HARRISONBURG, Va. (WHSV) - Harrisonburg is working to up it’s efforts to go green. The City’s most recent Environmental Action Plan lays out a number of recycling-related goals.
The local push for more recycling began in 2018, with the opening of the recycling convenience center. Kelly Adams with Harrisonburg Public Works says, with the upcoming launch of a new toter-trash program, reducing waste is once again a priority.
“The more people recycle, the better it is for everybody now and into the future,” Adams says. “The less that goes into the landfill, the better off we are.”
The new toter-trash carts are expected to roll out next month, in March. Adams says, this programs will hopefully encourage more people to separate recyclable items from other trash.
According to Harrisonburg Public Works, many municipalities don’t accept certain items to recycle, such as pizza boxes or plastic bags, but Harrisonburg does. Each item category is then properly distributed to recycling vendors.
“You bring your things here to us, and it goes in one of these bins. It does go to a third party for recycling, it doesn’t go to the landfill,” said Adams. “We have a plan for it to be recycled and reused.”
The main thing to remember when recycling, is your items need to be empty, clean and dry.
Adams says if you are new to recycling, you should start with a few items that you tend to have a lot of, like plastic bottles for example.
The Convenience Center is open Monday - Friday 8 a.m. - 4 p.m. and Saturdays from 8 a.m. - noon.
The City also offers a mobile recycling unit, which operates Monday - Thursday and Saturday 8 a.m. - Noon at various locations:
Monday - Lucy Simms Center - 620 Simms Ave.
Tuesday - Westover Park - 305 S Dogwood Dr.
Wednesday - Park View Mennonite Church - 1600 College Ave
Thursday - W. Gay St. - Parking lot for walking track adjacent to Waterman Elementary
Saturday - Farmer’s Market - 345 S Main St.
Before recycling, make sure your items are presorted, and check to see your items are accepted:
Materials accepted in marked bins: Please presort your recyclables.
- #1 Plastic (transparent only)
- #2 Plastic
- Plastic bags
- Household Batteries (AA, AAA, 9V, etc.)
- Aluminum Beverage Cans
- Tin Cans
- Glass
- Office Paper (Shredded or White)
- Newspaper, magazines, junk mail
- Cardboard (this includes manilla envelopes)
- Bulk (i.e. furniture, mattress, box spring, tv, stereo, computer) - *Convenience Center only
- Yard Debris (tree/brush/shrub trimmings and bagged leaves only) - *Convenience Center only
- Bagged Grass Clippings - *Convenience Center only
- Scrap Metal (i.e. appliance with freon removed, washer, dryer, bed frame, lawnmower, barbecue grill) - *Convenience Center only
Materials NOT accepted:
- #3-#7 Plastic
- Opaque #1 plastic (non-transparent)
- Mixed material items (i.e. manilla envelope with interior plastic cushion)
- Prescription medication
- Household Hazardous Waste (Biannual collection)
- Automotive Parts
- Construction Debris (accepted at Rockingham County Landfill)
- (Harrisonburg Farmers Market)Compost External Links icon