See our blog post for more detailed info on Fairfax County recycling

Why Recycle?

Recycling is a good idea for so many reasons. It creates jobs, is an important part of how we manage waste, and is the law in Virginia. However, most people are motivated to recycle because it is so good for the environment. Recycling reduces or prevents potentially harmful emissions to air and water, saves energy and natural resources and serves to protect the health of residents and the Fairfax County environment. When you recycle, you are practicing good environmental stewardship.

All residential and nonresidential properties in Fairfax County are required to recycle mixed paper (includes junk mail, newspaper, cereal boxes) and flattened cardboard. Those with curbside collection of trash and recycling are also required to recycle metal food and beverage containers, plastic bottles and jugs (with necks) and yard waste. Glass bottles and jars are no longer collected in Fairfax County’s single-stream recycling. Instead, residents may take glass to several drop-off points for recycling collection. Read more about the large purple containers, known as the “Purple Can Club” on the County’s website.

Below are some helpful links from the Fairfax County website related to recycling programs and activities. Read on and find out what you can recycle locally.

Fairfax County’s Recycling Program: official website for trash and recycling in Fairfax County. This is where it all begins!

Fairfax County Environment FB Page: latest news about recycling and trash.

Program information:

Types of Materials: how to recycle everything from computers to packaging peanuts!

Drop-off Centers: find the location nearest you.

How Do I Recycle…?

Have questions about how to recycle something specific? Use the dropdowns below. You can also consult Fairfax County’s Recycle or Trash – What Goes Where? Wizard. Please note that there may be a fee to drop off certain non-recyclable items at the Transfer Station or Landfill Complex.

Cell Phones/Laptops
  • Take them to the electronics recycling drop-off at the I-66 Transfer Station or I-95 Landfill Complex
  • You can throw out your cell phone in the trash as well BUT you still need to take the battery to the electronics recycling drop-off at the transfer station or landfill
  • Note: Before disposing of your cell phone, here are instructions for removing all personal information from it.
  • Note: Before disposing of your laptop or desktop computer, here are instructions for removing all personal information from it.
  • Additional information: Fairfax County requires its downstream vendor to take all possible steps to prevent identity theft and sharing of personal information in accordance with National Association of Information Destruction (NAID) policy requirements.  This is performed at their plant-based sites as well as their mobile units.  To ensure the best data destruction practices, Securis performs both degaussing and hard driving shredding of County discarded electronics.

    Degaussing is the process of totally erasing data by reducing or eliminating an unwanted magnetic field (information) stored on tape and disk media. A degausser is a machine that changes the magnetic domain (where the data is stored) of magnetic data storage devices.  This helps to ensure that even if personal or sensitive information is left on a device for drop-off, it will be removed/destroyed securely.

    Additionally, our e-waste vendor (Securis) is required to meet all data destruction methods as part of our contract requirement.  This includes meeting or exceeding NIST 800-88 standards, DoD 5200.22-M data sanitization and/or all different standards such as HIPAA/HITECH, Sarbanes-Oxley Act, Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, FACTA Disposal Rule, Bank Secrecy Act, Patriot Act of 2002, Identity Theft and Assumption Deterrence Act, US Safe Harbor Provisions, FDA Security Regulations, PCI Data Security Standard, and all other various local, state, and federal regulations.

    Furthermore, Securis is R2v3 certified (Chantilly, VA location), having passed rigorous audits by an independent third party to evaluate recycling practices in more than 50 areas of operational and environmental performance. R2v3 is the leading standard for the electronics recycling industry, ensuring practices that protect the environment, human health, safety, and the security of the recycling process.
Home Electronics
  • If your item is still functional, donate it to an organization that accepts home electronics
  • Take the item to the electronics recycling (“e-cycling”) stations at the I-66 Transfer Station or I-95 Landfill Complex
Batteries

Thanks to funding from the Fairfax County $0.05 plastic bag tax fund, you can recycle batteries by dropping them off at a Battery recycling box located at your nearest Fairfax County District Supervisor Office or at Government Center. These buildings are generally open Monday-Friday but hours may vary slightly, so be sure to check before you make the trip.

You may bring the following types of batteries to be dropped off in the Battery Recycling Box:

  • Alkaline/single-use batteries
    • AA, AAA, 9-volt
    • C cell, D cell, button cell
    • Lithium Primary
    • Carbon Zinc
  • Rechargeable batteries
    • Nickel Cadmium
    • Lithium Ion
    • Small Sealed Lead Acid
    • Nickle Metal Hydride
    • Nickle Zinc
  • Cellphones – All types & ages

Please Note:

  • The program can only take limited quantities of batteries and asks that you bag them individually or tape the ends of the batteries if you have multiple batteries to recycle (bags provided at drop-off boxes).
  • Not accepted: damaged, defective, recalled batteries, car batteries, or individual batteries weighing more than 11 pounds. These must be taken to I-66 Transfer Station or I-95 Landfill Complex.

Please DO NOT put batteries in your recycling bin or in the regular trash. They are a chemical and fire hazard, and pose a serious safety risk to our waste management workers and facilities.

Visit the County’s Battery Recycling page for more information.

Household Items
Hazardous Items
  • Full/nearly full latex paint cans can be donated to Habitat for Humanity’s ReStore locations
  • Household hazardous waste (chemicals, fluorescent lightbulbs, car batteries, solvents, pesticides, FULL aerosol cans, compressed gas containers, etc.) should never go into the trash! Drop items off at a Fairfax County Disposal Facility at no charge. 

I-66 Transfer Station HHW drop-off hours:

  • Monday and Friday: 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.
  • Tuesday and Thursday: noon to 5 p.m.
  • Saturday and Sunday: 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.
  • *There are no HHW drop-off hours on Wednesday.

I-95 Landfill Complex HHW drop-off hours:

  • Wednesday: 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.
  • Saturday: 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.
  • *There are no HHW drop-off hours on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, or Sunday.
Glass
Organics/Food Waste
Textiles
  • Can your items be repaired and reused or upcycled into another usable textile? This website has some creative ideas on repair and reuse.
  • If your items are in excellent condition, try selling them online through a service such as flyp, ThredUp, Poshmark, Depop, or eBay.
  • Clothes and household textiles (towels, sheets, curtains, blankets) that are in good condition can be donated to an organization that accepts household items, for example, the Committee for Helping Others or, for household textiles, a local animal shelter.
  • H&M Stores have textile collection boxes at all retail locations. Drop off your items there for reuse and recycling – all textiles are accepted. Boxes are collected and sorted into three categories:
    • REWEAR — Clothing that can be worn again is marketed worldwide as second-hand goods. 
    • REUSE — Textiles that are no longer suitable to wear are made into other products, such as remake collections or cleaning cloths. 
    • RECYCLE — Textiles that can’t be reused get a new chance as textile fibers, or are used to manufacture products such as damping and insulating materials for the auto industry. 
Plastic bags/film
  • Reuse bags whenever possible! Keep your reusable shopping bags by the door or in the backseat of your car so you always have them handy when you go shopping.
  • Most grocery stores have a container for film plastic to be recycled. This includes grocery bags, thicker plastic bags, overwrap, dry cleaning bags, bubble wrap, air pillow packaging, and the like.
  • Tip: keep a “bag of bags” on a clothes hanger in your closet and stuff your plastic film in there until it’s full. Then throw it in your car and recycle it the next time you are grocery shopping.
Aluminum/Metal
Cardboard

Cardboard can be recycled with your curbside recycling. Flatten boxes first.

Polystyrene/Foam
  • Foam containers, like takeout food containers, and anything made out of expanded polystyrene foam (EPS) or Styrofoam™ cannot be recycled! Whenever possible, refuse foam and choose a reusable container or alternative.
  • If you have foam that you must dispose of, it goes in your trash.