Ardmore’s garbage truck comes very early on Wednesday mornings, “usually around 2:00 a.m.,” so the town tells residents to put their trash out the night before. That means your cart spends every Tuesday night at the curb, and the average July low at the nearest weather station is 71.1°F. TidyCan cleans your cart on your pickup day, in town and across the 35739 area. Service starts at $30 every 4 weeks for up to two bins.
A private hauler under town contract, not the county
Ardmore does not use Limestone County’s trucks. The town’s residential trash page says it plainly: “Richardson Waste Removal provides residential trash collection service to the Town of Ardmore, Alabama. Trash is collected once a week on Wednesdays.” It is not free. Residents see a monthly fee added to their water bill.
Limestone County’s 2024 solid waste management plan backs that up from the county side. It describes a contract between the town and Richardson Waste Removal, curbside pickup once a week for 500 to 600 households, and a destination most people would not guess: the waste goes to the Waste-to-Energy Facility in Huntsville.
The 2 a.m. truck means a Tuesday night at the curb
“Trash will be picked up very early on Wednesday mornings, usually around 2:00 a.m. You must put your trash out the night before (Tuesday) in order for it to be picked up.”
Town of Ardmore, Alabama, notice to town residents
Limestone County asks for its carts by 5:00 a.m. on collection day. Ardmore’s schedule moves the deadline to the evening before, and the town warns that a cart put out late will likely wait until the following week. So every week your cart sits at the road overnight, full, with the lid closed on a load of food waste. In summer that is a warm night, and a warm night is when a cart starts to smell.
| Ardmore trash rule | What the town says |
|---|---|
| Who collects in town | Richardson Waste Removal |
| Pickup day | Wednesday, once a week |
| Pickup time | Very early, usually around 2:00 a.m. |
| When to put it out | The night before (Tuesday) |
| Holiday weeks | A Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday holiday moves pickup to Thursday morning |
| Billing | A monthly fee on your water bill |
| Large items | Free dumpsters at the police department twice a year, spring and fall, for town residents only |
Ardmore Town Hall, for reference: 26494 1st Street, open Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The town advertises the spring and fall dumpster dates at least two weeks ahead.
Ardmore, Alabama sits right on the Tennessee line
The town describes itself as “just south of the Tennessee border,” next to its sister city, Ardmore, Tennessee. This page covers the Alabama side. The Town of Ardmore was incorporated in 1922, and it started out as Austin, a Louisville and Nashville Railroad station, before the railroad renamed it for Ardmore, Pennsylvania. Today it has 1,452 residents, according to the Census Bureau’s 2024 estimate, on about two square miles, with a town park, a walking track and the Town Hall and Museum on 1st Street.
Outside town limits, 35739 splits between two counties
The 35739 ZIP code is far bigger than the town. About 92 percent of its land lies outside town limits, and that land splits between two counties: roughly 55 percent in Limestone County and 45 percent in Madison County, according to Census Bureau boundary files. Richardson’s town contract does not reach out there.
On the Limestone County side, the county’s own trucks collect. Its collection guidelines say the carts are county property, “the lid must be CLOSED,” the cart goes out no later than 5:00 a.m. on collection day, and the fee is $18 per billing cycle through Athens Utilities. On the Madison County side, the rules come from Madison County, so call the county to confirm your day and fee. Either way, the cart is yours to keep clean, and we clean it the same way.
No curbside recycling, so one cart carries it all
The town’s trash page lists no curbside recycling, and Limestone County’s free recycling option is a drop-off center in Athens. Unless you make that drive, the soda cans, bottles and food containers go into the same cart as everything else, and that sugary residue is what sours first.
Why an Ardmore summer is the whole problem
NOAA’s 1991 to 2020 climate normals for Huntsville International Airport, the nearest official reporting station at about 24 miles from Ardmore, put the average July high at 91.5°F and the average July low at 71.1°F. That low is the temperature your cart sits in on a Tuesday night at the curb. A closed plastic container with food waste in the bottom sits in that for weeks at a time, and that is what turns a cart into something you hold your breath to open.
What we do about it in Ardmore
We run Ardmore and north Limestone County routes on your pickup day.
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Self-contained truckOur truck carries its own water and takes the dirty water away with it.
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200°F washWashed inside and out with high pressure water heated to 200°F.
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Sanitized and deodorizedThen set back where it belongs, ready for the week.
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Nothing down your drivewayNo harsh chemicals, and the wastewater leaves with us rather than running down your driveway.
Ready to stop dreading trash day? Monthly service in Ardmore is $30 and covers up to two bins. Request a quote or Call (256) 320-8042.
