WELCOME TO RUSSELL COUNTY SANITATION
Russell County Sanitation
HOUSEHOLD GARBAGE COLLECTION POLICY EFFECTIVE JUNE 1ST 2022
DEFINITION OF Household GARBAGE: Garbage is defined as all debris accumulated within the household that needs disposal. Garbage Does Not include household furnishings, carpet remodeling debris, appliances, batteries, tires, grass clippings and propane tanks.
DEFINTION OF TRASH: Trash is defined as large cardboard boxes, toys, household furnishings, carpet, remodeling debris and appliances
DEFINITION OF LIMB/YARD DEBRIS: Limb /yard debris is defined as any of the following: tree limbs, shrubbery, grass trimmings, leaves and pine straw or other yard debris.
CARTS
All Garbage shall be bagged in garbage bags and placed in assigned Russell County Garbage Carts. The Russell County Sanitation will not be responsible for spillage of Garbage due to stray animals or carts being improperly placed on the county right-of-way. Additional bags outside cart or unauthorized containers will not be picked up.
Contents
- Carts shall contain Household Garbage only.
- Garbage must be bagged to avoid wind-blown litter.
- Needles of any kind must be placed into a bottle or other plastic container before being placed in the cart.
- No hot ashes, liquids, paints, tires, animal carcasses, household hazardous waste, or automobile parts shall be placed in the carts.
- Animal waste must be double bagged before being placed in the carts.
- The 96-gallon Russell County Sanitation carts must be used for weekly garbage pickup. (Household garbage only).
- Russell County Sanitation residents are allowed an additional 30-gallon cart.
- Russell County Sanitation garbage cart shall remain with the property.
Alabama Law
The Alabama Law (Ala. Code 22-27-1, et seq.) which establishes mandatory participation in and subscription to the system of services by Russell County provides that every person, household, business, industry, or property owner is liable for the monthly fee for the solid waste or garbage collection services made available to such person, household, business, industry, or property owner for the property generating solid waste or garbage.
Residential Fee
Russell County Sanitation charges a non-refundable administration fee of $22.00 and the first month payment upon new enrollment. Thereafter, we will bill monthly at $22.00. If an account is past due more than 30 days, there will be a 10% penalty added to the entire balance due by close of business on the 15th of each additional month. Any resident whose sanitation fee is delinquent by 90 days will receive a certified letter showing the balance owed and pick up date for the cart. The resident will have 15 calendar days from receipt of the certified letter to pay all balance owed or service will be stopped, and cart will be picked up. After cart has been retrieved, resident must come to office and pay all outstanding balances and resign up for service before cart is reissued. A $22.00 administrative fee and $22.00 for first month of service is also due to sign up. Failure to sign up for garbage will result in criminal actions. Any hard ship shall be presented to the Russell County Sanitation Department in writing. The Russell County Sanitation Director will review each hardship and make a determination on hardship and reply in writing to person claiming hardship.
EXEMPTION FOR SOLID WASTE COLLECTION FEES
To obtain an exemption from the Solid Waste Collection Fee on grounds that the household’s SOLE source of income is Social Security, you must provide proof of the household’s income.
FILL OUT THE ONLINE APPLICATION AND EMAIL WITH ITEMS REQUESTED TO MBREWER@RUSSELLCOUNTYAL.ORG or JSELLERS@RUSSELLCOUNTYAL.ORG
GARBAGE APPLICATION FOR EXEMPTION
APPLICATION FOR GARBAGE SERVICES
Door to Door Service
Russell County Sanitation will provide “Door to Door” pick-up for an additional fee of $11.00 per month. If you select this service, your garbage will be picked-up next to your house. For more information or to schedule door to door service call (334)291-3232.
Replacement Cost of Carts
It is the responsibility of resident to remove the cart from the right-of-way and protect cart from abuse or misuse. In the event of damage due to negligence (throwing hot ashes in the cart or not removing the cart from the right-of-way in a timely manner) the resident will be charged a $75.00 replacement fee for any cart that has to be replaced.
If the cart becomes damaged from normal use, repairs will be made by Russell County Sanitation and a replacement cart will be issued.
Additional Carts
Russell County Sanitation supplies additional cart as need by residents for $22.00 per additional cart per month. All carts are the property of the Russell County Sanitation Department.
Disconnection Policy
All carts are assigned to an address, not a customer/resident. The carts must be moved to a new address by the Russell County Sanitation. Do Not Take the carts if you move. *** Legal action may be taken against those that remove carts from an assigned address. Customers are to contact Russell County Sanitation immediately if moving. Charges will continue to accrue on the account and customers will be held responsible for carts until Russell County Sanitation is notified. Customers must notify Russell County Sanitation in writing with their current address, their forwarding address, a contact phone number and when your service is to be disconnected.
Commercial Fee
Russell County Sanitation charges a non-refundable administration fee of $37.50 and the first month payment upon new enrollment for a cart. Thereafter, the monthly bill is $37.50.
Russell County Sanitation also provides dumpsters. The fees will vary based upon the size of the dumpster and the number of times picked up per week. See attached brochure for size and number of pick-up days. If an account is past due more than 30 days, there will be a 10% penalty added to the entire balance due by close of business on the 15th of each additional month. Any commercial account whose sanitation fee is delinquent by 90 days will receive a Final Notice. If the bill is not paid in full after 10 days, the cart or dumpster shall be picked up. If a garbage cart or dumpster is retrieved for non-payment, a pickup and re-delivery service charge of $50.00 will be assessed and added to the outstanding balance. In addition, customers who fail to pay their garbage bill may be subject to civil and criminal action.
ADDITIONAL DISPOSAL OPTIONS
Russell County Sanitation will open the Transfer Station Located at 101 Poorhouse Road, Seale AL, 36875 every 2nd & 4th Saturday of each month from 8 AM TO 1 PM for trash, limbs, and yard debris. Picture ID and Current Garbage bill is required to use this service for disposal of items.
*****NO HOUSEHOLD GARBAGE WILL BE ACCEPTED*****
One free landfill permit can be issued each month if the account is current. Customers will need to visit the Russell County Sanitation office with a valid driver license or picture ID. Office hours are 8:00 A.M.-4:30 P.M.
Non household garbage placed by the side of road requires special pick up. Special pick-up prices range from $32.00 to $225.00. Accounts must be current and special pick up should be paid before the pickup or it will be billed to account. Call the Russell County Sanitation office for special pick up and all items must be out before placing an order.
LOCATION OF CARTS
All carts shall be placed on Russell County rights-of-way on the scheduled pickup day by 7:00 am and shall be placed within 3 ft from the edge of roadway. Carts that are placed beyond reach of the garbage trucks or are placed in the wrong location will not be picked up. Once the cart is properly placed on the rights-of-way, the garbage will be collected on regularly scheduled pickup day. Do not place carts within 3 ft of objects, under trees, near power lines, low hanging limbs etc.
If the Solid Waste Officer determines that a non-county-maintained road could be damaged by the solid waste trucks to travel, then an alternate pickup location will be assigned (such as the nearest county-maintained rights-of-way).
TIME
Household garbage carts shall be placed on the rights-of-way by 7:00 am on your regular collection day. Garbage will be picked up once per week on your assigned day. If you fail to have your garbage out on the rights-of-way by 7:00 am on your scheduled pickup day, that garbage will not be picked up until your next scheduled pickup day of the following week. There are no certain times for household pickups.
Holiday Schedule
Every holiday will be posted on each customer’s bill, at the end of the month before the holiday or check the website at WWW.rcala.com.
ADDITIONAL PAYMENT OPTIONS
Debit/ credit card payments can be made in the office or over the phone however there will be a fee of 3% any time you use your card. The fee goes to the provider of the service not the County. Checks and cash payments will be accepted. Customers may make payments in advance. There is a $25.00 returned check fee if a check or EFT transaction is returned. Also, an additional $7.00 certified letter fee if the return check is not paid within five business days.