703-324-5230
TTY 711
Eric Forbes,
Director, Solid Waste Management
If Fairfax County collects your trash and recycling, use the County Collection Customer tab for customer specific information. Use the Residents tab for information relevant to all Fairfax County Residents. If you are unsure who provides your service, visit Does Fairfax County Pick Up My Trash? for more information.
See the Residential Materials Index for a list of all items that can be recycled or disposed of in Fairfax County. In addition to common recyclables, you will find information about recycling computers, motor oil, packaging peanuts and much more!
The only types of plastic that are required to be recycled in Fairfax County are plastic bottles and jugs. Some companies also collect additional plastics (e.g., margarine tubs, yogurt containers) at the curb. Participation is voluntary. Find out more at Plastic. Contact whoever picks up your trash for more information.
If a private company collects your trash, please call them directly.
Fairfax County collects trash and recyclables from over 44,000 homes located in Solid Waste Collection Areas. This county service is obtained through a petition process. Call 703-324-5230, TTY 711 for more information. See also Does Fairfax County Pick Up My Trash?
Please contact the private company that collects your trash and recyclables directly. If you are unsure who collects your materials (e.g., you live in a townhouse or condominium), contact your homeowners association or building manager.
If you are a County Collection Customer, call our customer service number at 703-802-3322, TTY 711 and we will provide instructions. In most cases, ninety percent (90%) of residents and businesses in Fairfax County, a private collection company picks up your trash and recycling. Residents are billed by the collection company or pay via their Home Owner Association fees. Please contact your provider directly regarding services. If you need to find a service provider, view Permitted Solid Waste Collection Companies for information. If you don't know if you are a County Collection Customer, visit Does Fairfax County Pick Up My Trash?
Residents are encouraged to set out their trash by 6 a.m. on collection day. Bundled materials may not exceed four feet in length; no bundle or trash container may exceed 50 lbs. Trash must be set out separately from recyclables.
Items set out for regular trash collection should not include: tree stumps, dirt, stone, rock or brick, dead animals, manure, asbestos, containerized liquids, refrigerant-containing appliances, scrap metal, household hazardous waste, waste generated by a tree removal company or home renovation firm.
Large or bulky items typically require a separate collection.
For more information, see Chapter 109.1 of the Code of the County of Fairfax, VA. You may also contact your private collector directly.
Some private collectors may provide what is called "back door collection service." Ask your collection company if such assistance is available.
Please call the private company that collects your trash and recyclables directly.
No. According to Sect. 108.1-4-1 of the Fairfax County Noise Ordinance, trash collection is prohibited in residential districts and/or within 100 yards of a residence between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. If a trash or recycling truck is loading or unloading materials in your neighborhood before 6 a.m. or after 9 p.m., they are in violation of the law. To report them, call 703-324-5230, TTY 711 during office hours (8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m., Monday – Friday). If possible, have descriptive information about the truck, such as company, color, truck number, license plate, etc. This will assist us in investigating your complaint.
See our Index of Residential Materials online.
Residents may self-haul trash to either the I-66 Transfer Station located in the western part of Fairfax County or I-95 Landfill located at the southern end of Fairfax County.
Yes you may. Simply ask a staff member for a ticket as you drive your vehicle across the weight scale at the I-66 Transfer Station or I-95 Landfill Complex. The copy is free for residents.
The Fairfax County Household Hazardous Waste Program accepts hazardous chemicals from residents free of charge and disposes or recycles them according to all local, state and federal regulations. Learn more about household hazardous waste disposal.
Contact the private company that collects your trash and recyclables or an alternate junk removal service to arrange for a special collection.
No person may dispose of solid waste on any private or public property without the permission of the owner. This prohibits illegal dumping in commercial building dumpsters or any site not designated for disposal use by the general public. If you witness release of petroleum or other flammable or hazardous materials, call 911. If you see anyone dump nonhazardous solid waste, record the vehicle license number and call the Fairfax County Police nonemergency number at 703-691-2131, TTY 703-204-2264, to report the violator. If you find illegally dumped material on public or private property, but did not witness the dumping, call the Department of Code Compliance at 703-324-1300, TTY 711, or submit a complaint online. To identify the property owner, go to the county's Real Estate Assessment Information Site.
Yes. Through the Clean Streets Initiative, the county's Solid Waste Management Program and the Health Department are working to address this issue. Under Clean Streets, the property owner is notified that the trash must be removed. If the property owner does not remove the material within 10 days, the county will remove it and bill the property owner. If the property owner refuses to pay the county for the removal of the material, a lien is placed on the property. Call 703-246-2300, TTY 703-591-6435 to report a property under the Clean Streets Initiative program.
Hundreds of thousands of recyclables are collected annually in Fairfax County. See our online tonnage chart for the latest data. Once collected, recyclables are transported to a materials recovery facility for sorting and packaging. Finally, they are sold to manufacturers to make new products.
Fairfax County collects trash and recyclables from over 44,000 homes located in Solid Waste Collection Areas. This county service is obtained through a petition process. To determine if your home is included, visit Does Fairfax County Pick Up My Trash? or call 703-802-3322, TTY 711. For more information, visit County Collection Customers.
Please call 703-802-3322, TTY 711.
Call 703-802-3322, TTY 711, or email DPWESTrashCS@fairfaxcounty.gov or use the online form to Report Missed Pick Up
If you are a County Collection Customer, call our customer service number at 703-802-3322, TTY 711 and we will provide instructions. In most cases, ninety percent (90%) of residents and businesses in Fairfax County, a private collection company picks up your trash and recycling. Residents are billed by the collection company or pay via their Home Owner Association fees. Please contact your provider directly regarding services. If you need to find a service provider, view Permitted Solid Waste Collection Companies for information. If you don't know if you are a County Collection Customer, visit Does Fairfax County Pick Up My Trash?
Details for collection setout can be found at Curbside Trash.
For more information:
Chapter 109.1 of the Code of the County of Fairfax, VA
Trash & Recycling Collection Guidelines for Fairfax County Sanitary Districts.
Special Service collection is available for county collection customers who need special assistance. The purpose of this service is to provide our customers who have a medical or physical disability, the opportunity to receive trash and recycling accommodation instead of taking their county-provided carts to the curb. This service is offered only if the resident has no one else living in the household that is physically capable of taking the trash and recycle carts to the curb. Call 703-802-3322, TTY 711 for assistance.
To request additional cart service, please call 703-802-3322, TTY 711.
Please call 703-802-3322, TTY 711 or for detailed guidelines and scheduling, visit Special Pickup.
Fairfax County provides vacuum leaf collection services in some areas. Not all county collection customers are subscribers. To find out if your residence is served, view the Vacuum Leave Collection Service Area map. View Leaf Collection Dates.
Visit Commercial Disposal Fees for information.
Yes you may. Simply ask a staff member for a ticket as you drive your vehicle across the weight scale at the I-66 Transfer Station or I-95 Landfill Complex. There is a $5 fee for the receipt for commercial customers.
Business hazardous waste is not accepted at the household hazardous waste facilities unless the business is located in Fairfax County and qualifies as a Very Small Quantity Generator (VSQG, formerly CESQG). Qualifying businesses can participate during one of the Business Waste Clean-up Days. Businesses that do not qualify can utilize a disposal company, visit Disposal Companies for Specialized or Hazardous Waste. For detailed information, visit Commercial Hazardous Waste.
These three different permits require different information. Please call 703-324-5230, TTY 711 or 703-631-0495, TTY 711 for details. General information, rates and forms are available. Visit Collection and Disposal Industry Requirements and Rates.
That depends on who owns your building as well as the terms of any leases or property management contracts. Start by talking to the building owner or property manager.
Trash:
Recyclables:
If you need assistance in setting up trash or recycling at a business property (including a multi-residential complex), please contact the Solid Waste Management Program at 703-324-5230, TTY 711. We offer onsite evaluation, system analysis, and educational/outreach support.
Complete regulations for the collection and management of trash and recyclables are detailed in Chapter 109.1 of the Code of the County of Fairfax, VA. Following are some of the basic rules concerning commercial collection service:
For more information about these rules, please consult Chapter 109.1 or call 703-324-5230, TTY 711.
To report a violation or concern to Fairfax County about your service provider, please use the Solid Waste Complaint/Comment Form or call us at 703-324-5230, TTY 711 during office hours (8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m., Monday - Friday). If possible, please have descriptive information about the truck such as color, truck number, license plate number, etc. This will assist us in investigating your complaint.
Nonresidential Business Properties
For more information, see nonresidential recycling and trash as well as section 4 of the Recycling Program Requirements Guide. Also, be sure to check out our information for employees, business tenants and property owners and managers.
Residential Business Properties
Residential business properties (including apartment or condominium complexes and home-based businesses) must follow the county's minimum residential requirements.
A principal recyclable material is the one that occurs in the largest quantity (by weight) in a property's waste stream. It typically varies by business type. For example, in an office building, the principal recyclable is usually mixed paper. For retail stores, warehouses or food service operations, it tends to be corrugated cardboard and/or mixed paper; for auto repair and maintenance, it may be scrap metal or used oil. Additional details can be found in Section 4 of the Recycling Program Requirements Guide under "Certain nonresidential properties must recycle additional materials."
If you are unsure of the correct principal recyclable material for your building or complex, you should analyze the waste stream. This can be as simple as taking a visual survey of your trash, or can be as involved as sorting, weighing and measuring the volume of all the materials in your waste stream. (Note: If you own several small businesses, calculate the principal recyclable separately unless the businesses are located alongside one another such as in a shopping center.) For additional assistance, please contact the Solid Waste Management Program at 703-324-5230, TTY 711.
If you lease a business space that is part of a shopping center, your property owner is responsible for identifying the principal recyclable for the entire property and for implementing the necessary procedure for collecting mixed paper, cardboard, and the additional principal recyclable material.
If you own a business space that is part of a conjoined building, you are responsible for establishing a recycling procedure for your own business to collect mixed paper and cardboard; and, if applicable, for identifying and recycling an additional principal recyclable material.
