Sanitation & Garbage Collection

Junk car or old car parts?
If you own the car and would like to have it removed free of charge, call the National Kidney Foundation at 1-888-288-CARS and ask about their car donation program. Old car parts are not collected by the Town. You may also be able to dispose of these through a local scrap or auto salvage dealer.

Mattresses, TV sets, and computers:
These items must be recycled and cannot be collected with your regular trash. Since the Town cannot put these items in the trash truck, they are not collected by the Town. The Buncombe County Landfill will accept these items from private citizens.

Motor oil:
The Town will not collect used motor oil. If you change your own oil, you must take the used oil to an approved collection center. Many garages and auto parts stores accept used oil for recycling or you may take the oil to the Buncombe County Landfill. It is ILLEGAL and an environmental hazard to dump used oil into sewers, septic tanks, into drainage systems or on the ground. Just one gallon of used oil can contaminate 1 million gallons of fresh water.

Tires and car batteries:
The Town will not collect car batteries or tires. Both tires and car batteries can be taken to the Buncombe County Landfill for disposal. Many stores will take your old tires and batteries when you purchase new ones. Check with your store for details.

Discarded building materials, lumber, etc.:
The Town will collect these materials only if they are contained in standard trash cans or bags subject to the same limitations as regular garbage. Containers are available from most private trash haulers for bulk disposals. Check your phone book for listings. You can also dispose of these materials at the Buncombe County Landfill.

Old appliances:
When you purchase new appliances, make every effort to have your old ones disposed of by the store where you made the purchase. You can schedule curbside collection of appliances such as washers, dryers, stoves, refrigerators, dish washers and hot water heaters by calling the Public Works Department at (828) 645-0606. You will be given a date for the collection. Please do not put appliances out earlier than the night before scheduled collection. This service is available to residences only. Furnaces, boilers and other such machinery will not be collected by the Town. For the safety of small children, please remember to remove appliance doors before placing it outside.

Yard Waste:
The Town will collect yard waste, provided it is has not been cut by a professional tree or landscape contractor and is not the result of a land clearing operation. Brush and yard waste is collected every other week. Additional collections will be made by Sanitation crews as time allows. Have your yard waste at the curb by 8:00 a.m. on Monday of your collection week. The material will be removed by Friday. You do not need to call for yard waste collection.

Grass clippings and shrubbery trimmings smaller than ½ inch diameter are disposed of by composting. These materials must be collected separatelyfrom brush and trash. Place grass clippings and shrubbery trimmings in bags at curbside for collection. Do not mix any type of trash or garbage with yard waste. Please use CLEAR plastic bags so collection crews can differentiate yard waste from garbage. Loose grass clippings and shrubbery trimmings dumped at curbside will not be collected. Brush, tree limbs, and small tree trunks are ground into chips for disposal. Brush and tree limbs for collection by the Town shall be a minimum ½ inch diameter by 3 foot length. Smaller pieces are to be bagged as shrubbery trimmings. The maximum size is 6 inches diameter and 25 pound weight. Cut protruding limbs into individual pieces and place at curbside with the large ends toward the street for chipping. Do not mix trash, debris, leaves, or dirt with your brush because these items will not go through the chipper. The Town does not provide regular collection service for tree trunks and tree stumps weighing more than 50 pounds. You may dispose of these materials at the Buncombe County Landfill. Leaves are to be contained in clear bags and placed at curbside for collection in the same manner as grass clippings and shrubbery trimmings. From October 15^th through December 15^th and from March 1^st through May 1^st, loose leaves may also be placed at curbside for collection by the Town’s leaf vacuum. They are to be piled separately from tree limbs and brush and are not to be mixed with rocks, dirt, or any type of object that may be harmful to the leaf vacuum machine. Thorny vegetation, if placed at curbside for collection, shall be cut in lengths not exceeding two (2) feet and placed in separate piles from other yard waste.

Furniture and other large items:
Discarded furniture, carpet, and other large items and household junk are picked up with your trash. Place these at curbside on your regular collection day. Some items are not collected by the Town as noted below.

Paint cans:
Paint cans will only be collected if the cans are empty or dried out. Mix latex paint with kitty litter or sand and allow it to completely dry. Leave the dry or empty cans at curbside with your trash on your collection day. Oil base paint should be used entirely or held for a household hazardous waste collection.

Corrugated cardboard boxes:
Disposal of corrugated cardboard in the Buncombe County Landfill is prohibited in accordance with North Carolina State Law. You may place corrugated cardboard at curbside for recycling on your regular scheduled collection day. However, it must be flattened and neatly stacked.