Frequently Asked Questions

Residential customers with more than one trash or recycling cart and commercial service customers with more than three trash or recycling carts will also receive an invoice from Rumpke. Rumpke bills quarterly directly to the customer for this optional add-on service. Additional carts are billed at $3.50 each per month.

Customers who believe that they received a bill in error should contact Rumpke directly at 1-800-828-8171, and the customer service team can remedy concerns.

Customers with an extra cart that they do not wish to maintain should contact Rumpke directly at 1-800-828-8171, and the customer service team can assist with amending the billing and removing the cart from customers’ property.

The City of Piqua is now billing customers utilizing an extra cart a standard rate without an extra cart fee to account for Rumpke billing customers directly for those optional add-ons.

Rumpke is contacting customers via postal mail to select the cart sizes that they wish to use going forward. Customers are asked to select among 35-gallon, 65-gallon and 95-gallon carts by May 2, 2025, for collection service going forward. The cart selection form can be found by visiting selectmycart.com/piquaoh.

Residential and commercial customers will automatically receive one brown 95-gallon trash cart and one green 95-gallon recycling cart unless they select a different option by the May 2 deadline. No action is necessary for customers satisfied with the 95-gallon carts option.

Please note that there is no price difference between a 65-gallon and 95-gallon recycling cart. This is a way to promote recycling within the community.

The Piqua City Commission-approved rates for 2025 will take effect with the billing cycle calculated on June 6. The City of Piqua is delaying the implementation of the increased billing charges to allow customers time to adjust their cart selections with Rumpke as desired.

Additionally, the City of Piqua is now billing customers utilizing an extra cart a standard rate without an extra cart fee to account for Rumpke billing customers directly for those optional add-ons.

Yes! Rumpke accepts plastic bottles, jugs, tubs and cups, mixed with other recyclables and placed in provided recycling carts. Please note that non-recyclable items such as toys are accepted in refuse bins only. For more information about accepted recyclable items, please visit rumpke.com or contact Rumpke’s customer service team at 1-800-828-8171.

Residents can dispose of up to three properly prepared large items. Mattresses, box springs and upholstered furniture must be wrapped and sealed in plastic. Mattresses and box springs are treated as one large item. Freon must be properly removed from appliances by a certified professional before collection. Carpet must be bundled and tied in sections no larger than 4-feet-long and 2-feet-wide. Bundles should not exceed 50 pounds.

Rumpke requests, but does not require, that customers call in if they have a large bulk item for pickup.

Loose shrubbery or lumber must be bundled and tied in lengths no larger than 4 feet long and 2 feet wide. Bundles should not exceed 50 pounds. Grass clippings can be placed in paper bags next to refuse carts or directly into the refuse cart.

Bulky materials including drywall, concrete, bricks, dirt or rocks are not accepted curbside. Contact Rumpke for disposal options.

Customers will continue to use the City trash and recycling carts currently in service for collection. The current City carts have been in service for 8 to 10 years and are at the end of their life cycle. 

Rumpke is substituting carts currently in use with its own carts beginning Saturday, May 10 and continuing through Thursday, May 15 using the following schedule. Residents should place their Piqua-branded carts at the curb beginning Monday, May 12, for crews to collect and recycle. 

• Monday collection day: Rumpke cart delivery on Saturday, May 10; City cart removal on Monday, May 12
• Tuesday collection day: Rumpke cart delivery on Monday, May 12; City cart removal on Tuesday, May 13
• Wednesday collection day: Rumpke cart delivery on Tuesday, May 13; City cart removal on Wednesday, May 14
• Thursday collection day: Rumpke cart delivery on Wednesday, May 14; City cart removal on Thursday, May 15
• Friday collection day: Rumpke cart delivery on Thursday, May 15; City cart removal on Friday, May 16

 For cart size, cart swap or service collection concerns, call Rumpke Waste & Recycling at 1-800-828-8171.

Sanitation services with Rumpke Waste & Recycling began on March 31, 2025. City administration has worked with Rumpke Waste & Recycling to develop a plan to best facilitate a seamless transition of service, including utilizing customers’ existing carts and maintaining the same collection schedule.

Rumpke will provide the same collection offerings, carts and pickup schedule as the City is using now. These services include refuse and recycling pickup from provided carts and weekly pickup of bulk items and yard waste meeting provided guidelines. 

Fees for Rumpke service are posted for customers following contract finalization and Piqua City Commission approval of the amendments to Chapter 50 of the Piqua Code. The rates are guaranteed for five years with an additional five-year option. 

The transition to Rumpke service represents a multi-year fee savings to residential and commercial customers compared to anticipated rate adjustments under the City.  

To view the rates for 2025 to 2029, visit piquaoh.gov/269/Refuse-Rates.

Customers will continue to be billed for standard trash and recycling services by the City of Piqua along with the other utility services offered. This includes one trash cart and one recycling cart for residential customers. Customers will not be billed a fee for the City to handle the billing for sanitation services.  

Residential customers with more than one trash or recycling cart and commercial cart service customers with more than three trash or recycling carts will also receive an invoice from Rumpke. Rumpke bills quarterly directly to the customer for this optional add-on services. Additional carts are billed at $3.50 each per month.

Yes! In September 2024, all of the full-time employees of the City of Piqua Sanitation Division were notified that they would be kept whole and offered positions within the City in lieu of layoff if the services were outsourced. Per an agreement reached with the American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees (AFSCME) in November 2024, Sanitation Division employees have been offered positions in other City departments that were held or created for this purpose.  They will maintain full-time employment at the same level of compensation and benefits with the City of Piqua.  

The City of Piqua purchased recycling carts in 2015 and refuse carts in 2018. The current City carts have been in service for 8 to 10 years and are at the end of their life cycle. Rumpke will substitute carts currently in use with its own between May 10 and May 26, 2025. 

Trucks used for refuse and recycling collection were most recently purchased in 2021. Excess City vehicles for sanitation collection were sold via the online auction site used for surplus equipment and supplies. The proceeds from the sales will be kept in the Sanitation Division enterprise fund.

The City of Piqua closely monitors and evaluates market fluctuations that affect the costs to offer sanitation services to residents. The cost of vehicles, carts and other key equipment have continued to rise and affect the sanitation model of delivery. 

City administration considers the cost of offering the service balanced with affordable rates for customers as it makes investments and sets fees for residential and commercial customers. 

Due to these factors, the City of Piqua staff and Commissioners have been considering the transition to contracted sanitation service since July 2024. 

The Sanitation Division operates as an enterprise fund functioning independently from other governmental activities and is not supplemented by the City’s General Fund. 

The fund balance will be used to continue to support the Utility Business Office, which will continue to offer billing services for sanitation services as well as the City’s other utilities. Any decisions about expenditures from the fund not included in the 2025 approved budget will come to Piqua City Commission for consideration and approval. 

Piqua City Commission on February 4, 2025, authorized the city manager to enter into a contract agreement with Rumpke Waste & Recycling to provide refuse, recycling and yard waste collection. 

As staffing, equipment costs and tipping fees continue to escalate, the City is challenged to offer sanitation services at a reasonable rate to customers.  

City of Piqua staff and Commissioners have been considering the transition to contracted sanitation service since July 2024. Rumpke submitted the sole response to the City’s request for proposals to offer contracted sanitation services. 

Commission considered the proposal in January 2025 and brought back three solutions to the sanitation crisis in February 2025, including increasing rates for the City division to continue offering the service or developing a citizen-selected vendor program. 

The decision to contract with Rumpke represents a multi-year fee savings to residential and commercial customers in the City and solves the many challenges facing the department.