Community Garbage and Recycling Information

Each resident has garbage and recycle pick up, which is included in the yearly Service Charge bill. This fee covers the cost of contracted garbage and recycling pickup.

Please be aware that it is necessary to keep residential garbage, recyclables, bulk trash items (appliances, furniture, old toys, shelving, grills, etc...), painted lumber, grass clippings, leaves, and brush separated. This explains why sometimes our crew might drive by your home and not pick up your waste, or why they might only pick up part of your waste. These types of waste must be separated at the curb to facilitate a pickup.

Trash

Please tie bags.

No loose trash.

Place trash at the driveway or designated areas. 

To ask questions, share concerns, or schedule pickups, please call the Public Works Office at (828) 452-5911.

Garbage & Recycling

Assembly Public Works contracts with Consolidated Waste Service for weekly garbage and recycling pick-up for all residents in the community. Household garbage is picked up on Wednesdays, and the recycling service is on Thursdays. Changes to this schedule due to holidays and weather will be announced through APW Alerts and the website. Special cans are not required; residents supply their own.

Items accepted for recycling are:

• Plastic bottles and jugs (#s 1 through 7)
• Corrugated cardboard and household cardboard boxes (cereal, cracker, cake mix)
• Catalogs, magazines, newspapers, telephone books, third-class mail, and other paper products
• Aluminum cans
• Steel cans
• Glass bottles and jars

All recyclable items should be placed in either blue or clear bags.

Boxes

Recycling cardboard boxes benefits environmental health, the economy, and resource preservation.
Flattening boxes is a crucial step in this process, preventing contamination and preserving the quality of
recyclable materials. This action ensures no remnants compromise the recycling process.
Additionally, flattening boxes enhance the recycling system's efficiency by allowing more cardboard to
fit in collection vehicles. This reduction in volume leads to fewer collection trips, decreased fuel
consumption, and lower emissions, further contributing to environmental sustainability. The flattening
process is quick and straightforward: simply open the box's bottom and press down. This minor effort
yields a substantially more effective recycling journey.
When you recycle and flatten cardboard boxes, you actively contribute to a healthier planet. This small
yet powerful act boosts sustainability and environmental care. By adopting this simple habit, you
become part of the collective effort to ensure a lasting, positive impact on our world.

Other Curbside Pickup Services

Beyond the routine trash collection each week by CWS, Assembly Public Works also provides pickup of other types of solid waste, including bulk items and yard waste.

Bulk Item Pickup

Large items and many other things not considered to be general household trash can be placed at the curb and scheduled for pickup. We can take items such as furniture, beds, appliances, large plastic toys, old doors, carpet, shelving, grills, televisions, etc… The “rule of thumb” is, if it can fit in the back of a pickup truck and would not take more than about 15 minutes for one or two workers to load, there is no charge for this service.

Unfortunately, there are some things that we cannot pickup:

• Liquid paint- We can collect partial paint cans, but they must be dried and solid. This can be done quickly by adding cat litter. Please leave your paint cans open when you place them at the curb for pick up.
• Motor oil products- Should be taken directly to the Haywood County Materials Recovery Facility on Recycle Road in Clyde
• Antifreeze- Can be taken to the Hazelwood Convenience Center on Hemlock Street
• Large amounts of construction waste- We can take small amounts of materials from DIY projects (such as one set of cabinets, a couple of pieces of drywall or lumber, an old light fixture, etc...). If you hire a contractor to work on your home, please make sure they understand that they must dispose of this waste. If you are unsure whether your items can be picked up or not, please call the office and we can help determine whether it is something we can collect.

Leaves, Brush & other Yard Waste

Burning of garbage, wood products, or leaves is strictly prohibited.

Curbside leaf pickup is available from about October through February and again for a brief period of time in spring/early summer. During this time, our leaf vacuum makes continuous loops through the community, collecting piles of leaves as they are found. Residents do not necessarily need to contact the Public Works Office to schedule a pickup, as the pickup is ongoing. However, if you believe your leaf pile has been overlooked, feel free to call the office and request collection. Outside these months, leaves should be bagged and placed at the curb for collection, and a call should be placed to schedule a pick-up.

Bagged grass clippings and piles of brush can also be placed curbside and scheduled for pickup by calling the Public Works Office. We are now able to chip brush curbside, and therefore we can take limbs and brush up to a 10-inch diameter max. Longer items are okay and can be easier to chip, but please use your judgment--if it's too heavy or cumbersome to lift, the crew will not be able to feed it into the chipper! As with Bulk Trash Pickup, the same “rule of thumb” applies- if it is a pile of brush that does not take more than about 15 minutes for one or two workers to load or chip, there is no charge for this service. Brush clean up that takes a loading machine or over 30 minutes will be charged $50 for every 30 minutes of work.

PLEASE NOTE: Same-day pickup is not guaranteed. Our small crew tries to keep up with demand as fast as possible, but sometimes various factors can cause delays and setbacks to their ability to collect bulk trash and yard waste in a timely manner. If you have submitted a work request and your waste has not been collected after 7 working days, please call the office to check on the status of the work order. 

Additional Service Offered

As an added benefit for residents, Public Works also offers a document shredding service. Sensitive items can be brought by the office and placed in a locked box which is collected regularly for secure off-site shredding.