Trash and Recycling

Residential Trash

Trash and Recycling Contractor

Penn Waste is the residential trash and recycling contractor for York Township. Residents should contact Pennwaste directly to establish service. For questions, concerns or to establish service, Pennwaste can be reached by phone at (717) 767-4456 or via email at info@pennwaste.com. Additional information can also be found at www.pennwaste.com.

Condos, apartments and rentals are considered commercial properties and may utilize a different contractor. If you rent or belong to a condo association please contact your landlord/condo association for additional information on your service provider. 

To dispose of waste, residents may use a can or plastic bag not exceeding 32 gallons in size and not weighing more than 50 pounds. Excess bags or containers that are not the special bags WILL NOT be collected. Pennwaste also provides a toter service for an additional cost. Penn Waste will only be able to service toters provided by Penn Waste. 

Boxes or bundles may be set out as long as they do not exceed a weight of 50 pounds or a size limit of more than 4 feet in any dimension. Please note that such a box or bundle will count toward your container limit.

Soil, concrete and rocks may not be placed in your regular garbage and must be brought to Modern Landfill for disposal. Additionally, these items are not accepted by the York County Solid Waste Authority. Modern Landfill is located at 4400 Mt Pisgah Rd, York 17406. They may  be contacted at (717) 246-2686. 

Trash Fees

Below is a list of the trash options available:

TOTER SERVICE: 96 gallon toter which conveniently stores three 32 gallon bags is available for $78.00 per quarter (including admin fee.) Toter service includes both trash and recycling toters. Beginning July 1, 2023 the cost will increase to $81.90 per Quarter.

THREE BAG SERVICE: 3 – 32 gallon trash containers or bags is available for $66.00 per quarter (including admin fee.) Beginning July 1, 2023, the cost will increase to $69.30 per quarter

ADDITIONAL SERVICE BAGS: $4.50 each – 33 gallon container. The bags are 33 gallon, bright orange and have Penn Waste printed on them.  You simply sit them out with your regular garbage collection and Penn Waste will pick them up.

YARD WASTE BAGS: $1.35 per bag 

Yard waste bags and additional service bags can be purchased at the York Township Administration Office at the finance window.

Trash service is billed quarterly by Penn Waste each July, October, January and April for each 3 month period. Any account not paid within 30 days will be assessed a late fee and possible collection proceedings. No refunds will be given to accounts turned over to collection.

Large Item Pick-Up

Township residents are allotted 1 large item per week to be put out with their regular trash. Large items must be able to be picked up by 2 people.  Multiple large items or items requiring more than 2 people to lift will not be collected.  A twin or a full size mattress and box spring will count as 1 large item, while a large queen or king size mattress and box spring will count as 2 large items. Large items containing hazardous waste (i.e. air conditioners, dehumidifiers, refrigerators, etc.) require a special pick up and may not be placed with your regular trash service. To schedule a special pick up please contact Pennwaste directly at (717) 767-4456.

Yard Waste Pick up

Yard waste pick up occurs the 4th Saturday of the Month March through October. For November yard waste pick up occurs on the second Saturday and December pick up occurs on the first Saturday. January and February do not have yard waste pick up, however the annual Christmas tree collection occurs on the 3rd Saturday in January.  

Yard waste includes branches, leaves, brush and limbs. Yard waste must be either bundled with twine, placed in an open 32 gallon trash/recycling can or placed in a brown paper Kraft Bag (available for purchase at either the York Township office or many home improvement stores.) Branches may not exceed 6 inches in diameter or 4 foot in length. All bundles must weigh less than 50 lbs. Yard waste pickup begins at 6 AM on the specified date and must be visible and placed curbside for collection.

Grass clippings, fruits/vegetables, tree stumps as well as dirt, stones and construction materials are not included in the yard waste pick up. Grass clippings and food waste should either be placed in your regular trash or compost bin. The York County Solid Wast Authority will accept tree stumps less than 24 inches. Larger stumps and branches may be brought to a local mulching provider. Dirt, rocks and construction materials may be brought to Modern Landfill located at 4400 Mt Pisgah Rd, York, PA 17406. Modern Landfill can be contacted directly at (717) 246-2686.

Residential Brush Drop Off

York Township accepts brush from Township residents as part of our recycling efforts. Information for the residential brush drop off can be found on the Public Works page

Click this link for more information and drop-off dates.

Household Hazardous Waste

York County Solid Waste Authority has disposal of Household Hazardous Waste.  They offer a drop-off collection site the first Saturday in May.  Visit the York County Solid Waste Authority website for more details or phone them at 717-845-1066. 

Due to COVID-19 the 2020 Household Hazardous Waste Collection Event has been rescheduled. Additional information and enrollment can be found  here.

Prescription Medication

 How to Manage Unused Prescription Medications. Unused prescription and over-the-counter medications can be safely processed at the York County Resource Recovery Center (RRC). The RRC is a waste-to-energy facility that burns waste in enclosed, environmentally controlled combustion units. Processing medication in a waste-to-energy facility reduces it to an inert ash and helps produce green power. Medications can be managed in three ways:

Place in your regular garbage. To minimize potential impacts on human health and the environment, take medication out of its original container and mix it with an undesirable substance, such as used coffee grounds or kitty litter. The medication will be less appealing to children and pets and unrecognizable to people who may intentionally go through your trash. Put it in a sealable bag, empty can, or other container to prevent the medication from leaking or breaking out of a garbage bag. Before disposing of a medicine container, scratch out all identifying information to make it unreadable. This will help to protect your identity and the privacy of your personal health information.

Make an appointment to deliver your unused prescription medications to the RRC for FREE. York County residents (single household) may opt to deliver their unused prescription medications directly to the RRC if they do not wish to place them out with the regular garbage. There is NO FEE to dispose of unused prescription medications. Only prescription (no over-the-counter) medications are accepted in this program. Residents must call 717-845-1066 to make an appointment to deliver prescription medications to the RRC. Residents should call in advance (please allow one to two weeks’ notice) to schedule their desired disposal date. The disposal process will take approximately 20 minutes. Residents are required to complete a brief registration form and will be escorted into the RRC by an Authority representative to dispose of the medications. Medications must come from a single household. Medications collected from multiple households cannot be accepted.

Med Return Box Program. Residents interested in dropping medication at a take-back box location should remove their personal information from containers before depositing them in boxes. ONLY RESIDENTIAL medications are accepted. Accepted items include prescriptions, prescription solid or liquid medications, prescription patches, prescription ointments, inhalers, over-the-counter medication, vitamins, samples, and medications for pets. Not accepted: thermometers, hydrogen peroxide, aerosol cans, personal care products in the form of non-prescription ointments, liquids or lotions, medications from businesses or clinics, needles (sharps), bloody or infectious waste and hazardous waste.
Sixteen police departments now participate in the Authority’s free “Med Return” Secure Box Program.   Residents may anonymously deliver unused prescription and over-the-counter medications for free to a secure Medication Return Box located at the York Area Regional Police Department, 33 Oak Street, York, PA. Open Monday through Friday from 8AM to 5PM.  Other locations are listed on the York County Solid Waste Authority website at  www.ycswa.com.

This partnership program, between the Authority and participating York County police departments provides a secure disposal option for unwanted medications from residential sources at no cost to the public. The secure medication take-back box, purchased by the Authority from MedReturn, works like a mailbox: once medications are deposited, they cannot be retrieved and are contained in a locked compartment accessible only by law enforcement.

 Other Tips:

    • The FDA recommends flushing certain unused medications due to safety risks. To learn more, visit: www.fda.gov/consumer
    • Do not give your medication to anyone else or take a prescription that was not prescribed for you.
    • Place sharps (needles, syringes with needles) in a plastic container such as a detergent bottle. Cap or seal the bottle and label it “sharps” and place in the regular garbage NOT IN YOUR RECYCLE BIN.

Recycling

Residential Recycling

Recyclables must be placed in a separate bin from trash and are picked up on your regular trash day. Bins are available at the Township Administrative Office or from the Public Works Department. The first bin is free of charge.

Can be included: 

Glass – Clear, brown and green food & beverage bottles & jars only. Rinse clean, remove lids or cap, DO NOT BREAK, labels need not be removed.

Metal – aluminum beverage cans, steel food & beverage cans. Rinse clean, labels need not be removed.

Newspaper & Cardboard– Newspapers (clean , dry and no food contact) and all sizes of cardboard boxes, dry and flattened, no food contact.

Plastics – Plastics #1, #2 and #5 , narrow neck only accepted.  All materials must be thoroughly cleaned before placing in your bin. Examples include milk jugs, detergent bottles, and soda bottles.  Numbers are located on the bottom of the container.  Remove lids, labels need not be removed.

Paperboard Cartons – milk, juice, soup, wine, broth, cream, egg substitutes.

Can NOT be included:

No aluminum foil, pie plates, etc.

No ceramics, cookware, china, drinking glasses, cups or bowls, Tupperware, plastic tableware (knives, forks, spoons, etc)

No clothing hangers, light bulbs or light fixtures

No plastic bags or bubble wrap

No scrap metal, siding, pots & pans, wire, etc.

No window glass, plate glass or mirrors

No yard waste, etc.

No hypodermic needles (Place sharps in heavy plastic bottle, secure the lid and place in regular trash-NOT recycling)

No paper, junk mail, magazines, shredded paper, or paperboard (cereal boxes, paper towel tubes, etc.)  This must now be disposed of in the regular trash.

Commercial Recycling

Pennsylvania State Act 101 of 1988 and York Township Ordinance 2006-12 require nonresidential establishments to recycle. Nonresidential establishments include all commercial, municipal, institutional, and community groups that do not fit into a residential category. To comply with the State and Local laws, you are required to recycle the following items:

Aluminum, steel and bimetallic cans
High-grade office paper
Corrugated paper (cardboard)
Glass (clear, brown, and green)
Leaf Waste
Plastics #1, #2 & #5, narrow neck only  (or other as designated by your commercial waste hauler)

Electronic Recycling

York Township no longer has quarterly electronics collections at our facility.  York County Solid Waste Authority (YCSWA) will accept discarded electronic items Monday thru Friday, 8 am – 4 pm, and Saturday from 8 am until 12 noon. The York County Solid Waste Authority Site is located at 2651 Blackbridge Road in Manchester Township.

Visit the York County Solid Waste Authority Website for more information.

Click here  To see a list of York County’s Electronic Recycling Collection Sites

This service is available to residents of York County

E-Cycling can include:

Material accepted in the programs includes electronic “covered devices” as well as other recyclables, including cell phones, vacuum cleaners, alarm clocks, irons, coffee makers or anything with a plug that does not contain Freon.  Examples of Freon-containing items include refrigerators, freezers, air conditioners and dehumidifiers.

E-Cycling can NOT include:

Wall clocks Electric razors Furniture Appliances White goods Construction/Demolition Household hazardous waste


Other Information

For additional information on how to properly dispose of waste, please contact the York County Solid Waste Authority at 717-845-1066 or visit their website www.ycswa.com.


Contact Recycling Coordinator

Lisa Smith
Human Resources Coordinator and Recycling Coordinator
190 Oak Road Dallastown, PA 17313
B (717) 741-3861  x 126
E-mail> Contact Recycling Coordinator (Online Form)