Trash & Recycling in Arlington County, VA (2026)
9 rules for unincorporated Arlington County, Virginia.
Verified from official government sources
Pickup Rules & Schedules
Arlington County's Residential Collection System sets exact hours for curbside pickup: materials go out no earlier than 5:00 p.m. the day before collection and no later than 6:00 a.m. of collection day. Anything left uncollected, plus the emptied Trash, Recycling and Organics Carts themselves, must come back off the Collection Point within 24 hours.
Trash Collection Point Rules in Arlington County
Some RestrictionsArlington County Code § 10-6
A. Storage generally. It shall be unlawful for any person to store any Trash, Recyclable Materials, or Yard Trimmings within the County, except as provided in this article... b. All Trash, Recyclable Materials, and Yard Trimmings shall be placed at the Collection Point no sooner than 5:00 p.m. the day prior to, nor later than 6:00 a.m. of the day of scheduled collection. Any Trash, Recyclable M...
Bin Placement Rules
Arlington County requires Trash, Recycling and Organics Carts to go to the curb no earlier than 5:00 p.m. the day before collection and no later than 6:00 a.m. on collection day. Carts must return to their normal storage spot behind the Front Building Line within 24 hours, screened from street view unless fencing or landscaping already hides them.
Arlington County Trash Cart Placement Rules
Some RestrictionsArlington County Code § 10-6.B.1.b-c
All Trash, Recyclable Materials, and Yard Trimmings shall be placed at the Collection Point no sooner than 5:00 p.m. the day prior to, nor later than 6:00 a.m. of the day of scheduled collection. Any Trash, Recyclable Materials, or Yard Trimmings left uncollected due to late placement at the Collection Point, improper preparation, or prohibited materials shall be removed from the Collection Poi...
Bulk Item Disposal
Arlington County will collect large household items like furniture, mattresses and box springs at the regular Collection Point as long as each piece weighs 500 pounds or less and fits into a rear-loading truck. Anything heavier, along with masonry, dirt, drywall and oversized tree debris, is the owner's responsibility to haul away privately.
Arlington County Bulky Item Trash Rules
Some RestrictionsArlington County Code § 10-6.B.1.a; § 10-6.B.1.f
Oversized bulky Trash items that are too large to be bagged, bundled, or placed in a cart such as furniture, mattresses, or box springs may be placed at the Collection Point as long as the item does not exceed 500 pounds and will fit into a rear-loading collection vehicle. ... At occupant's expense, privately dispose of: (1) All items weighing more than five hundred (500) pounds. (2) Building m...
Recycling Requirements
Every Commercial Establishment and Multi-Family Property in Arlington County must run its own weekly Recyclables Collection System under § 10-32, with a labeled Recycling Container next to every trash container tenants and employees can use. Recycling service must equal at least half the property's trash service level, a standard meant to keep roughly a third of the waste stream out of the landfill.
Arlington County Multi-Family Recycling Requirements
Some RestrictionsArlington County Code § 10-32
A. The Responsible Party of all Commercial Establishments and Multi-Family Properties shall provide a Recyclables Collection System for the Source-Separation and collection of all Recyclable Materials at least weekly, unless given a written exemption by the County Manager or their designee, and adhere to the following requirements: 1. Provide a sufficient number of Recycling Containers for the ...
Illegal Dumping
Arlington County bans dumping or discarding litter on any public or private property, from streets and sidewalks to vacant lots and waterways, except into a proper litter receptacle. County Code § 10-24 makes a violation a criminal offense, § 10-29 sets fines up to $300 per conviction, and property owners must also remove litter that accumulates on their land.
Arlington County Illegal Dumping and Litter Fines
Some RestrictionsArlington County Code §§ 10-24, 10-29
§ 10-24. Littering Prohibited. It shall be unlawful for any person to drop, cast, deposit, discard, or otherwise dispose of litter in or upon any exterior public or exterior private property within Arlington County including but not restricted to any street, sidewalk, park, body of water, vacant or occupied lot, except by placement in a public litter receptacle (or private litter receptacle pro...
Yard Waste Collection
Arlington County collects yard trimmings weekly as part of its mandatory Residential Collection System. Grass clippings, leaves, brush and tree trimmings go out in the county Organics Cart, Household Containers or biodegradable paper bags, separated from trash and recycling. Bundled branches can't exceed 4 feet long, 24 inches around or 50 pounds, and larger unbundled brush needs a Special Collection scheduled with the Department of Environmental Services.
Arlington County Yard Trimmings Collection Rules
Some RestrictionsArlington County Code § 10-2; § 10-6.B.1.a(9)-(10)
“Unbundled Brush” means trees, tree branches, shrubbery trimmings and similar plant material not exceeding ten (10) feet in length and eighteen (18) inches in diameter. ... “Yard Trimmings” means decomposable waste materials generated by general residential yard and lawn care and includes leaves, grass trimmings, brush, wood chips, and shrub and tree trimmings. ... Yard Trimmings shall be place...
Dumpster Rules
Commercial and multi-family properties in Arlington County must place exterior trash containers, including dumpsters and roll-offs, on concrete or another impervious surface, keep them covered or secured, and empty them before they overflow. County Code § 10-31 sets the placement and maintenance standards, and violators face a $300 civil penalty for an uncorrected first offense and $300 per day after that.
Arlington County Commercial Dumpster Placement Rules
Some RestrictionsArlington County Code §§ 10-30, 10-31
"Trash Container" means a rigid receptacle that is specifically designed, sized, constructed, labeled, and placed for on-site collection and temporary storage of Trash and includes cans, bins, carts, dumpsters, chute systems, compactors, roll-offs, and other collection container types approved by the Department of Environmental Services. ... 1. ... Trash Containers located on the exterior of a ...
Collection Schedule
Every one-family and two-family dwelling in Arlington County must participate in the County's Residential Collection System, which picks up Trash, Recycling and Yard Trimmings weekly. The service isn't optional and isn't billed by the pickup: owners pay a flat $439.27 quarterly Household Solid Waste Rate charge whether or not the dwelling is occupied.
Arlington County Mandatory Trash Collection Service
Some RestrictionsArlington County Code § 10-5.A; § 10-8.A
The owner or occupant of each one-family or two-family dwelling as defined in §18.2 of the Arlington County Zoning Ordinance, and the owner or occupant of each unit of any Expanded Housing Option Development constructed under §10-4 of the Arlington County Zoning Ordinance, must participate in the Arlington County Residential Collection System. The County shall collect the Trash, Recyclable Mate...
Recycling Rules
Arlington County requires recyclables set out for collection to be kept separate from trash and yard trimmings, and it is unlawful for anyone besides the County's collector to take recyclables another household has put out without the occupant's permission. Placing trash or recyclables in someone else's cart or a public receptacle without authorization is also unlawful.
Recycling Separation and Scavenging Rules in Arlington
Some RestrictionsArlington County Code §§ 10-6(B)(1)(a)(1)-(2), 10-9, 10-10
(1) Recyclable Materials placed at the Collection Point must be separated from Trash and Yard Trimmings. (2) Scrap Metal and Electronics placed at the Collection Point must be separated from Trash, Recyclable Materials, and Yard Trimmings... § 10-9. Scavenging. It shall be unlawful for any person to remove any Trash or Recyclable Material placed by the occupant of a dwelling for disposal or col...
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