By The Junk Lord · Updated
How Lancaster County handles its trash
Working out where to take junk in Lancaster County comes down to two layers: the county authority that runs the disposal sites, and your borough or city's curbside program. Both have rules, and they don't always line up.
The Lancaster County Solid Waste Management Authority, known as LCSWMA, is a municipal authority that manages trash and recycling for Lancaster County and trash for Dauphin County. It does not run curbside collection. Haulers pick up at the curb and bring the material to LCSWMA's facilities.[1][2][3]
Most of what you throw away gets burned for energy. Around 90 percent of Lancaster County's household trash goes to the Lancaster Waste-to-Energy Facility, and only about 5 percent ends up in the landfill each year. Waste-to-energy shrinks trash volume by 90 percent and pulls out ferrous metal for recycling along the way.[4][5][6]
The LCSWMA sites and what each is for
Not every LCSWMA facility handles every kind of waste, so pick the site before you load the truck. Disposal rates apply to drop-offs of anything that can't go out at the curb.[7][8]
- Transfer Station Complex, 1299 Harrisburg Pike, Lancaster: takes Lancaster County waste only. The same campus holds LCSWMA's main office and its Household Hazardous Waste Facility.[1][9]
- Lancaster Waste-to-Energy Facility, 1911 River Road, Bainbridge: where most of the county's household trash is burned. For construction and demolition debris, it only accepts residential loads the size of a pickup truck or smaller.[8][6]
- Frey Farm Landfill, 3049 River Road, Conestoga: mostly takes inorganic material such as ash from the waste-to-energy plants and construction and demolition debris. It's also the only LCSWMA site that takes boats, and it takes yard waste that isn't commercially hauled.[4][8]
Rules to know before you drive over
LCSWMA lists the things homeowners commonly bring: household trash, bulky items like mattresses, furniture, lawn mowers and snow blowers with the gas and oil drained, car, truck and motorcycle tires, appliances, and home-renovation construction material. A few rules apply on the way in.[8]
- Tarp and tie down every open load. LCSWMA charges a penalty for loads that aren't secured.[7]
- Wear high-visibility clothing on the tipping floor.[7]
- Bring a card. Frey Farm takes only credit or debit cards, no cash or checks.[4]
- A heavy vehicle or trailer (17,000-pound vehicle or 10,000-pound trailer) has to show its registration for state compliance.[4][7]
- Yard waste at Frey Farm can include leaves, grass clippings, shrubbery and branches under 12 inches in diameter; fees may apply.[8]
- Boats need their fluids drained first. Farm tractor tires and other non-recyclable tires need advance coordination because of state permitting.[8]
- Asbestos requires special arrangements made with LCSWMA ahead of time. Ammunition and explosives are not accepted at all.[8]
Appliances, electronics and household chemicals
Large appliances, sometimes called white goods, are accepted at all LCSWMA facilities for a fee. LCSWMA recovers the ozone-damaging gases and recycles the metal. That matters because federal law under Clean Air Act Section 608 bars anyone from intentionally venting refrigerant when a fridge, freezer or air conditioner is thrown out.[8][10][11]
TVs and computers can't go in your trash can. Pennsylvania's Covered Device Recycling Act has barred desktops, laptops, monitors, computer peripherals and TVs with screens four inches or larger from household trash since January 24, 2013.[12][13]
For Lancaster County residents, the Household Hazardous Waste Facility at the Transfer Station Complex takes household chemicals for free on weekdays. It's for residents only; businesses are turned away, and Dauphin County residents are pointed to their own county's recycling center. The same facility takes many electronics, but LCSWMA does not destroy data on them, so wipe your devices first.[14]
If you live in the county and don't have curbside recycling, you can drop off the Big 4 recyclables for free: corrugated cardboard, plastic bottles and jugs with necks, metal food and beverage cans, and glass jars and bottles.[15]
- Taken at the hazardous waste facility: adhesives, automotive fluids in containers up to 5 gallons, batteries including car batteries (not electric-vehicle batteries), fire extinguishers, fuels, household cleaners, pool, photo and lawn chemicals, mercury items, liquid paint, stains and thinners, and propane tanks of 20 pounds or less.[14]
- Electronics taken there: desktops, laptops, monitors, TVs, e-readers, cameras, cellphones, DVD and VCR players, MP3 players, gaming consoles and stereos.[14]
- Not taken there: medical waste, kitchen electronics, white goods, household and lawn tools, empty paint cans, incandescent and LED bulbs, propane over 20 pounds, compressed gas cylinders, and solar panels.[14]
Curbside bulk rules in Lancaster City and Marietta
Town rules below are as posted for 2026. They change with new contracts, so check with the city or borough office before you drag a sofa to the curb.
Lancaster City lets each household set out one oversized item a week, such as a sofa, stuffed chair, mattress and box spring, or a carpet roll no wider than 4 feet. It has to be light enough for two people to lift into the truck, and that week your regular trash is capped at four containers instead of the usual six. Refrigerators, freezers, air conditioners, dehumidifiers, water coolers, washers, dryers, water heaters and microwaves don't go with weekly trash. The City runs a monthly white goods collection instead, held the third Friday of each month except June, and each item needs a tag from the Treasury Office. That program recovers the refrigerant. For things that can't go curbside, the City points residents to LCSWMA's facilities.[16][17][18]
In Marietta Borough, sofas, chairs, mattresses and similar items up to 60 pounds can go out with weekly trash if each one carries a red bulk sticker from the Borough Office, with a limit of two a week. Appliances over 50 pounds, such as washers, dryers, dishwashers, refrigerators, freezers, stoves, water heaters, air conditioners and furnaces, plus tires, are only picked up on two bulk dates a year, each with a sticker. Call the Borough Office for this year's dates. For construction material, extra household material and brush, the borough sends residents to Frey Farm, and household chemicals go to LCSWMA's hazardous waste facility.[19][20]
Curbside bulk rules in Elizabethtown and Ephrata
Elizabethtown Borough allows one oversized item per household per week with regular trash. Two people have to be able to lift it, it should weigh about 75 pounds or less, furniture tops out at 6 feet, and carpet and scrap metal at 48 inches. Mattresses of any size, rolled carpet, furniture with mirrors and glass taped, boxed toilets and sinks, and drained push mowers are fine. Sleeper sofas, recliners and power recliners, white goods, TVs, boxes of trash and construction debris are not. Appliances and car, truck and motorcycle tires go out on two collection weeks a year with a Borough Office sticker on each one; one is in spring and one in fall, on your trash day.[21][22]
Ephrata Borough takes oversized items at the curb only if they weigh 50 pounds or less, are no longer than 8 feet, and carry an oversized item tag from the Business Office. Furniture, mattresses, lawn mowers, grills, toilets, sinks, bathtubs and interior doors qualify. TVs and electronics, building and flooring materials, concrete, railroad and landscaping ties, pianos, hot tubs, riding mowers, boats and outdoor structures like fencing and swing sets do not. For anything over 50 pounds, the borough itself says to call a private hauler. Washers, dryers, water heaters, stoves, refrigerators, freezers, air conditioners and tires are collected twice a year with a tag on each; the 2026 weeks were May 4 and September 14.[23][24][25]
When it's easier to have it hauled
If you have a truck, a tarp and a free weekday, LCSWMA's sites will handle almost anything a household throws out. The trouble starts with the in-between stuff: a recliner Elizabethtown won't take at the curb, a fridge that missed the borough's appliance week, or a garage full of mixed junk that would need three different stops.
We bring a two-person crew and do all the lifting, loading and hauling, including from basements and attics, then sweep up the spot we cleared. Reusable items go to donation drop-offs when we can, and the rest goes to licensed transfer stations. Pricing is based on how much room your stuff takes up in the truck, and William confirms the price upfront before anybody picks up a box. We don't take paint, chemicals, asbestos, propane tanks or liquids, so the hazardous waste facility is still the place for those.
Text a few photos of the pile to (717) 654-6138 for a free quote.