Garbage & Recycling

NOTICE OF CHANGE TO SERVICE DATES

Beginning the week of July 21, trash and recycling collection for all River Falls residential customers will transition to Thursdays. There will no longer be pickups on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. This change is taking place to ensure consistency, accountability and reliability of drivers. For any questions about the change in service, contact WM at 888-960-0008. A reminder, garbage and recycling bins must be placed three feet apart and should be set out by 6 a.m. on the day of pick-up.

Waste Management (WM) Garbage & Recycling Service

The City of River Falls contracts with WM for residential solid waste and recycling disposal. In accordance with City Ordinance 8.36.040, all residential units in the city are required to have their solid waste collected by the city through its contractor unless they have applied for an exemption. Exemptions are only available to residences that are part of or contiguous to a commercial property under the same ownership, and owners of duplexes, triplexes, or rooming houses.

Questions or Concerns about your Containers and or Service?

WM offers a variety of options for trouble shooting concerns/issues with their service. Residents should contact the Waste Management Customer Service Team if they have missed service, damaged containers and replacement containers.

Phone: 888-960-0008
Website: www.wm.com and click on "Go to WM Support"

WM Garbage and Recycling Weekly Curbside Pick Up

Garbage and recycling container carts must be placed at the curbside by 6 a.m. on Thursday mornings. If the garbage and recycling containers are not at curbside when the WM hauler arrives for pickup, they are not obligated to collect it at a later time. If your container carts were curbside during the 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. pickup window and your pickup was missed, call the Waste Management Customer Service Team at 888-960-0008 or visit www.wm.com and click on "Schedule & ETA" at the top.

Residents can expect a one-day delay in pickup for the following holidays, unless the holiday falls on a Saturday or Sunday:
New Year’s Day
Memorial Day
Independence Day
Labor Day
Thanksgiving Day
Christmas Day

Holiday pickup schedules and other information about our contract may be found on Waste Management’s website.

WM Acceptable Recycling Items

Place the following items together in your recycling container cart (recycling items do not have to be separated):

Aseptic packaging (milk cartons, juice boxes, etc.)
Cardboard
Colored & clear bottles and jars
Magazines
Newspapers
Paper cups
Recycle plastics by shape: bottles, jars, jugs, cups, and tubs.
Steel and aluminum cans
Learn more here

WM Recycling Rules & Preparation Guidelines

Recycling items should be placed in the Recycling container cart "loose" (do not put recycling items in a plastic bag in your recycling container)

Large cardboard should be flattened and folded or cut into pieces not larger than 2 x 2 ft. in size and placed next to or underneath the recycling container cart.
All recycling items must be placed curbside for collection on the same day as your garbage service.
Labels do not need to be removed.
Keep caps on bottles, jars, and other containers.
Rinse containers to produce less than 5% food debris.

Note: Food-contaminated packaging is defined as items that cannot be cleaned to 5% food debris, i.e., pizza boxes.

Non-Recyclable Items

Aerosol cans
Bathroom wastepaper
Ceramics
Christmas wrapping paper
Dishes
Food-contaminated packaging
Gasoline containers
Hazardous waste containers
Mirrors
Packaging materials
Paint cans
Plate or window glass
Pottery

Billing

Refuse and Recycling services from Waste Management will be billed monthly on the River Falls Municipal Utility Bill. Standard garbage containers are 64 gallons, with larger and smaller sizes available at the same price. Billing is on a monthly basis and included on monthly utility bill from River Falls Municipal Utilities.