Recycling & Waste Reduction

Waste reduction is a major component of our work at Asheville GreenWorks. Since 1973, our staff and volunteers have worked to educate and reduce our dependance on one-use, so called "throw-away" items that simply fill up our landfills. 

Through recycling and compost education, we will reduce our need for landfills and through these innovations support infrastructure for future green industries. Contact Eric for questions about: trash, recycling, composting or hard to recycle items. eric@ashevillegreenworks.org

The following Recyclables are accepted in Asheville / Buncombe County

All plastics marked # 1-7, including bottles, jugs and jars, as well as yogurt and margarine tubs, dairy containers, clean clam-shell containers, plastic drink cups, deli containers, and produce boxes.
   
    •    Aluminum pie tins and food trays
    •    Milk and Juice cartons
    •    Juice boxes and soup cartons
    •    Glass bottles and jars
    •    Metal food and beverage cans
    •    Empty aerosol cans
    •    Newspapers and inserts
    •    Corrugated cardboard and moving boxes

**Mixed paper, including catalogs, junk mail, magazines, egg cartons (paper only) envelopes, manila envelopes, office paper, phone books, glossy paper, post-it notes, cereal and similar boxes, brown paper bags and empty paper towel tubes**

The following items are NOT accepted in your regular recycling or at the drop of center:

• Used cooking oils (take to Blueridge Biofuels drop of locations)
• Motor oil and used oil filters (Take to Advanced Auto or Autozone for free recycling)
• White goods, appliances including stoves (Take to Biltmore Iron & Metal Company) 
• Medical equipment (ABCCM or Habitat for Humanity)
• Empty propane tanks (Take to Biltmore Iron & Metal Company)
• Styrofoam (regardless of type and the number on the item)
• Plastic bags, shopping bags, cereal bags, ziplock bags, shrinkwrap, dry cleaning bags, chip bags.
• Plastic soda can rings
• Plastic bubble wrap
• Hard cover books (Recycle with the local Bookmobile)
• Non food related containers such as: motor oil bottles, batteries, caulking guns and paint cans
• Garbage or Recycling Bags
• Flower pots 
• Hard, bulky plastics (kiddie pools, toys, buckets, chairs) 
• Tooth brushes, plastic razors, cosmetic and soft plastic personal care containers.

Where can I recycle some of these items?

• Styrofoam (bulky packaging) - Hard 2 Recycle Event
• Food Grade Styrofoam (egg cartons, take away containers, cups & plates) - Publix Grocery Stores
• Packaging peanuts & Bubble wrap  - UPS Store, Pack-n-Post, FedEx / Kinkos
• Clean shopping bags, cereal bags, ziplocks, shrinkfilm, dry cleaning bags) - Ingles Markets
• Household batteries - Rechargeable Interstate Battery Alkaline Hard 2 Recycle Event
• Hard cover books - Hard 2 Recycle Event or Bookmobile
• Plastic flower or planting pots - Home Depot or Lowes
• Tooth brushes, Toothpaste, Floss Containers / Personal care items (empty) - Terracycle
• Brita and Pur Filters - Terracycle
• Energy Bar Wrappers (foil only) - Terracycle
• Scotch Tape Dispenser or Core - Terracycle
• CD and DVD's - Best Buy
• Rechargeable Batteries ONLY - Best Buy
• Used Gift Cards - Best Buy

Public Disposal & Recycling Information 
Asheville & Buncombe County

Buncombe County Transfer Station
Accepting bagged household trash and recycling

Monday-Friday 8am to 4pm
Saturday 8am to 1pm

Location
190 Hominy Creek Road
Asheville NC 28806 
Ph (828) 250-6205

**DOES NOT ACCEPT LOOSE TRASH, TIRES, PAINT or PETROLEUM PRODUCTS**

Curbside Management Materials Recycling Facility

Location:
116 N. Woodfin Avenue
Woodfin, NC; (828) 252-2532

Open 24/7

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Buncombe County Landfill (Recycling and Landfill items)

85 Panther Branch Road
Alexander NC 28701
(828) 250-5462

Monday-Friday 8:00am to 4:30pm; Saturday 8:00am to 1:00pm

Hazardous waste and e-waste is accepted every Friday from 9am-3pm. Call for more information.

**No plastic bottles, tin cans or metal cans are allowed in landfills in North Carolina**

TV Recycling 

Best Buy store locations will allow you to recycle up to 3 CRT TV's a week for a fee. Call your local Best Buy store before taking in your TV to make sure that it's the correct type. 

Best Buy - Asheville
83 South Tunnel Rd
(828) 298-2330

Best Buy - Arden
Southridge Shopping Center
10 McKenna Rd
(828) 684-0485

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Tire Recycling

Buncombe County Residents are allowed to bring up to 10 tires (without rim) to the County Landfill a year, FREE OF CHARGE. All tires on a rim will incur a $2 per tire disposal fee.

85 Panther Branch Road
Alexander NC 28701
(828) 250-5462

Please call (828) 250-5460 for more information.

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Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFLs)

Can be recycled at the Buncombe County Landfill or all Lowes and Home Depot Stores at no charge.

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City of Asheville - Sanitation Services

• Missed trash collection / need trash receptacle
• Appliance or bulky item disposal
• Dead animal collection 
• Yard waste or brush collection 

Hours:
M-F 8am to 5pm

Location:
161 S Charlotte Street
Asheville NC 28801

Ph (828) 251-1122

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• Local Material Recovery Facility 

Curbside Management servicing Western North Carolina and parts of upstate South Carolina. Live in the City of Asheville? Contact Curbside if you need to request a new Blue Container, Request for pickup or find out your neighborhood's pickup day.

Click here for a list of "What Can I Recycle?"


​
​Hours
M-F 8am to 5pm

Location
116 N. Woodfin Ave
Asheville, NC 28804

Ph (828) 252-2532

www.curbie.com

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Metal, Appliances and Electronics Recycling

Biltmore Iron & Metal Co. is dedicated to responsible and environmentally safe operating procedures and practices through compliance with all applicable local, state, and federal environmental laws and regulations. Biltmore Iron & Metal Co. is committed to maintaining an environmentally sound workplace as demonstrated by our adoption of industry developed, comprehensive environmental operating guidelines. 

Biltmore Iron & Metal Co. supports "Design for Recycling", a national policy to promote the design and manufacture of goods that, at the end of their useful life, can be recycled safely and efficiently.

Hours
M-F 7am to 5pm
Saturday: 8am to Noon

Location:
1 Meadow Road
Asheville NC 28801
Ph (828) 253-9317
www.biltmoreiron.com

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Commercial Composting, Recycling & Waste Reduction

www.dannysdumpster.com

Danny’s Dumpster is an independent commercial compost and recycle hauling company in Western North Carolina. We specialize in waste reduction by offering businesses responsible disposal options and enabling them to affordably and efficiently transition their waste stream from landfill debris to renewable resources.

Think of composting like this: “if it was ever alive, it can be composted”.  Biodegradable doesn’t mean something is compostable, it just means the item will degrade into its base compounds through environmental influences.  We utilize in-vessel, forced air commercial composting to take food waste from plate to top-soil in 4 months. 

Servicing 120 area restaurants, businesses, schools, hospitals and diverting 35 tons of food waste each week from the landfill.

Composting Facility Location (by appointment only)
120 Hardesty Lane, Asheville NC 28803

Ph (828) 380-9094

www.dannysdumpster.com

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Cooking Oil Recycling Program

The Cooking Oil Recycling Program is a pilot project for providing used oil recycling services to Asheville and throughout Western North Carolina. Funded by the Biofuels Center of North Carolina, the COR Program is the first of its kind in the region, and provides recycling services previously unavailable in our local communities.

Did you know that fuel can be made from used cooking oil? The Metropolitan Sewerage District of Buncombe County, in collaboration with Blue Ridge Biofuels and Green Opportunities, are working to keep used cooking oils and greases out of the sewers and landfill and divert them into biodiesel production to be sold back to the local community as clean, renewable fuel.

Recycling your used cooking oil creates jobs, reduces waste, improves air quality, and creates clean energy in our local community. You can be a part of the local fuel economy simply by recycling.

Locally-made recycling bins for used cooking oil are placed throughout Buncombe County and Western North Carolina. Visit our bin location page to find your nearest recycling bin and for information on how to get involved with the Program. It takes an active involvement to create sustainable communities.

Have questions about recycling?  Want to become a Program Partner? Have a good idea for a bin location?

Let us know how we can make the Cooking Oil Recycling Program better.

Phone (828) 253-1034 ext.3

Click Here to email us

www.cookingoilrecycling.org

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Start your own Recycling program. Outsmart Waste!

TerraCycle’s goal is to help eliminate the idea of waste. We do this by creating collection and solution programs for all kinds of typically non-recyclable waste. In essence turning the non-recyclable recyclable. We do this by creating waste collection programs, “brigades,” and turning the collected waste into new products, ranging from recycled park benches to upcycled backpacks. TerraCycle operates all around the world so please check out if we are available in your country.

To start collecting please sign up and join a brigade. There are brigades for many different waste streams ranging from candy wrappers to pens. While some brigades have a cost many are free, where we pay the shipping and for every unit of waste you send to us and at least $0.02 to a charity or school of your choice. If you have already signed up, or are interested in signing up, you can download our free Collection Kit to get started.

www.terracycle.com

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