Dear New Resident:

    We are pleased that you have chosen to live in Austell, and since you are a new resident, we believe the information provided here will be helpful.

    One of your first contacts with the City of Austell will be your water bill.  Please note that in addition to the regular water and sewer charges, there are two mandatory fees, recycling and stormwater management, which are explained in full detail in the City Service section.

    If you do not have a recycling bin, please contact our office and we will provide one for you at no cost.

    If you have questions regarding  to City services, please do not hesitate to call the Austell Public Works at (770) 944-4325  Monday through Friday between the hours of 8:00 A.M. until 5:00 P.M.

Volume-Based Garbage Service
The City of Austell offers a pay-as-you-throw service.  Garbage bags are purchased from City Hall, the Austell Police Department or the Austell Fire Department.  Two sizes are available:  a 20-gallon bag at $1.50 each and a 32-gallon bag at $2.75 each.  If you utilize the City's garbage service, only garbage in City bags will be accepted.  You must notify the Department of Public Works at (770) 944-4325 if you wish to utilize our service.  The City's scheduled collection day is Monday.  If Monday is a holiday, then garbage is picked up the following day.

The City of Austell provides trash service only to City residents and is not available to residents outside of the City.  Since you are not required to participate in the garbage service program, you may prefer to use a private hauling service.  The following private waste companies services the Austell area:

Timely Removal and Management of Waste Disposal Equipment from Common Areas and Rights-of-Ways
Adopted April 5, 1999, the City of Austell enforces the amount of time that Receptacles are allowed at the street side.

Receptacles are defines as:  recycling bin(s) moveable can(s), bag(s), box(es) and any other such container for garbage and municipal solid waste.  These containers shall not be placed at the street prior to 6:00 p.m. on the evening prior to the scheduled day of collection.  The Receptacles cannot remain at the street after 11:00 p.m. on the regularly scheduled collection day. 

In the event the garbage collector fails to empty the Receptacle on the regularly scheduled day of collection, the resident shall not be deemed to have violated this act for that regularly scheduled day of collection.  However, in such cases the Receptacle shall not be left at the street later than 9:00 p.m. on the third day after the regularly day of collection.

This policy shall exclude the following:

• Yard trimmings, including limbs, brush, leaves and pine straw;
• Items which cannot be manually removed without the aid of hydraulic or other heavy duty equipment; and
• City wide biannual cleanup from April 1 to April 30 and from October 1 to October 31.

Recycling
Recycling is contracted through BFI and is mandatory (effective August 2, 1993) for all residents of the City of Austell.  Following is a list of items that BFI will collect:  plastics, junk mail, telephone books, catalogs, magazines, cardboard (must be no larger than two feet by two feet) and cereal boxes without inside liners.  Motor oil can be recycled in clear plastic jugs.  Old tires can be recycled at the Marble Mill Transfer Station location at 325 Marble Mill Road, Marietta, (770) 426-8132 and at Southeast Recycling located at 816 Pickens Industrial, Marietta, (770) 424-6397.

Questions or complaints regarding your recycling service should be directed to BFI at (404) 794-1145.

Recycling is picked up each Wednesday.  Bins must be out at the curbside no later than 7:00 A.M. for collection.  If Friday is a holiday, then recycling is normally picked up the following work day.  To begin your recycling service, contact the Austell Public Works at (770) 944-4325 and a recycling bin will be delivered.  Additional bins can be purchased for $4.83.

Washers, dryers and hot water heaters are collected year round.  This excludes items with refrigerants (refrigerators and air conditioning units).  Automobile tires are not accepted.

Yard/Tree Trimmings Collection
The City will remove your yard and tree trimmings at no charge.  This includes limbs, brush, leaves and pine straw.  In order for them to be removed, they must be at curbside.  City staff cannot enter onto personal property to remove them.  Leaves and limbs must be separated and must not contain any type of debris.

Leaf and limb collection is scheduled daily according to your address.  Please contact (770) 944-4325 to determine your collection days.

Bi-Annual Trash Pickup
Twice per year (April and October), the City dedicates the entire month to picking up trash that is not normally picked up any other time.  Following is a list of items that cannot be accepted:  capacitators, light ballast, asbestos, metal drums, pain containers, fuel tanks, medical waste, household waste, food waste, tree stumps, closed containers of any kind, refrigerators, air conditioning units or building materials (to include scrap building material from the construction, reconstruction, remodeling or repair of a building, walkway, driveway, sign or other structure, including but not limited to, excavated earth, tree stumps, rocks, gravel, bricks, plaster, concrete, lumber or any other similar material used in construction or the containers or wrappings therefore).

Stormwater Management Program
On March 3, 1999, the City initiated a Stormwater Management Fee of $10.00 per month because of the increasing number of stormwater related problems facing our City such as flooding and erosion, drainage structures and pollution of streams from the stormwater runoff.  This fee is charged to all customers within the City to help offset the cost of controlling problems as they arise.

Street Lighting
Street lighting is provided by Georgia Power or GreyStone Power Corporation, depending upon the area in which you live.  To report a street light problem, please contact our Department at (770) 944-4325 and a repair order will be placed.