Solid Waste, Brush, and Yard Waste

About Solid Waste, Brush, and Yard Waste Collection

Paducah's Solid Waste Division collects an average of 26,000 tons of garbage each year serving nearly 9850 residential accounts and 2000 commercial accounts. The Solid Waste Division recycles cardboard and yard waste.  McCracken County Solid Waste Management Plan 2018-2022 >>

Holiday Garbage Collection Schedule

Click Holiday Schedule to find out the garbage collection changes during holidays.  On the days before and after holidays, crews often double up their collection routes and start their shifts earlier than normal.  If your trash collection schedule is affected by the holidays, it is recommended that trash containers are placed in their designated collection point the previous night. 

Recycling

Visit Recycling for more information about the voluntary, curbside recycling program and the Freedom Waste drop-point for recyclables.  

Compost Facility

The Compost Facility at 1560 North 8th Street is open Monday through Saturday year round (except for holidays), 7 a.m.-3 p.m. The facility accepts bagged leaves, loose leaves, grass clippings, brush, and tree limbs. There are occasions when the facility is closed for grinding of brush and tree limbs.  Call 270-444-8511 for additional information.  Compost is available for purchase.  A two-yard bucket load is $20.

Yard Waste, Brush, and Limb Collection

The City of Paducah provides yard waste collection to residents as a part of their monthly service charge for solid waste collection.  To request a collection of yard waste or brush, call the Public Works Department at 270-444-8511. 

As a reminder, if you have a couple of bags of yard waste or a few twigs and limbs, it is acceptable to place those items in your garbage rollout for collection.  Small amounts of yard debris can be placed in garbage rollouts.

To make the collection of brush as efficient as possible and to prevent the blocking of storm drainage systems, please place brush and yard debris near the edge of the road and not in the alleys.  Please make every effort to avoid placing the larger piles of debris under utility lines or near objects such as parked cars or fire hydrants.

  • If you live on a street with curbs and gutter, place the brush and yard waste on the back side of the curb off of the sidewalk.
  • If you live on a street without curbs and gutters, place the brush and yard waste where it can be reached but not in the drainage ditch.

Brush should be no longer than 48 inches in length with trunks no larger than 19 inches in diameter.  Leaves and grass clippings should be bagged, not to exceed 50 pounds per bag.  All yard waste shall be placed adjacent to the street (not in the alleys).  Large tree limbs, stumps, and trunks are special collections, and there could be a minimal charge.

Paducah residents are encouraged to take brush and yard waste to the Compost Facility located at 1560 North 8th Street at no charge.  The Facility is open Monday through Saturday from 7 a.m. until 3 p.m.  

Note:  Yard waste generated/left by a private contractor will not be collected by City crews.  Homeowners and/or the contractor must dispose of these materials.

Garbage Collection Schedule (Residential)

solid waste and recyclable collection mapCollection Fees

The charge for Residential Solid Waste Collection is $16.50 per month for one rollout.  It is included on your monthly water bill. This charge includes yard waste collection and the weekly collection of your garbage container.  The Solid Waste Division is operated as a business enterprise. The cost of the garbage collection service is paid for by the Solid Waste Collection Fees collected from residents and businesses. 

Collection Times

City Solid Waste crews work from 7 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. for residential and commercial rollout container collection.  The crews who collect solid waste from commercial dumpsters work 4 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. hours since many businesses prefer solid waste collection to occur early in the day.  Since crews start their collection routes early in the morning, citizens are recommended to place trash containers at their designated collection point the prior evening. 

Collection Day

Residential refuse collection is done Tuesday through Friday with Monday set aside for the collection of recyclables.  There is no residential garbage collection on Sunday. To find out what day you are scheduled for pick-up, call Public Works at 270-444-8511 or view the Interactive Map that allows residents to type in their address to find out their solid waste collection day.  We can also determine if you will need a roll-out container or if one already exists on the property. All waste must be contained in the City of Paducah issued container.  If you need more than one rollout container, an additional fee will be charged.

Collection Limitations and Guidelines for Side-Arm Residential Collection Truck

Here are the guidelines for placing your solid waste container (rollout):

CITY ISSUED CONTAINERS: 

  • Only City of Paducah issued containers will be serviced.
  • All City issued containers shall remain the property of the City of Paducah. 
  • If a dwelling is vacated, the outgoing resident should notify the Public Works Department at 270-444-8511 making the City aware of the vacancy.
  • The container must not be painted, abused, mutilated, altered or modified in any manner. 
  • If the container is lost or damaged beyond repair by the resident, the resident may be held responsible for the replacement cost of the container. 
  • Report lost or stolen containers immediately to the Public Works Department at 270-444-8511 so that it may be replaced.
  • To clean, use water and household detergent.  It is the responsibility of the customer to keep the container clean.

CONTAINER PLACEMENT: 

  • The City issued containers are to be placed for service pickup no later than 7 a.m. on the designated collection day.  If the City issued containers ARE NOT placed before 7 a.m. our drivers will assume that no service is needed for this location.  The City issued container should be removed from the City’s public right-of-way on the same day of service.
  • The container should be placed within two feet of the roadside edge with the handles placed facing away from the street/alley.  This required placement will provide better service to our customers and allow longer life for the container.   
  • The Side-Arm truck cannot service containers IF stationary objects are within four feet of the container.  Examples of stationary objects include but are not limited to cars, mailboxes, utility poles, trees, shrubs, fences, etc.  OBSTRUCTED CONTAINERS WILL NOT be serviced as our drivers have been instructed NOT to service containers that are obstructed to prevent damage to private and/or personal property.  

OVERFILLED CONTAINERS: Containers may be filled with the lid partially open.  Excessive overfilling of the container MAY cause interruption of service.  Containers that are properly filled prevent spillage of garbage on our streets during the collection process.  Properly filled containers provide quality services to our customers and allow us to be good custodial stewards to our community and environment.

UNACCEPTABLE CONTAINER CONTENTS:  Containers having hazardous wastes and materials including but not limited to paint, gasoline, solvents, oil, batteries, tires, bricks, blocks, building or construction material, etc. or any other items not normally found in household garbage SHALL cause interruption to service. 

ANY ITEM OUTSIDE CONTAINER:  Excess solid waste placed outside containers will NOT be collected on the day of service UNLESS the customer has arranged for a special pickup which MAY require an additional fee.

VIOLATIONS:  If you are denied service due to a violation of one or more of the above rules, once the problem has been corrected, “Call Back” service may be provided before the next scheduled service date for an additional fee.

Service Assistance Request for Refuse Collection

The City of Paducah has a program to assist people needing help with the trash rollout container. Click Service Assistance Refuse Collection Request for a letter and the application form. To qualify for the program applicants must be permanently or temporarily physically disabled to the extent that they cannot transport their trash to the curb for collection. A statement from a licensed physician is necessary. Also, the applicant must signify that there is no one residing in the residence over the age of twelve (12) years who is able to transport the trash container from the residence to the designated collection place.

Special Collection Services - Pay Piles

If you have trash or no longer needed items such as furniture that won’t fit in your city-issued rollout, then you may have a pay pile. To schedule this service, call 270-444-8511.  The Solid Waste Division will collect and dispose of the items; however, there is a minimum fee of $25 which is added to your water bill.  The fee depends upon the size of the pile and how much of the knuckleboom truck it fills.  Pay piles are collected on Thursdays and Fridays using a knuckleboom truck. 

Pay Pile Process:

  1. Place the pay pile items adjacent to the street (not in the alleys).
  2. Contact the Engineering-Public Works Department at 270-444-8511 to inform the staff that you have a pay pile.
  3. A Public Works Supervisor reviews the pay pile and assigns a fee to it.
  4. The Supervisor calls the person listed on the water bill to explain the fee.  Note:  Since the fee is added to the water bill, the person named on the water bill must the one who contacts the Public Works Department.

Commercial Collection

Commercial collection is provided by the City of Paducah at various charges depending on the size of dumpster needed and the frequency of pick-ups. These prices can be obtained through the Engineering-Public Works Department. Regulations for the dumpster pad also can be obtained from the Public Works Department which can be reached at 270-444-8511. If your rollout container was missed, please call our office as soon as possible. If possible, it will be picked up that day or the following.

Spring Clean Up Day - 2020 Event Cancelled

The free service, rain or shine, was scheduled for Saturday, April 18, 7 a.m. until 2 p.m. at the Republic Services transfer station, 829 Burnett Street.  However, due to the COVID-19 situation, the event is cancelled. 

A tradition for many families is to conduct a thorough cleaning around the home in late winter or early spring.  After gathering piles of trash and items needing proper disposal, set aside some time to take those items to the Paducah-McCracken County Spring Clean Up Day. 

Spring Clean Up Day is an opportunity to dispose of various types of solid and household hazardous waste.  All Paducah and McCracken County residents must bring proper identification (such as a driver’s license) to verify residency. 

Accepted items include household trash, white goods (tagged Freon-free), tires (12 tire limit - no heavy equipment, solid, rubber track, or foam-filled tires), household hazardous waste (labelled and in original container), ammunition, expired or no longer needed prescription medications, batteries, and e-scrap.  No medical waste, commercial waste, or radioactive items will be accepted. 

Recyclables such as paper, plastic, and steel and aluminum cans should be taken to the Freedom Waste recycling drop-off location at 400 State Street. 

Spring Clean Up Day is held at Republic Services and the adjacent parking lot of the Paducah Public Works facility on North 10th Street.  To maintain the traffic flow, drivers need to enter from North 10th Street off Park Avenue.  Traffic will turn right onto Burnett Street to go through the drop-off line.  Traffic will not be allowed to enter from North 8th or 9th Streets.  Household hazardous waste items, e-scrap and batteries, ammunition, and prescriptions are off-loaded last in line.  Please separate your items to make the trip go quicker. 

Paducah Power System is teaming up with Clean Earth, Inc. to encourage people to safely dispose of old, unbroken bulbs.  Many types of bulbs contain a small amount of mercury and are not recommended for residential curbside trash pick-up.  Each family turning in unbroken bulbs will receive one new LED bulb.  Paducah Power also will collect mercury-filled items.

Annually, approximately 700 vehicles go through the line to dispose of more than 200 tons of household trash, white goods, and scrap metal.  That tonnage is in addition to the tires, hazardous materials, prescriptions, and ammunition collected. 

Spring Clean Up Day is funded in part through a Household Hazardous Waste Grant through the Kentucky Division of Waste Management.  Partners include City of Paducah, Clean Earth, Inc., Liberty Tire, McCracken County, McCracken County Sheriff’s Department, Paducah Power System, and Republic Services. 

For more information, call the Public Works Department at 270-444-8511.    

Hazardous Waste Disposal

For the disposal of various hazardous waste substances, the Kentucky Division of Waste Management has prepared fact sheets to guide you through the proper disposal.  For more information, visit Hazardous Waste Disposal.

Christmas Tree Recycling

To dispose of a live Christmas tree, the City of Paducah urges residents to recycle by taking the tree to the Compost Facility located at 1560 North 8th Street during regular business hours. Please remove all lights, garland, and ornaments before taking the tree to the Compost Facility.  Residents also can dispose of trees by placing them next to their garbage.

Reporting Illegal Dump Sites

To report illegal dump sites in McCracken County, contact either the McCracken County Building/Inspection Department at 270-444-4724 or the McCracken County Road Department at 270-442-9163.  Your report will be confidential.