Trash and Recycling

The Town of Vienna provides curbside waste and household recycling collection as well as collection of brush, yard waste, and bulk items once each week to all Town residences.

Collection will not be scheduled on Sundays, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day or New Year's Day. To check on holiday collection or rescheduling, please see the Town Calendar.

Collection begins at 7am and typically ends around 2pm. Each type of debris (trash, recycling, yard waste, brush and bulk items) is collected by different trucks/crew members during the morning, five trucks total. Please give our crews an opportunity to complete their routes before contacting the Town about non-collection.

Placement of Receptacles on Collection Day

Please place all items at the curb line or edge of pavement, where it will be easily and safely accessible, by 6 am on your collection day, but not earlier than 6 pm the preceding evening. Receptacles should not be left on a sidewalk or any portion of a street right-of-way where they would interfere with traffic. The Town asks that residents place bins in front of their own properties out of respect to neighbors. The Town reserves the right to designate the collection point when there is a question or doubt.

Please remove all trash containers from the curb line or edge of pavement as soon as possible after trash pickup and by 7 pm the evening of collection.

Container Requirements

The Town does not provide containers to residents. Trash containers should:

• be a maximum size of 55 gallons with a 40-pound weight limit
• be watertight metal or plastic (non-breakable)
• have handles and tight-fitting covers.

Larger-sized containers used with automated trash trucks are not acceptable as Town trash trucks are not equipped for heavy containers. Plastic bags may be substituted for trash containers provided that they meet the 40-pound weight limit. Bags should be removed from the can or other holder, tied at the top, and placed at the curb line or edge of pavement.

Recycling can be placed at the curb in paper bags, plastic bins, or trash cans. Please do not collect recycling materials in plastic bags. Fairfax County asks that plastic bags (e.g., those from grocery stores or that hold newspaper deliveries) be disposed of with regular household trash and not with recycling as these bags can get caught in the recycling machinery.

Yard Waste

Yard waste is any soft vegetative debris such as grass clippings, leaves, weeds, vines, etc. Yard waste must be left curbside in a yard waste-specific paper bag obtainable at any local hardware store or in a reusable container; yard waste in plastic bags is no longer being accepted at Fairfax County solid waste management facilities. There is a 20-container maximum pickup limit per collection day, and each container should not weigh more than 40 pounds.

Brush

Brush is considered to be branches or tree debris that are eight feet or less in length and six inches or less in diameter. Brush can be piled next to the curb bundled or left loose in a trash can if it is shorter than four feet in length.

Bulk Items

The Town will collect one bulk pile from each residence each week on regular collection days; piles should be no larger than 8 foot x 4 foot x 4 foot. Bulk items that the Town will collect include furniture, carpet, toilets, sinks, tubs, empty gas mowers and leaf blowers and other household bulk waste. No contractor-generated waste please and no appliances or electronics. Electronics, including electric lawn mowers and leaf blowers, may be taken to the Fairfax County Transfer Station located at 4618 West Ox Road in Fairfax.

Disposing of Old Trash Cans

To be sure there is no miscommunication and that residents' trash cans are not destroyed accidentally, trash crews will only dispose of defective trash cans that are no longer suitable for use when the cans are upside down and clearly marked "take" for disposal.

Curbside Recycling

The Town of Vienna provides single-stream, curbside collection of recyclable materials on its residential routes each week. "Single-stream" means recycling products can be loosely collected together in one container; there is no need to separate recyclables by type of material. Recyclables should be clean, dry, and set out at the curb loose in a reusable container. Do not recycle plastic bags and do not use plastic bags to collect recyclables.

Approved Items for Recycling

Approved Items for Recycling(JPG, 105KB)

Glass Recycling

The best way to ensure that glass products are recycled is to dispose of bottles and jars in purple Fairfax County-provided bins at locations throughout the county.

The two closest for Vienna residents are at 431 Mill Street NE in Town and the Providence Community Center at 3001 Vaden Drive. Fairfax County recycles the glass for use as a substitute for stone in county projects.

Broken glass should never be included with recyclables. Carefully package broken glass in a rigid container, label the package "glass," and set it out with your trash for disposal.

Additional Information

Please review the waste and recycling FAQs below for more information. For additional questions, email DPW@viennava.gov or call 703-255-6380.

Battery Recycling Program

If you have used batteries, be sure to drop them off at the Town of Vienna for recycling. Batteries contain toxic chemicals like lead, nickel, and mercury that can leak into drinking water sources if thrown in the trash. Recycling them helps keep our soil, water and air clean and it’s free to do.

Vienna Town Hall and the Vienna Community Center accept almost any size regular or rechargeable battery that powers electronic devices during regular business hours. This includes rechargeable lithium-ion batteries and single-use batteries. Public Works will bag them and send them off for recycling.

Batteries are also accepted at Northside Property Yard on Quarterly Recycling Days, held this year from 8 a.m.-2 p.m. on Saturdays March 2, June 1, Sept. 7 and Dec. 7. Northside Property Yard is located at 600 Mill St. NE. Alternatively, you can recycle batteries anytime at the Fairfax County I-66 or I-95 Transfer Station.

For information about the County’s household hazardous waste program, visit Fairfax County Household Hazardous Waste page.

The Town of Vienna does not pick up household hazardous waste products, which includes:

• fluorescent light tubes
• fuel tanks
• insecticides
• paints
• solvents

Many household hazardous waste products, including those listed above, may be disposed of via the Fairfax County Transfer Station at 4618 West Ox Road. Find more information about the county's household hazardous waste program online or by calling 703-324-5068.

Town of Vienna Quarterly Recycling Days

Four times per year (generally on the first Saturday of March, June, September, and December), the Town of Vienna hosts a Quarterly Recycling Day at which automotive waste, most electronics (including electric mowers and blowers), and scrap metal are accepted. Check the Town calendar for specific dates.

Materials may be dropped off 8 am-2 pm at the Northside Property Yard, accessed via 600 Mill Street NE and 600 Glyndon Street NE.

Automotive Materials Accepted

• waste oil
• antifreeze
• vehicle batteries

Note: Tires are not accepted, but may be disposed of through Fairfax County.

Electronics Accepted

All electronics with a plug are accepted, with the exception of televisions and computer monitors.

The Fairfax County I-66 Transfer Station and I-95 Landfill Complex accept electronics, including televisions and computer monitors, any day of the week. There are no fees for this service, but customers may be required to show proof of county residency. For more information, visit Fairfax County's e-cycling page.

Scrap Metals Accepted

• Ferrous metals such as plate steel, I-beams, angle iron, machinery, tubing, turnings, valves, pipes, cast iron, siding, old tools, lawnmowers
• Non-ferrous metal products such as aluminum, brass, copper, window frames, electric motors, auto radiators, air conditioning coils, alternators, starters, batteries, soft lead, aluminum turnings, stainless steel, nickel alloys, titanium, tungsten, tungsten carbide, painted aluminum, and sheet aluminum.

Note: Only the metal itself will be accepted. Any gas, oil, fluid, Freon, glass, etc., must be removed before items are dropped off.

After the holiday season, formerly live Christmas trees will be collected curbside through the month of January. Please remove all decorations, including tinsel, and set the tree at the curbside for collection. Do not place trees in a bag.

The Town collects leaves and other yard waste, placed in kraft paper bags or loose in reusable containers, via regular waste collection services throughout the year. In late fall, generally beginning in October through the end of the year, the Town makes several sweeps to vacuum up leaves (and only leaves) that have been raked to the curb.

For more information, see Seasonal Services.

The Town does not collect white goods (appliances) nor very large tree parts (tree parts must be less than eight feet in length and less than six inches in diameter for collection).

Any materials generated by a contractor or homeowner-as-contractor, such as debris resulting from a renovation or construction project requiring a building permit or payment to a person or business, tree debris left after having a tree removed, or other debris generated by a contractor and left at the curb will not be collected.

The Town does not collect hazardous materials, such as tires, paint, dirt, sod, or mulch.

These days, a product's shape seems to be as important as its number in determining whether or not it's recyclable. Those plastics in the shape of a bottle (e.g., water bottle), jar (mayonnaise jar, for example), or tub (e.g., margarine spreads) are recyclable.

Rigid plastic, like jugs, buckets, and toys are recyclable; please remove batteries from toys.

Plastic clamshell takeout containers, those that are hinged and even those in which strawberries come, are not recyclable in Fairfax County due to the polystyrene plastic from which they're made (regardless of any number printed on them).

Not in this area. Please dispose of with your trash.

Yard waste typically is soft material such as leaves, grass, or weeds and should be placed in paper bags or loose in a can. Brush is considered branches up to eight feet in length and up to six inches in diameter and can be piled loose on the ground next to other items to be picked up. Brush piles should be no more than 4' x 4' x 8' each week. Brush and yard waste are considered two different types of material and are recycled at two separate facilities, thus requiring the need to separate.

Single-stream recycling allows for recyclable materials such as plastics, paper, cardboard, carton, and metals to be placed in a single recycling bin. These recyclables are collected and transported to material recovery facilities, where they are sorted and processed.

Recyclable materials are sorted mechanically and by hand at the contractor's facility.

Lids may remain on.

Non-hazardous aerosol cans (e.g., those used for cooking spray or hairspray) are recyclable and should be placed in your recycling bin for collection.

Place your softcover and paperback books in your curbside recycling container. The cover on hardback books is not recyclable, so please consider donating the books instead. Or you may remove the cover and place the rest of the book in the recycle bin.

Residents may request recycling decals by calling 703-255-6380 or pick them up at Town Hall during regular business hours, 8 am-4:30 pm weekdays, from the public works department. Recycling also may be placed in paper bags or loose in a clearly marked can.

As a lot of people do yard work over the weekend, it's understandable that some items, such as brush or yard waste, may be set out earlier in the week. Trash and recycling items, however, should not be set out any earlier than 6 pm the evening before the scheduled pickup day. Please keep items set out for collection off sidewalks and streets as much as possible.