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Automated Recycling Program

Show All Answers

1. What items are accepted for recycling?

For curbside recycling, all types of recycling may be mixed together and placed in a single container; no sorting is needed.

Please wash-n-squash first. Do not bag recyclables.

All items must fit into the bin with the lid closed. Items placed outside the bin normally will not be picked up.

These materials are accepted:

• Plastic bottles, jugs and jars (#1 & #2)
• Food and beverage cans (steel, tin, aluminum)
• Paper (brown paper bags, non-confidential office paper, newspaper, magazines)
• Flattened cardboard (shipping boxes etc.)
• Paperboard (cereal boxes, etc.)

These materials are not accepted:

• Glass
• Plastics #3-5 & 7
• Dairy and juice cartons, and similar food and beverage containers
• Plastic bags
• TVs and other electronics
• Shredded paper
• Food waste
• Liquids
• Foam
• Medical waste
• Anything besides items in the list of accepted materials

Read the fall 2018 issue of South Fayette Connect for details.

Visit Waste Management’s Recycle Often, Recycle Right web page for details on curbside recycling collection.

Recycling is mandatory, according to the township code.

2. How do I get a recycling bin?

Every eligible residence receives one 64-gallon recycling cart for free. The bin stays with the home if you move.

If you recently moved into a newly built home and need a recycling bin, please make the request using our 24-hour online Citizen Request Tracker. Or you may call South Fayette Township at 412-221-8700 during regular business hours.

Please note some areas of the Hunting Ridge neighborhood must use a different type of recycling bin.

3. How do I buy an additional recycling bin?

Call the township at 412-221-8700 if you’d like to purchase additional bins for $50 each. Payment must be made by cash or check.

Residents are responsible for transporting the bin from the municipal complex, 515 Millers Run Road, to their home.

4. How do I report a missed pickup or other trash/recycling issue?

If your pickup has been missed, or if you have any other concerns regarding trash or recycling collection, please report your issue with our 24-hour online Citizen Request Tracker.

Your message will be immediately directed to Waste Management and South Fayette Township.

Alternatively, you may call the township at 412-221-8700 during regular business hours, or call Waste Management at 1-800-866-4460.

5. Where do I place my bin for automated recycling?

Please place your bin a minimum of 3 feet from other objects, such as your garbage can, a mailbox, a car, or a tree.

The lid opening (not the logo) should face the street.

You may write your house number on your bin with permanent marker for easy identification.

Recycling Demonstration Video

6. What are the features and size of my recycling bin?

The 64-gallon wheeled carts are designed to be picked up and unloaded by automated arms attached to Waste Management trucks.

• Size: 31.75” L x 24.25” W x 41.75” H
• Moves easily on wheels
• Withstands wind gusts up to 50 MPH
• Attached, hinged lid

7. Where do I store my recycling bin?

Store recycling carts in the garage, or at the side or back of your house. The carts are durable, so they can be kept outside with no adverse effects.

8. What if I am moving?

The one bin that the township provides MUST stay with the house when you move. You may take any additional bins you purchased.

Residents of newly built homes in South Fayette Township should contact the township for initial bin delivery.

9. What if my recycling bin breaks?

Waste Management maintains the recycling bins (including wheels and lids). If your container breaks, please report the damage.

10. When is my recycling picked up?

Recycling collection in South Fayette Township occurs every other week on the same day as your trash collection.

Please place bins at the curb the night before, or before 6 a.m. on pickup day, and remove promptly after emptied.

Please note that on recycling days, pickup times may vary, and there is no guarantee your recycling will be picked up at the same time each collection.

If a Waste Management scheduled holiday falls during the week (Monday-Friday) and your scheduled pickup is on or after the holiday, pickup will be 1 day later for the remainder of the week. If a holiday falls on a Saturday or Sunday, there will be no change in service.

Waste Management observes six holidays:

• New Year’s Day
• Memorial Day
• Independence Day
• Labor Day
• Thanksgiving Day
• Christmas Day

Recycling calendar and guide

11. May I recycle plastic store bags?

No. Plastic bags (grocery bags, store bags, trash bags) are not permitted in recycling bins. They cannot be recycled through the curbside recycling program.

Plastic bags get tangled in sorting machines at single-stream recycling facilities, including the one where South Fayette recyclables are sorted. The bags can prevent the sorting machine from working correctly and effectively.

Instead, take them to a bag recycling drop-off bin at a store near you.

12. May I bag my recyclables?

No. Do not bag recyclables before placing them in the bin.

Simply place loose, dry items directly into the recycling bin.

At the recycling plant, if items are bagged, extra employees need to be added to open up the bag and retrieve the contents. The bag is then discarded as residue or contamination. Any bags that are missed get tangled in the sorting machines, which can prevent the machine from doing its job.

13. How do I recycle cardboard boxes?

In general, cardboard boxes must be flattened and placed inside a recycling bin with the lid closed in order to be collected by Waste Management’s automated recycling trucks.

However, if you are moving and disposing of a large amount of cardboard boxes at once, you can flatten them and secure them next to the recycling bin for pickup.

14. What if I live in Hunting Ridge?

If you live in a Hunting Ridge townhouse or apartment, you do NOT participate in the automated recycling program, due to unique collection conditions.

You must continue using the smaller, traditional bins.

Apartments and townhouses in these areas must use smaller, manually emptied recycling bins:

• Big Meadow Court
• Brook Ledge Road
• Clearfork Road
• Deerwatch Road
• Firethorn Road
• Garden Apartment Drive
• Hunters Path
• Lark Tree Circle (502-548)
• Laurel Ridge Circle
• Mill Court
• Ridge Point Circle
• Ryeland Court
• Wheatland Circle

15. May I use a store-bought recycling bin?

No. Only the official green and yellow recycling carts may be used.

The carts are specially manufactured to work with and ensure the Waste Management automated recycling arms.

16. How do I know which recycling bin is mine?

Use a permanent marker to write your address on your bin(s). The serial numbers on the bins are NOT recorded as being associated with any particular address.

17. Who pays for recycling collection?

Residents are not billed for garbage or recycling collection.

South Fayette Township contracts with hauler Waste Management for curbside residential waste collection. The township pays the hauler directly from the general fund.

Commercial locations, along with apartment buildings/multi-family residences with more than four units, must make separate arrangements for waste pickup.

18. What is automated recycling?

Specially equipped Waste Management trucks have automated arms that the driver controls to pick up the recycling carts and unload the contents into the truck.

The method is more cost-effective than traditional, manual recycling collection, and it is safer for the waste company employees.

Recycling Demonstration Video