Solid Waste Fees

There is an established monthly charge for solid waste collection and for the collection of recyclables in any City approved and/or authorized container/receptacle.  Residents do not have to call to receive service. If items routinely collected by the City are placed on the right-of-way before your regular garbage collection day, they will be collected as soon as possible.  The fee is billed on your normal water and sewer utility billing. The fee is as follows:
 
Solid Waste Tipping Fee:
$7.25/month
Recycling Collection Fee:
$6.90/month
TOTAL:
$14.15/month

The Recycling Collection fee increased from $2.29 to $6.90 effective July 1, 2022.  The City of Burlington negotiated a ten year contract in 2012 with GFL that expired on June 30, 2022.  The previous contract allowed the City of Burlington to have one of the lowest recycling fees in the state.  

Starting in early 2018, East Asian governments began banning, limiting or more heavily regulating U.S. recyclable exports. This in addition to a tight labor market and rising fuel costs resulted in higher costs when the contract was renewed.  Recycling costs money because the material must be hauled and managed before it can be used in new products. A service fee is paid to have your garbage picked up at the curb, transferred, and buried at a landfill. Similar to the costs of waste hauling, it also costs money to pick up, transfer, and process recyclables. 

The State of North Carolina bans numerous recyclable items from our landfill.  A complete list can be found here:
https://deq.nc.gov/about/divisions/environmental-assistance-and-customer-service/recycling/programs-offered/recycling-support-local-government-and-state-agencies/material-disposal-regulations-and-support/north-carolina-landfill-disposal-bans

Bulk Waste Collection
Starting January 1, 2021 the City of Burlington implemented a Solid Waste Fee increase to offset increases in the Alamance County Landfill tipping fee as well as to ELIMINATE all bulk waste collection fees year round. All bulk waste will now be collected at no additional charge all year. Click here to view what materials are and are not allowed for Bulk Waste Pick-up.