Garbage Collection

Golden Rules for Garbage Collection

  • Residents must use their City provided garbage cart - gray with a blue lid.
  • Your garbage cart must be placed at the curb before 7 am on your assigned collection day (Monday or Tuesday). The contractor does not have a set schedule especially due to the weather, mechanical problems, scheduling, and new drivers.
  • The cart lid must face the street and be placed five feet away from parked cars, utility poles and boxes, trees, and bushes.
  • Do not leave your cart at the curb after collection day.

Backyard Garbage Collection Request

Residents and their household who are physically unable to place their garbage cart at the curb are required to fill out a Backyard Garbage Collection Request (PDF). Once reviewed the City will keep your address on file and submit your address to the contractor for backyard collection. We do ask that your garbage cart be located in view from the street for this service. Please return the form to the Public Works and Utilities Department.

Yard Debris

10 bags of leaves/grass clippings or ten bundles of sticks/limbs tied with twine or boxed. Stick/limbs must be less than 4 feet in length and 3 inches in diameter. Place curbside without an appointment on your assigned collection day.

Household Bulk

By appointment only. Residents must call two business days prior to their regular trash collection day to set up an appointment. Items must be placed at the curb before 7 am on the collection day. Collections are limited to 2 large items per collection with 3 collections per year. Items include:

  • Chairs
  • Mattresses
  • Refrigerators
  • Sofas
  • Washers/dryers

Remodeling/building materials, car parts and toilets are not allowed for collection. Please call 220-6140 to arrange a bulk pick up.

Refrigerators

Dominion Virginia Power will pick up a secondary refrigerator or freezer from your home and pay you $50 per unit. Call Dominion at 888-366-8280.

Jolly Pond Convenience Center

The center is available for residents to dispose of materials not allowed in the household bulk program. Owned and operated by James City County, City residents may utilize the center on a pre-purchased coupon basis. The number of coupons required is subject to the size of the load brought to the Center.  You may also use a credit card on site if you do not have coupons. 

Coupon booklets sell for $20 for 5 coupons and can be purchased at both the Williamsburg and James City County Treasurer's Offices. The center is open 7 am to 5 pm seven days a week. For more information visit Jolly Pond Convenience Center or call 757-565-0971.

Another Option

Need to get rid of something but it's not ready for the landfill? Call a charity. Items such as computers, cabinets, paint, building materials, and swing sets can be donated. Some charities will even come to your house and pick up the items. Contact the following charities:

  • CHKD at 757-476-5437
  • DAV at 757-220-0839
  • Good Samaritan at 757-877-0644
  • Habitat For Humanity at 757-596-5553

Anti-Freeze

Accepted at the Tewning Road Convenience Center and any Merchants Tire and Auto Centers:
532 Second Street
Williamsburg, VA 23185

Cooking Oil

Accepted at the Tewning Road Convenience Center. Cooking oil and grease are recyclable and should not be discarded down the drain. Dumping grease, fats, and oil down the drain can clog sewer lines, causing sewage back-ups and flooding which in turn can cause property damage. Crisco Shortening can be mixed with birdseed and fed to the birds.

Medicine

Do not pour down the sink or flush down the toilet. Local Police Stations hold Take Back Drug collections but if you can't wait, just follow these 5 steps:

  1. Keep medication in the original bottle.
  2. Mark out all identifying personal information.
  3. Crush solid medications or dissolve them in water. Mix all medications with kitty litter, sawdust, or another substance that will make it unsuitable for human or animal consumption.
  4. Seal the bottle with a lid.
  5. Conceal the bottle within a non-recyclable container and put it in the trash for landfill disposal.

Motor Oil

Accepted at the Tewning Road Convenience Center. Also, Advance Auto Parts, Merchant's Tire and Auto Centers, and Walmart Stores accept motor oil.

Latex Paint

Can be taken to the Household Chemical collections or if the paint is old and dry, you can leave the lid off and dispose of in your regular garbage cart. If the paint is still a liquid, you can add kitty litter or other absorbent materials such as sawdust or mulch, and stir it well until it becomes very thick and will not drip or run. Once you've done this, you can leave the lid off and dispose of in your regular garbage cart. Note: this only applies to latex (water-based) paint.