Washington County, MD Trash & Recycling: Bulk Item Disposal (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing law
- Solid Waste Collection Licensing Ordinance § 3.3
- Intact bulky waste
- Barred from any county sanitary landfill
- Vehicles/boats/campers
- Must be dismantled before disposal
- First violation fine
- Up to $1,000 civil fine
- Repeat violation fine
- Up to $5,000 civil fine
- Criminal exposure
- Up to 6 months, Washington County Detention Center
- Hauler license threshold
- Averaging 3 pickups a week requires a license
Summary
Washington County's landfill turns away bulky waste that has not been broken down first. County code lists "intact bulky wastes" among the materials barred from any county sanitary landfill, right alongside motor vehicles, boats, campers, and mobile homes that have not been dismantled. Furniture, appliances, tree stumps, and other oversized items must be broken apart before a resident or hauler can dispose of them at a Washington County facility.
Bulky waste means large items of solid waste which because of their size or weight require handling other than normally used for solid waste. Bulky waste includes, but is not necessarily limited to, such items as tree trunks and stumps, appliances, and furniture. ... The following are considered unacceptable wastes and no person shall deposit or cause to be deposited any of the following materials in any County sanitary landfill... (7) Motor vehicles, boats, campers, mobile homes without first being dismantled. ... (11) Intact bulky wastes;
Full Breakdown
0. 3 then lists the wastes Washington County will not accept at any county sanitary landfill. Item (11) bars intact bulky wastes outright, and item (7) bars motor vehicles, boats, campers, and mobile homes unless they have first been dismantled. In practice a resident or contractor cannot simply drop a whole couch, mattress set, or junked car at the landfill gate; the material has to be broken down, or in the case of vehicles, stripped of major components, before the county's Solid Waste Division will take it.
1 as an average of three times a week, must first obtain a hauler's license from the county. 3 makes a knowing violation a misdemeanor punishable by up to $1,000 and up to six months in the Washington County Detention Center. 2 for repeated non-compliance.
Violations & Fines
A first violation of the bulky waste disposal rules draws a civil fine of up to $1,000; each later violation can run up to $5,000 under Section 9.1. Section 9.3 layers on misdemeanor exposure of up to $1,000 and six months in the Washington County Detention Center. The Director of Solid Waste enforces the Ordinance and may suspend or revoke a hauler's license; a person who receives a notice of violation can appeal to the Director of Public Works within 30 days.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I take an old couch straight to the Washington County landfill?
Do I have to dismantle a junk car before dropping it off?
What happens if I dump bulky waste illegally in Washington County?
Does a company hauling my old furniture need a county license?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Washington County
Compare Washington County to another location·View the Maryland trash & recycling overview
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