Keeping Our County Clean and Healthy

The user fee was established in the mid-1900s to offset the cost of operating the convenience center and the processing of residential waste and closure costs of the landfill. The user fee is allowed by TCA 68-211-835 and authorized by the  County Commissions. By law, landfills must be maintained and monitored for 30 years after closing.

No, the user fee was established years ago and was billed as a lump sum payment once each year.  The payment method has been made more convenient by allowing online payments, monthly payments, bank drafts, and payments of past-due accounts to remove liens from properties. 

No, it is not.  The User Fee is passed by the Government Ordinance in order to provide for solid waste management in the county.  User Fee funding serves to provide solid waste disposal services as well as operations and management of the recycling center.  Recycling reduces the number of tons of waste the county must pay to dispose of at a regional landfill. Residents are also provided free access to Household Hazardous Waste Collection events.  If you pay a private company to pick up your trash, you are paying for the convenience of using their services and those payments go directly to the private carrier.

User fees are billed per household (not per person). Therefore each household, regardless of the number of people living there, will be billed monthly. The user fee billing account will be set up in the name of the household member in whose name is tied to the property tax.

The fee for residential solid waste is $10 per month, with provisions to pay down on previous waste fees.

• Online – You may pay your bill online at the payment link below on this web page. Online payments may be made by debit or credit cards. Please note there will be a convenience fee when paying with credit and debit cards.

• Mail – You may mail your payment to the Solid Waste Office. When paying via mail you may pay by check or money order. Please do not send cash in the mail. The county provides a pre-addressed return envelope with every bill. Please be sure to use the provided envelope and also include the payment stub with your payment.

• Auto Pay – You have the option to sign up for automatic bank drafts. If you choose this option your payment will be drafted from your bank account in the amount of $10 on the last business day of each month.

The County Solid Waste Authority currently does not accept asbestos in the county landfill. For more information on how to get rid of properly, visit mesothelioma.net/recycling-asbestos/ or visit https://www.asbestos.net/asbestos/recycling/.

The solid waste facility has special bins and areas for the disposal of scrap metal and appliances.

The County Solid Waste Authority currently does not accept asbestos in the county landfill. For more information on how to get rid of properly, visit mesothelioma.net/recycling-asbestos/ or visit https://www.asbestos.net/asbestos/recycling/.

Car batteries are usually accepted at auto parts stores for recycling, especially if you are replacing a battery. The Solid Waste facility also accepts car batteries, marine (lead-acid), alkaline, non-alkaline and rechargeable (Ni-Cad) batteries. Alkaline batteries, which are regular household batteries, (AA, AAA, etc.) can be disposed of with your household garbage. Alkaline batteries were of particular environmental concern because they contained mercury. In the past decade or so, the batteries have been redesigned and no mercury is added.  Another option is to consider buying rechargeable batteries to reduce your waste. Rechargeable batteries can be recycled at Batteries Plus and other major retailers (Lowe's, Best Buy, Home Depot, etc.) that participate in the Call2Recycle program.

Lithium Batteries should NOT be disposed of in regular household garbage or recycling. Please take Lithium batteries to our facility for proper disposal. Lithium Batteries are extremely dangerous if not properly managed and are highly flammable and have caused fires and explosions at solid waste facilities.

If the bicycle is in good working order, sell it at a yard sale, consignment shop or donate it to charity.

Shingles; clean wood; concrete and brick; mixed construction debris (insulation and wood); and land clearing debris. Please separate each material and bring separately to the landfill.

If the music CD is playable, sell it at a yard sale, consignment shop or donate it to the SWA Public Education Dept. Crafts are done with students to teach the importance of reusing. CDs are not valuable and companies will not pay you to recycle them. 

Check with your cell phone provider's local store for recycling services or setup a recycling program as a fundraiser for your school or business. Best Buy  has a free drop-off at any store location.

Residents (no businesses) may bring paint (up to xxx gallons) and household chemicals to the Solid Waste Facility at pre-announced times.

Electronic Waste is defined as televisions, computer CPU's and monitors, printers, etc. Our facility has a specific location for the unloading of e-waste.

Clean each item. Items do not have to work, but make sure you have both lenses. The Lions Club collects eyeglasses and donates them to those who need them. 

Fluorescent bulbs and fluorescent tube lighting can be disposed of as garbage.

There are several second-hand stores that may accept used furniture that is still in working condition. You can also hold a yard sale or donate the items to a charity. If the furniture is broken or not in good condition, you may bring it our construction landfill. The disposal fee is determined by the weight of the material.

You may bring mattresses to our construction landfill. Like other bulky products, the disposal fee is apportioned by weight.

Residents may bring paint and household chemicals to the Solid Waste facility at preannounced times and dates. This program does not include explosives, medical, or radioactive wastes.

Prescription drugs can be taken back to your pharmacy for disposal or take them to be disposed of with other hazardous materials at pre-announced times for hazardous waste collection.

Many residents have medical conditions that require self-injections at home. Because of issues regarding safety and the spread of disease, the disposal of home-generated needles, syringes, and lancets (or "sharps") has caused some concern among families, trash collection services, and landfill and recycling staff. Home-generated sharps should be disposed of in an empty bleach or detergent bottle. First, place the free warning sticker on the bottle and put the needles inside the bottle. The cap should be tightly secured once the bottle is about 3/4 full. Then, discard the bottle in the household trash.

Styrofoam (or EPS, also known as the foam version of #6 plastic) is NOT recyclable. Ask a local mailing/shipping company if they could use Styrofoam, or contact the Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) Industry Alliance for information on recycling and drop-off locations.

If in good condition, textiles and clothing can be donated to retail stores that accept used clothing or sold in a yard sale, etc. Clothing collection boxes are placed throughout the County for textiles and clothing to be dropped off for recycling.

Tires cannot be placed in a landfill. They require special recycling processes. The landfill accepts tires, but there is a fee paid separately for disposal.

The solid waste facility accepts wood pallets at the landfill for a tipping fee based on weight.