Pelham’s new garbage and curbside recycling provider will bring several changes to households throughout the city when the new service begins Oct. 1, according to Advanced Disposal Area Sales Manager Roberto Rodriguez.

The Pelham City Council recently voted to accept Advanced Disposal’s three-year bid to provide garbage and recycling pickup services in the city, marking the first new garbage service company in more than 20 years.

Beginning in October, Advanced Disposal will provide most houses in the city with a 96-gallon garbage receptacle and a rolling, covered 65-gallon recycling receptacle.

The company will collect garbage each week, and recycling every other week.

“One of the biggest changes is that we will provide a much larger, covered recycling receptacle,” Rodriguez said. “That will be a big change from the 18-gallon recycling tote residents have right now.

“Some of the complaints with the tote were that the recycling material would slide all over the place, get wet if it was raining, blow away or some kind of animal would get into it,” Rodriguez added.

Advanced Disposal will also be collecting many recyclable items the city’s current recycling provider does not accept, said Rodriguez, a Pelham resident.

In addition to newspaper, corrugated cardboard, aluminum containers, metal containers and No. 1 and No. 2 plastics, Advance Disposal will also collect aluminum cans, metal cans, water bottles, magazines, catalogs, telephone books and No. 1-No. 7 plastic food, beverage, detergent bottles and jugs.

Advanced Disposal will also collect corrugated cardboard, office and copy paper, bagged shredded paper, file folders, file and packing boxes, junk mail cereal boxes and brown or gray fiber packages, like soda cartons or dry food packages.

However, the company will not collect plastic bags, milk or juice cardboard cartons, loose shredded paper, medical waste, pizza boxes or glass.

“We will accept much more than what is offered right now,” Rodriguez said. “Everybody I have talked with has been ecstatic. The reaction has been tremendous.”

Advanced Disposal will also hold two heavy pickup days per year, compared to one annual heavy pickup day with the previous provider.

The company’s heavy pickup days will be in October and April each year, and the first one will be Oct. 9.

During the heavy pickup days, the company will collect large items not usually picked up during normal collection days, like grills without a gas or propane tank attached and push lawnmowers with gas tanks removed.

The company will also collect paint cans during the heavy pickup days if the cans do not have tops and are separated from the rest of the trash for Advanced Disposal employees to inspect. If the paint in the can is not dry, it must be filled with cat litter.

However, Advanced Disposal will not accept refrigerators or freezers, washers or dryers, dishwashers, hot water heaters, motor oil, tires, batteries, engine blocks, window air conditioning units, riding lawnmowers or bug spray.