Frederick County, VA Trash & Recycling: Pickup Rules & Schedules (2026)

Frederick County Code § 142-28 governs curbside refuse and recyclables collection for the unincorporated county outside Winchester, Stephens City and Middletown. Under Resolution No. 7-98, the Board of Supervisors authorized the County to offer curbside service based on population density, limited to single-family or one-family dwellings, including qualifying manufactured homes, with frontage on public roads inside the Urban Service Area (§ 142-28A). The Public Works Director sets collection schedules and related regulations (§ 142-28D) and the Board sets the collection fee (§ 142-28C).

Households must place refuse at the curb, or another approved collection point, not earlier than 6:00 p.m. the day before pickup and not later than 7:00 a.m. on the collection day (§ 142-28H). Garbage left out that is not collected because it broke the rules must be pulled back immediately, and residents must retrieve empty cans the same day they are emptied. Containers must be watertight, rust-resistant, easily washable and fitted with tight covers, or sealed plastic or polyethylene bags sturdy enough to survive weather and a single collector (§ 142-28E). Cold ashes need their own noncombustible container of no more than 20 gallons (§ 142-28G).

A single household's collection cannot exceed three 44-gallon containers, or the equivalent volume, per pickup (§ 142-28J). The County is not responsible for container damage from normal wear, inferior construction or weather (§ 142-28I). Collection does not extend to multifamily projects of more than six units, boarding houses or dormitories; those developments follow the screening and placement rules in the Zoning Ordinance, § 165-47 (§ 142-28L).