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1. How do I have household appliances picked up?

For the City of Opelika to pick up appliances, the appliance must have a “permit sticker” showing – otherwise, City crews will not pick it up! You can purchase appliance permit stickers at one of two places: the Revenue Department, located on the first floor of City Hall, or at the Building Inspection offices, located at the Public Works facilities on 700 Fox Trail. Stickers for non-hazardous appliances are $5 each. Stickers for hazardous appliances (anything with Freon in it) are $15 each. Pick-up is on Friday mornings only. Applicances may be brought to one of our recycling centers at no charge.

2. How do I get a refuse/garbage account started?

If you are on the City’s power (Opelika Power Services), a work order for the can is automatically generated for you when you sign up for power services. If you have Alabama Power or TREC power, then you must go to the Opelika Power Services Customer Service Center, located at 600 Fox Run Parkway, and request garbage collection. 

3. How do I get rid of recyclable items?

• Sign up for curbside recycling for $10 per month.
• Take items to one of our collection sites:
  • 8th Avenue - Hours of operation are Friday, 8 a.m. to Tuesday, 8 a.m.
  • Jeter Avenue - Hours of operation are Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. - 2 p.m.

4. My garbage container is damaged. Who do I call?

Opelika Environmental Services provides garbage containers for all of  the City's residences and businesses. Just contact us at 334-705-5480, and someone will come out and determine if your cart can be repaired or if it needs to be replaced.

5. Does Opelika have a curbside recycling program?

Yes, we do! Visit our Recycling page for more information, and to sign up for curbside recycling, submit our online form.

6. How do I find out what my pick up day is?

View our Garbage Collection Day Listing.

7. How do I know the difference between "garbage" and "trash"?

“Garbage” is the bagged household waste produced in your home. “Trash” is defined as limbs, grass clippings, furniture and appliances, metal objects and other “non-hazardous” materials.

8. Why didn't my trash get picked up?

There are several reasons why your trash may not be picked up – and Opelika Environmental Services wants to let you know about these reasons, so you can help us out.

• Cut down trees and other wood was too large. The City of Opelika will only pick up limbs and tree parts that are less than 6 inches in diameter and 5 feet in length. If limbs are larger than this, call us at 334-705-5480 for a quote. Our equipment cannot handle larger wood, and we will not cut it to pick it up.
• Trash (appliances) had no tags. The City of Opelika will pick up used appliances, but you must purchase a special tag for the city to do this. Non-hazardous appliance tags are $5 and hazardous appliance (i.e. refrigerators, freezers, and microwaves) tags are $15. You can purchase these at the Opelika Revenue Department, located in City Hall at 204 South 7th Street.
• Trash was blocked by a vehicle. Please don’t place your trash behind regular parking spots. Place at least 5 feet from any obstruction.
• Trash was placed on a vacant lot. We will not pick up trash off of vacant lots because there are no city services to rendered to vacant lots!
• The trash was placed under power, cable or phone lines. Employees will not pick up trash under any type of power or communications lines. Our equipment has a hard time maneuvering under them, and it’s simply not safe for our employees.
• The trash was too close to mailboxes, tree lines or power poles. Trash needs to be placed 4 to 5 feet from all of these to ensure that our equipment can safely pick up trash, without causing any damage to private property.

9. Are there some "trash" items the city will not pick up?

Yes. There are certain items that the City of Opelika will not ever pick up, and you should know about these.

• We do not pick up paint, iron, rocks, building remodeling, concrete or dirt. We will pick up completely empty paint cans that have been filled with either sand or kitty litter, however. You should let the inside of the paint can completely dry out first, though. (If you have a good amount of paint left in the can – and it is still usable – why not donate it to a charitable group?)
• We do not pick up tires. Residents may bring up to 8 tires to one of our recycling centers.
• We do not pick up automobile motors or any other auto parts
• We do not pick up batteries. You can bring them to one of our recycling centers.