It’s a week many Gastonia residents circle on the calendar: the week City Solid Waste crews haul away excess household trash at no charge.
The autumn version of Free Excess Household Trash Week is Sept. 17-21. On the day of a customer’s regular garbage and recycling pickup during that week, crews will also collect bulky items such as furniture and excess trash that won’t fit in a customer’s rollout cart.
During the free week, the City waives its fees of $15 for items up to 100 pounds and $25 for items weighing 100 pounds or more. Paint cans will be collected during the free week if kitty litter or sand has been put into the can to dry up the paint or if the paint can is empty and clean.
Even during the free week, these items will NOT be picked up for free:
- Car or engine parts, including batteries
- Tires
- Dirt, concrete, rocks or bricks
- Electronics and appliances such as TVs, computers, refrigerators, washers and dryers
- Paint cans that contain wet paint
The City charges a fee to haul away items on the bulleted list because state law does not allow those items to be placed in landfills.
Free Household Trash Week is offered by the City of Gastonia twice a year. During the week of March 19, City residents set a record for the amount of excess household trash collected at 369 tons. All of the excess trash goes to the Gaston County landfill in Dallas.
There is no curbside pickup of yard waste during Free Household Trash Week.
