By The Junk Lord · Updated
How trash moves in York County
If you're trying to figure out where to take junk in York County, the honest answer is: it depends on the junk. A recliner, a dead laptop, a chest freezer and a can of deck stain each have their own path, and some can't legally go in the trash at all.
No matter where you live in the county, your hauler delivers your garbage to the York County Resource Recovery Center on Blackbridge Road in Manchester Township. It's a waste-to-energy plant that burns household trash to make electricity, cutting its volume by about 90 percent.[1][2][3]
The York County Solid Waste Authority runs that plant, but it doesn't pick up garbage or provide dumpsters. Most municipalities contract one hauler for the whole town; a handful of townships leave residents to subscribe on their own, and Hanover and Wrightsville boroughs are listed as their own hauler. Not sure who collects your street? The authority says to call your municipal office.[4][3][5]
The Small Load Drop-Off: the county's catch-all for residents
When you have more than your hauler will take, the county's answer is the Small Load Drop-Off Facility at the Resource Recovery Center. Stop at the scale house first, and staff direct you to the right area.[6][2]
Posted hours as of October 2026 were Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Saturday, 8 a.m. to noon. Check before you load up.[6]
Waste loads are charged by the ton with a minimum. A load that is only electronics costs nothing, but toss a bag of trash in with the TVs and the whole load gets charged.[7][4]
- Small loads of waste, such as furniture, mattresses and large amounts of trash. These go into the plant and become electricity.[6]
- Metal items such as bed frames and bookshelves, which go on to a scrap yard.[6]
- Refrigerant appliances: air conditioners, refrigerators, freezers and dehumidifiers. The Freon comes out before they are recycled.[6]
- Yard waste like leaves, branches and shrubbery, which is turned into mulch.[6]
- Electronics such as TVs, computers and printers.[6]
TVs and computers: not allowed in the trash
Pennsylvania's Covered Device Recycling Act banned covered devices from household trash starting January 24, 2013. That means desktop and laptop computers, monitors, peripherals like keyboards and printers, and TVs with screens four inches or bigger. Haulers and transfer stations may not knowingly take them for disposal, and the waste-to-energy plant can't accept them. Phones are specifically left out of the law.[8][9]
York County residents can recycle electronics for free at the Resource Recovery Center and at the Fairview Township and Penn Township recycling centers, with a limit of five TVs per visit. The program also takes game consoles, phones, networking gear and corded power tools.[7][10]
It won't take anything with refrigerant, electric motors, oil-filled radiant heaters, liquid-filled devices or smoke detectors. Wipe your personal data first. State guidance also notes that broken or damaged devices may be considered hazardous waste.[7][11]
Refrigerators, freezers and window units
Anything that keeps things cold has refrigerant in it, and federal law under Clean Air Act Section 608 prohibits venting it on purpose during disposal. When a household fridge or window AC is thrown out still charged, the last stop in the chain, such as the scrap recycler, has to make sure the refrigerant is recovered.[12][13]
In York County, large and refrigerant appliances can go to the Resource Recovery Center once the food is cleaned out. A contractor removes the refrigerant, and the metal is recycled. Your hauler may also take them on a large-item day, so it's worth a call.[6][14][3]
Small appliances without refrigerant can go out with regular trash once any rechargeable batteries or fuel are removed and handled separately.[14]
Tires, paint and household chemicals
Tires can go out with regular trash if they're off the rim, cleaned of excess dirt, no more than 32 inches across and no more than 12 inches of tread width. Some haulers cap how many they take. The Resource Recovery Center takes up to ten under the same conditions, for a fee. Tires on rims or bigger than that have to go to a tire recycler.[15]
For household hazardous waste, the authority holds two collection events a year, one in spring and one in fall. They run 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. behind the Recycling Drop-Off Center, they're free for York County residents, and you must register ahead of time. Check ycswa.com for the current dates.[16][17]
Between events, residents may bring household hazardous waste to the Resource Recovery Center with other household waste, for a fee, up to one gallon of fuel and five fluorescent tubes per visit. Mercury devices, pressurized gas tanks, rechargeable batteries, pool chemicals, flares, ammunition and radioactive material aren't accepted there.[16]
- Taken at the events: fuels, solvents and stains, garden and pool chemicals, household cleaners, driveway sealant, fluorescent bulbs, mercury devices, vapes, vehicle fluids, undamaged rechargeable batteries, and propane tanks larger or smaller than 20 pounds.[17]
- Not taken at the events: latex paint, alkaline and car batteries, electronics, fire extinguishers, smoke and CO detectors, 20-pound propane tanks, asbestos and medications.[17]
- Latex paint: donate it if it's usable; otherwise dry it out with kitty litter or shredded paper, close the lid tight, bag it and put it in the trash. Alkaline batteries can go in the trash; car batteries go back to a store that sells them.[17]
Yard waste and renovation debris
The authority's preferred order for yard waste: compost or mulch-mow at home, use your municipality's program or a local mulch processor, then the county yard waste area, and the trash only as a last resort. The county area takes leaves, shrubbery, root balls up to 12 inches across and trimmings up to 6 feet long. Grass clippings and weeds aren't accepted, and mixed loads go to the waste bunker.[18]
Bare Christmas trees are accepted free from York County residents from December 26 through January 31, in the lot across from the plant.[19]
Remodeling leftovers can go to the Small Load Drop-Off, with limits.[20]
- Accepted: tubs, showers, sinks, toilets, doors, flooring, fiberboard, house wrap, joint compound, PVC pipe and tar paper.[20]
- Limited: drywall, plaster, tile, insulation and glass to two 42-gallon contractor bags per trip; lumber, carpet and siding to 6 feet or shorter; fencing to 6 by 6 feet with no concrete on the posts; shingles to one pickup or small trailer load.[20]
- Not accepted: asbestos, brick, concrete, macadam, railroad ties, sand, soil, stone, gravel, metal beams and solar panels.[20]
What five towns' curbside bulk programs take
Every municipality writes its own large-item rules, so a couch that's fine at the curb in one town gets left behind in the next. Here's how five towns handled it as of October 2026; confirm with your municipal office before setting anything out.
- York City: up to five bulky items a week, year-round, booked 7 to 10 days ahead; call the Large Item line before 3 p.m. Wednesday for the next week. Pianos, pool tables, fencing, garage doors, car parts, lumber, rocks, brick, dirt, and bags or boxes of anything must be handled privately.[21]
- York Township: one large item a week that two people can lift. A queen or king mattress set counts as two items. Air conditioners, dehumidifiers and refrigerators need a special pickup scheduled with the township's hauler, and dirt, rocks and construction materials aren't collected.[22]
- Springettsbury Township: one large item per trash day, scheduled with the township's hauler at least a day ahead. Appliances, furniture, mattresses, rolled carpet up to 48 inches, toilets, drained mowers and off-rim tires are fine; TVs, chemicals, auto parts, and building material like drywall, shingles and treated lumber are not.[23][24]
- Red Lion Borough: one large item a week, and under the 2026 contract you contact the borough's hauler first, especially for Freon items, couches and large glass. Items must be liftable by two people, loose piles are refused, and nothing goes out more than 12 hours early.[25][26][27][28][29]
- Hanover Borough: Public Works collects, and bulky pickups must be scheduled and paid for ahead, charged by volume and time. Mattresses, tires and brush count as special pickups, and the borough won't take construction waste. Its transfer station on Barnhart Drive accepts Freon appliances but not TVs, computers, batteries or propane bottles.[30][31]
When hiring someone makes more sense
The county system works fine if you have a pickup, a free weekday morning and a strong back. It gets harder when the junk is mixed: a sleeper sofa, two dehumidifiers, a tube TV and twenty bags of trash means separate rules, separate areas and maybe separate trips.
That's where we come in. A two-person crew does all the lifting and loading from wherever the stuff sits, sweeps up after, and takes reusable items to donation drop-offs when we can. Disposal goes through licensed transfer stations. The price is based on how much space your stuff takes up in the truck, and William confirms it upfront. We don't take paint, chemicals, asbestos, propane tanks or liquids, so those still go to the county events. Already-down limbs are fine; we don't cut standing trees, so call a certified arborist for that.
Text a few photos to (717) 654-6138 and William will tell you what he sees and what it would take.