Sanitation Department

The Sanitation Department collects residential and commercial garbage. We service over 4,000 customers on a weekly basis. Every household should have a 95 gallon trash cart on wheels. If you do not have a cart, you can purchase a trash cart at the Business Office at City Hall (Phone: 615-325-6776). The trash cart should be rolled out to the curbside the night before or early morning of your scheduled pick-up day. If your scheduled trash route falls on a holiday, it will be picked up on the next working day.

The City of Portland has purchased a sidearm trash truck, the following video shows an example truck and how it operates.

The City of Portland offers curbside pick-up and landfill options for brush and bulk items.

We follow a Title 17 Policy (PDF) rules and regulations.

  • Must live within the city limits of Portland
  • Brush and junk items must be separated.
  • Items are to be placed near the road, away from any structures such as mailboxes, fences, and trees.

We have a local trash convenience center, with a dumpster available if you want to drop items off. 

Location: 1137 Parker's Chapel Road, Portland TN.

Please contact us to report items out for pick up,

  • Submit an online request to our City of Portland webpage (Customer request form)
  • Call 615-325-6776, ext. 502, or email the Public Works office
  • Place items at road and it will be picked up at our earliest convenience.

Items Allowed to pick up:

  • Appliance, furniture, small children's toys, lawnmowers, exercise equipment, etc.… (Items too large for trash cart). Oversized cardboard (All smaller cardboard needs to be broken down and placed in a trash cart or dropped off at the local recycling center's bin located on Morningside Dr.
  • Brush and limbs, bagged leaves.
  1. Homeowner doing the work (not contracted)
  2. Placed on the road in a neat pile
  3. Root ball removed and cut to reasonable lengths.
  4. Separated from other junk items.
  5. Please do not put lawn clipping in your trash cart.

NOT ALLOWED to pick up:

  • Construction or remodel debris (Carpet, padding, flooring, cabinets, building material, etc….)
  • Concrete, brick, and rock
  • No Hazardous materials allowed. (Paint, Oil, Tires, Roofing, etc…
  • Clean out and Move Out's not allowed (Home, barn, shed, etc..) Owner's responsibility
  • Brush and lawn waste that was contracted or removed by heavy equipment.

We have also provided a document more about our Bulk Pickup Information (DOCX).

Convenience Center Rules

Location: 1137 Parkers Chapel Road (off of Airport Road)

Hours of operations are 8 am to 4 pm only on Wednesday and Saturday

  • Must live inside the city limits of Portland and provide a current address and contact information to the attendant.
  • No Commercial Haulers
  • No construction or remodeling debris.
  • No contractors are allowed to use the landfill.
  • Brush and lawn debris must be dumped in the designated area.
  • No Hazardous materials allowed. (Paint, Oil, Tires, Roofing, etc…
  • Concrete, brick, and rock are not allowed at the landfill.

If you need to dump hazardous items, you will need to contact Sumner Co. Resource Authority in Gallatin at 452-1114 to get information about the location and time.