Refuse & Recycling Guidelines

Recycling Update Effective July 2018

Recyclable items accepted in your curbside recycling bins has changed. No items other then what is listed will be accepted at curbside pickup.  Remember when in doubt, throw it out.   It’s okay to throw everything else away.  It will be transformed into renewable energy.

Click on the link below to view acceptable curbside recyclable items.

Recycle Right

Recycling Covered Devices

Did you know that Pennsylvania passed a law, called the Covered Devices Recycling Act (CDRA), which prohibits residents from disposing of covered devices as trash? Effective January 24, 2013 residents and businesses may no longer place these items at the curb or throw them away as trash. These devices must be recycled. Additionally, trash haulers are prohibited from collecting these items as municipal waste.

What is a covered device?

Covered devices include desktop computers, laptops, monitors, computer peripherals (keyboard, mouse, printer and speakers), televisions, and e-readers that browse the internet. The Covered Devices Recycling Act does NOT include cell phones, motor vehicle components, appliance components or items such as handheld calculators, PDAs, MP3 players or similar devices.

Residential Service Charge Per Unit Per Year, Includes Woody Waste Removal	$ 357.00
Non-residential Retail Commercial Service Charge Per Unit Per Year, Includes Woody Waste Removal	$ 457.00

Refuse/Recycling invoices are mailed late December for the period of January through June and again in late June for the period of July through December.  If you wish to pay for the entire year, you may do so and receive a $5.00 discount.  Example- Residential charge per unit for 2024 is $357.00, if paid in full by 1/31/2024, $352.00.  The first billing of the year is the only time you may take advantage of the $5.00 discount.  Mount Joy’s overall program costs are still well below the costs for subscription services and comparable to similar contracts for waste collection programs in Lancaster County.

Commercial, Industrial, Public and Multi-Family

Pennsylvania’s Act 101 and Mount Joy Borough’s Ordinance 487 requires all commercial, industrial, public (schools), community events and multi-family units to recycle.  Act 101 also requires municipalities and counties to track and report “post-consumer” recyclables that have been collected and marketed such as clear & colored glass, aluminum, steel & bimetallic cans, corrugated cardboard, plastic, yard waste, leaves, tires and white goods.

Option one is to have your materials collected curbside by Mount Joy Borough’s licensed hauler.  You would pay a semi-annual bill directly to the Borough for refuse and recycling collection.

Option two is to opt out of the Borough’s collection program and contract with a private hauler.  Annual proof of collection is required with this option via an Annual Recycling Report that will be mailed each January and a copy of an invoice from your contracted hauler.

Mount Joy Borough’s excellent recycling rate has enabled the Borough to keep trash costs as low as possible, but there is always room for improvement. Tipping charges for recyclables are lower than for trash destined for the incinerator, so please obey the law and recycle whenever possible.

Need a recycle bin? If you need a recycling bin because you just moved into the Borough, please stop into the Borough Office and pick one up.  There is no cost for new residents. If you have a recycling bin but it is broken and you need to replace it, bring the old one into the Borough Office to trade it in.

The Borough also understands that there can be bad weather where your bin blows away or for some reason disappears.  In this case, just stop by the Borough Office and request another one. All housing units are entitled to 1 bin. 

Please note:

• While GFL Environmental is our refuse and recycling company, what they will accept from each town for recycling is different.
• Each town and person has a separate contract with specific items which are permissible for recycling.
• Please do not reference GFL Environmental’ s website for a list of acceptable recyclables. Please use the list provided above.

To know more on how you can best recycle and dispose of certain items, visit the Lancaster County Solid Waste Management Authority website at www.lcswma.org or if you want to know more about recycling in general, you can visit The Professional Recyclers of Pennsylvania atwww.proprecycles.org.