action being taken by the City without prior notice, with the expense for the corrective action being billed to the property owner of record. To report curb lawn violations, you may call Inspection Services at 337-8221. Questions or concerns regarding the City's monthly trash and recycling programs should be directed to 337-8215. Public Services cokpublicservices@kalamazoocity.org 415 E Stockbridge Ave Kalamazoo, MI 49001 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. 3-1-1 or (269) 337-8000 (269) 337-8533 24/7 Public Services Emergency (Water/Sewer/Streets/Forestry): (269) 337-8148 Click here for Water/Sewer Utility Customer Service Public Works: (269) 337-8601 (269) 337-8533 Wastewater: (269) 337-8701 (269)337-8699 Water: (269) 337-8149 (269) 337-8535 Water Testing Hotline: (269) 337-8550 Brush Collection Bulk Trash Collection Cemeteries Energy Efficiency and Utility Savings Environmental Services Forestry & Tree Management Lead & Copper Program Odor Task Force ProtectYourWater.net Public Works Recycling Right of Way Work Snow Removal Street & Road Work Utility Rates Utility Record Request View from the Curb Wastewater Water Resources Water Advisories Water Main Standards & Specifications James J. Baker, PE, Director, City Engineer Teresa Johnson, MSM, CPPB, Deputy Director Valetta Sellers-Evans, Support Services Division Manager James H. Cornell, Wastewater Division Manager Joe Bonhomme, Water Resources Division Manager Anthony Ladd, PE, Public Works Division Manager City of Kalamazoo Community Local Government Contact Copyright © 2021 City of Kalamazoo