Is Cordova part of Memphis?

Partly. Large sections were annexed into Memphis over the years and the rest is unincorporated Shelby County, so it depends on your specific address.

How do I find out who picks up my trash in Cordova?

If the City of Memphis issued your carts, a green one for garbage and a gray one for recycling, you have City service. If you pay a private hauling company you chose yourself, you are unincorporated. Call 3-1-1 to confirm your address.

Which cart is recycling in Memphis?

Gray is recycling and green is garbage, which is backwards from most cities and the single most common mistake people make here.

Can I switch trash companies?

If you are unincorporated, yes, you hire and fire your own hauler. If you are City of Memphis, no, the City is your provider.

Do you clean carts in Cordova?

Yes, on both sides of the line. Neither the City nor a private hauler washes your cart, so that part is the same either way.

Cordova Trash Pickup: Are You Memphis or County?

Name: Bin There, Cleaned That
Telephone: (901) 484-5802

Cordova is not a city, which is why trash advice for Cordova is so often wrong. Part of it sits inside Memphis city limits and part is unincorporated Shelby County, and the two work nothing alike.

Last verified 2026-07-29. To confirm your own address, call 3-1-1 or (901) 636-6500 from outside Memphis.

Why this is confusing

Cordova has never been its own municipality. Large sections were annexed into Memphis over the years and the rest remains unincorporated Shelby County. Your neighbor three streets over can be under a completely different system than you are. That is why a generic Cordova trash schedule is wrong for roughly half the people reading it, and why the honest first question is not what day is my pickup, it is which Cordova am I in.

How to tell which one you are

Did the City of Memphis issue your carts, a green one for garbage and a gray one for recycling? Then you are City of Memphis.
Do you get a bill from a private hauling company you personally chose and signed up with? Then you are unincorporated county.
Is there a solid waste fee on your City of Memphis utility account? That is the City service.
Still not sure: call 3-1-1, or (901) 636-6500 from outside Memphis, and ask whether your address receives City collection.

If you are City of Memphis

Green cart is garbage, gray cart is recycling. Backwards from most cities, and the most common mistake here.
Both carts are collected weekly, on the same day.
Yard waste weekly, up to two bags or half a cubic yard, organic only and in its own pile.
Bulk goes through the Outside the Cart program, twice a month on either the 1st and 3rd or the 2nd and 4th week depending on your address, and never in a fifth week.
Carts out by 7:00 a.m., no earlier than 5:00 p.m. the day before, back in by 8:00 a.m. the next day.
Questions go to 3-1-1. The Memphis Curbside Collection app will tell you your day and your Outside the Cart weeks.
Some contracted areas are served by Team Waste and are not affected by City holiday delays.

If you are unincorporated Shelby County

No city picks up your trash. You contract a private hauler yourself and pay them directly.
Your cart belongs to your hauler, and its size, color and rules are theirs rather than the County's.
Haulers working this area include Home Town Disposal at (901) 794-9096, Community Waste Services, Republic Services and WM.
Recycling depends entirely on whether your hauler offers it. Some do, some do not, and some charge extra.
Bulk and appliances are between you and your hauler. There is no municipal bulk program to fall back on.
Holiday schedules are your hauler's, so check with them and not with the City.
If service is bad you can switch companies. City of Memphis customers cannot.

One local note

Yes, people call it the Dirty Dova. For a bin cleaning company the joke writes itself, but the real reason Cordova carts get out of hand has nothing to do with the neighborhood and everything to do with the confusion on this page. When people are not sure who picks up their trash or when, carts sit full longer than they should.

We clean carts in Cordova

Whichever side of the line you are on, nobody washes the cart. City of Memphis will not, and your private hauler will not either. That part is identical in both Cordovas.

Your city empties the cart. It does not wash it. We come after pickup, scrub and sanitize inside and out, and deodorize it. Leave it at the curb and we handle the rest.

1 cart · $20
2 carts · $30
3+ carts · $40

Call or text (901) 484-5802

Common questions

Is Cordova part of Memphis?: Partly. Large sections were annexed into Memphis over the years and the rest is unincorporated Shelby County, so it depends on your specific address.
How do I find out who picks up my trash in Cordova?: If the City of Memphis issued your carts, a green one for garbage and a gray one for recycling, you have City service. If you pay a private hauling company you chose yourself, you are unincorporated. Call 3-1-1 to confirm your address.
Which cart is recycling in Memphis?: Gray is recycling and green is garbage, which is backwards from most cities and the single most common mistake people make here.
Can I switch trash companies?: If you are unincorporated, yes, you hire and fire your own hauler. If you are City of Memphis, no, the City is your provider.
Do you clean carts in Cordova?: Yes, on both sides of the line. Neither the City nor a private hauler washes your cart, so that part is the same either way.