The York County Solid Waste Authority provides environmentally responsible, efficient and economic management of all municipal solid waste generated in York County through an integrated approach that emphasizes waste reduction, reuse, recycling and waste-

York County Recycling Rate: York County’s recycling rate for 2008 data is 32.6 percent. The recycling rate is the percentage of the total municipal waste stream diverted from disposal*. York County’s rate includes recyclables collected from municipal curbside programs and commercial establishments; yard waste recycling efforts; ferrous, and non-ferrous metals separated out of the ash from the York County Resource Recovery Center; and Authority drop-off and special recycling programs.

York County Participation Rate: Currently, 61 out of 72 municipalities participate in curbside recycling. More than 87 percent of York County’s population recycles! Click here to view the curbside recycling list of participating municipalities. Click here to see a list of municipalities that offer drop-off recycling programs.

More About Recycling:

The York County Solid Waste Authority uses an integrated approach to the management of waste emphasizing waste reduction, recycling, and resource recovery. This multi-tiered system aims to not only preserve natural resources and protect the environment, but also effectively "closes the loop" on recycling.

Recycling—separation and collection of materials for processing and remanufacturing into new products—plays a vital role in reducing the amount of waste generated every day.

Act 101, the state’s Municipal Waste Planning, Recycling and Waste Reduction Act, makes recycling a requirement in 14 York County municipalities (mandatory recycling is based on population/density of the community).

"Closing the Recycling Loop"--In addition to its successful traditional recycling programs, York County has taken recycling even further to "close the recycling loop". The York County Resource Recovery Center is a waste-to-energy facility that enables us to process combustible municipal solid waste to generate electricity. The remaining ash residue is used as alternate daily cover in place of soil in a landfill. In addition, nearly 20,000 tons of metal are recycled out of the ash residue annually.

The Authority provides technical assistance to municipalities, businesses and organizations in developing and implementing waste reduction and recycling programs; assists in preparation of recycling grant applications; identifies markets for recyclables; distributes recycling educational materials and works with recycling haulers and municipalities to create viable recycling collection programs.

The Authority also promotes "non-traditional" recycling in the County through programs that focus on electronics recycling, phone book recycling, and backyard composting.

*The Resource Recovery Center accepts waste generated out-of-county. Only York County-generated waste is included in the recycling rate for York County. As per PADEP’s calculation practices, the total municipal waste stream generated by York County does not include construction and demolition waste.