Home Recycling Resources

How do I find recycling where I live?

Most areas of Washtenaw County offer some form of recycling services. Trash, recycling, and composting services vary widely throughout the county. Some municipalities contract a service for all residents, while others may require residents to find and contract a waste hauler themselves. Please contact your municipal office for the most up-to-date information on what is available to residents in your area.  

Click here to find your municipal information and contacts.

For recycling information found below, we strongly recommend calling ahead or checking online to confirm each location’s acceptability. Exclusions may apply.

Young boy puts a milk carton into a recycling bin

Disposal or Recycling Options by Material

If you've missed a Clean Up Day, can't wait for the next event, or are looking for an alternate location, there's many other options! 

Appliances - a selection of locations that can take appliances

Bulky Waste - information and locations to dispose of or recycle bulky waste such as furniture, scrap wood, mattresses, and other items that do not fit in regular household trash.

County Clean-Up Days - Special 1-day events located throughout Washtenaw County. Typically accepting bulk waste, household hazardous waste, scrap metal, tires, and electronics. See page and specific event details for more information. 

Electronics  - Electronics may contain hazardous materials such as lead, cadmium, mercury, chromium, and flame retardants. These should not be thrown away with regular trash. Find companies that will recycle, repair, or dispose of your electronics properly.   

Home Toxics 

  • Home Toxics Center - Washtenaw County's household hazardous waste program for residents. Cannot accept materials from businesses or out-of-county residents. 
  • Recycle Ann Arbor Drop-Off Station - Accepts specific hazardous materials like automotive fluids, CFLs, and lithium batteries.
  • ERG Environmental Services - Household Hazardous Waste drop-off for residents and businesses regardless of location. Mercury-Hg-Lamp-CFL
  • Fluorescent Bulb/Tube Recycling - Locations within Washtenaw County that recycle fluorescent bulbs. These bulbs require special handling and recycling because they contain trace amounts of mercury. These bulbs are typically marked as containing mercury or "Hg", the chemical symbol for mercury (see image on right).

Residential Tires - Accepted at Recycle Ann Arbor's Drop-Off Station or Recovery Yard (fees apply), and at select County Clean-Up Days.

Medication Disposal - Find information about proper medication disposal and access the Medication Disposal Network map to find locations near you. 

Recycling Databases & Guides

Didn’t see what you were looking for yet? Use one of the databases and guides below for more reuse, recycling, and disposal options. 

  • Turning Trash into Treasure - A comprehensive local guide to help you find out how to repair, reuse, recycle, or dispose of many common and unique household items. 

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  • Recycle Ann Arbor’s A-Z Guide - A guide for Recycle Ann Arbor’s services to see which location can take your items. The A-Z guide is most useful for those living with and around Ann Arbor.
  • Earth 911 Database - The most comprehensive database you’ll ever find. Search for recycling opportunities based on your item and zip code. A good place to start, but as with any national database, be aware that some information may be incorrect or out of date.

Local Recycling Locations

  • Recycle Ann Arbor Recovery Yard - Services include document shredding, drop-off recycling, drop-off disposal of general waste, and construction and demolition debris recycling. Available to residents and businesses regardless of location. 
  • Recycle Ann Arbor Regional Drop-off Station - Recycle Ann Arbor operates Washtenaw County’s most comprehensive regional Drop-off Station (DOS). Recycling and disposal of single stream recycling (paper, cardboard, plastics, and glass), electronics, foam, tires, fluorescent bulbs, appliances, and more. Available to residents and businesses regardless of location.
  • Western Washtenaw Recycling Authority (WWRA) - A non-profit public recycling program that provides convenient recycling drop-off centers to the Townships of Bridgewater, Dexter, Lima, Lyndon, Manchester and Sylvan, as well as weekly curbside recycling pick-up to the Village of Manchester and the City of Chelsea.
  • Chelsea Transfer Station - Residents of any community can bring fluorescent bulbs and appliances (including freon-containing appliances) for recycling. Bulky waste disposal for furniture, carpeting, building demolition waste, and disposal of household trash is also available. Fees apply.
  • Ypsilanti Township Compost Site - Residents of any community can bring scrap metal, car batteries, and appliances (including freon-containing appliances) for recycling. A recycling container on-site provides township residents with additional recycling capacity with the same guidelines as curbside recycling. Fees may apply.


Thrift Stores, Local Selling, and Donations

Looking to get rid of extra stuff that’s still usable? Consider bringing items to your local thrift store or listing items on an online marketplace like Nextdoor, Craigslist or Facebook marketplace. Some thrift stores will even come to you to pick up large items or loads.  

Find local thrift stores in our Trash to Treasure Guide and in Recycle Ann Arbor's Reuse Network.

If you can't find your specific item or have more questions about an alternate referral for disposing of your item, contact our hotline at 734-222-3950 or email us at [email protected].