Fort Worth provides residential curbside recycling pickup once a week in BLUE 64 gallon carts that are easy to roll to the curb, help prevent blowing litter and keep recyclables dry.

Go Green! Recycle Right!

• Put recyclables in the BLUE cart.
• Do not bag or separate recyclables.
• Make sure the recycling cart is at the curb by 7 a.m. on your pickup day.
• Your recycling, garbage and yard trimmings are all picked up on the same day, once per week by separate trucks.

To find out your garbage and recycling pickup day, call 817-392-EASY (3279). Customer Service is open Monday - Friday, 7 a.m. - 6 p.m. and Saturday 7 a.m. - 4 p.m.

If you do not have a city-issued blue recycling cart, call 817-392-EASY (3279).

If you are physically unable to take carts to the curb and would like to apply for assistance, call 817-392-EASY (3279).

Accepted Materials

Unaccepted Materials
Just because something has a recycling symbol on it does not mean it is accepted in Fort Worth's program. Sorting equipment and market limitations are some of the reasons why certain items aren't accepted. For a list of nonrecyclables, click here to visit our Web site.

Accepted Materials
Glass containers, Aluminum cans, Tin cans, Aerosol cans, Steel cans, Telephone books / paperback books, Paperboard / chipboard, Mixed paper, Paper grocery bags, Newspaper, magazines, catalogs, Corrugated cardboard, #1 Plastic, #2 Plastic, #3 Plastic, #4 Plastic, #5 Plastic, #6 Plastic, #7 Plastic (other), Ceramics, Mirrors, Windowpanes,

Fort Worth citizens that reside in multifamily housing may use one of three drop-off stations for recycling. Call 817-392-3279 for more information. The managers of some multifamily facilities in Fort Worth have negotiated with recycling haulers to provide onsite recycling for their residents. Call 817-392-5151 for more information.

The City of Fort Worth's award-winning regional collection program helps people dispose of household chemical waste in a responsible manner. The Environmental Collection Center (ECC), located at 6400 Bridge Street in Fort Worth, zip 76112, is open to residents of Fort Worth and participating cities on Thursdays and Fridays from 11 a.m. until 7 p.m. and on Saturdays from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. (and it's free!). The center is closed on city holidays. For more information, call the ECC Information Line at 817-871-5257.

Participating Cities
In addition to Fort Worth residents, residents of several other cities may dispose of their household chemical waste at the Environmental Collection Center (ECC). To find out whether or not your city participates and/or requires a voucher, click here. Contact information is also available.

If your city is not on the list of participating cities, the ECC will not be able to accept your household chemical waste. Call your city representatives to let them know you want your city involved in the program.

What’s Accepted?
Acids, aerosol cans, antifreeze, batteries (all kinds, including car batteries), brake fluid, cooking oil, craft chemicals, degreasers, drain cleaner, fertilizer, fluorescent light bulbs (inclluding CFLs), herbicides, household chemicals, motor oil, paints and stains, paint thinners, pest strips, pesticides, pharmaceuticals, photo chemicals, pool chemicals, oil filters, solvents, transmission fluid and varnish.

What’s NOT Accepted?
Ammunition, asbestos, building materials, butane cylinders, electronics, explosives, medical waste, PCBs, propane cylinders, radioactive material, smoke detectors, TVs and tires.

Need More Info?
If you have questions about a specific waste not listed above, call 817-392-3279 to find out if it’s accepted.

Yard trimmings collection is included in Fort Worth’s weekly residential curbside services. However, the city encourages composting and other organic gardening methods to promote a healthier landscape and reduce the amount of leaves, grass clippings and other yard trimmings that must be hauled away.

Yard trimmings and brush are collected separately from garbage and recycling so they can be taken to a facility where they’re turned into mulch—instead of depositing them in a landfill and wasting these valuable natural resources.

Weekly Curbside Options for Yard Trimmings

• Bag It! Place leaves, grass clippings and other small trimmings in 30-gallon paper yard bags purchased at retail stores. Do not use plastic bags as these will not be collected. Paper yard bags are recycled into mulch.
• Bundle It! Use string or twine to bundle shrub and tree trimmings. Bundles should be no more than 4 feet in length and weigh no more than 40 pounds; people, not machines collect these by hand.
• Cart It! Alternatively, save on yard bags and use a 96 gallon green yard cart that you may purchase from the city for a one-time fee of $75 plus tax charged on your water bill. There is no additional monthly service charge.
• Stack It! You may set out up to 10 cubic yards of brush or a pile about 8' x 6' x 6' (equivalent to the size of a Volkswagen Beetle car) weekly on your pickup day. Do not exceed this volume or extra fees could apply. Limbs must be no more than 8' long and no more than 4" in diameter. Piles should be stacked neatly to facilitate machine loading, but there is no need to bundle them. Follow the set out guidelines below to ensure collection, but note that large piles may take up to 72 hours to be removed.

Place paper yard bags, yard cart, tied bundles and/or stacked limbs at the curb on your pickup day, at least two feet away from garbage and recycling carts. Do not block sidewalks. Set out items after 6 p.m. the night before your pickup day and no later than 7 a.m. on your pickup day to ensure pickup.

Drop It Off
You may also take up to 10 cubic yards of excess brush per month to a city Drop-off Station to avoid extra pickup fees.

Organic Gardening and Composting
Organic gardening is nothing more than using nature—instead of chemicals—to create a beautiful lawn and garden. By using organic methods, you can fertilize, improve soil condition, save water, save money and control pests and weeds in the garden.

The Fort Worth Environmental Management Department encourages organic gardening because it can eliminate or reduce your need for synthetic chemicals, which can run off polluting our creeks, rivers and lakes.

Compost Classes
The city teaches Master Composter classes each year which cover backyard composting, vermicomposting and proper soil improvement methods. Call 817-871-7966 if you'd like to be notified of upcoming classes. Classes are held at the Fort Worth Botanic Garden.

Compost Outpost
The Compost Outpost is the Fort Worth Botanic Garden’s self-guided, outdoor demonstration area that shows you how easy it is to compost, right in your own backyard. Visit the Compost Outpost on the 2nd Saturday of the month to receive composting tips from the Master Composter from 9-11 a.m. and enter drawings for free compost bins. The outdoor site features a dozen different types of compost bins including inexpensive, homemade designs as well as more elaborate ones that can be purchased at retail outlets.

Informational signage allows for self-guided tours by Botanic Garden visitors, garden clubs, individual homeowners, scouts and school groups. The three-sided signs explain the benefits of composting and how compost is made and used in the garden, and are directed at three levels of interest. Tad O'Sense helps kids understand the composting process. Ima Gardener instructs average gardeners in how to compost. Professor B.A. Composter provides more technical information.

Site construction features recycled materials where possible to emphasize that composting is nature’s way of recycling. The entry sign is made from recycled plastic. A pathway leading through Compost Outpost is made from reclaimed, chipped asphalt shingles. One compost bin features re-used wood pallets; others feature recycled plastic lumber.

Where is the Compost Outpost?
The Compost Outpost is located on the grounds of the Fort Worth Botanic Garden, 3220 Botanic Garden Blvd. Go through the Botanic Garden’s main “clock” entrance on University Drive, turn left and proceed about 100 yards. It’s open daily dawn to dusk, and parking is free. The site is accessible to disabled residents.

More information
Compost Outpost is an education facility—not a place to pick up or drop off compost materials.

The city offers free mulch year-round at the at its three Drop-off Stations Bring your own sturdy container and shovel.

Compost Outpost is a joint project of the Fort Worth Botanic Garden, Fort Worth Parks and Community Services Department, Fort Worth Environmental Management Department and Texas Cooperative Extension Tarrant County.

1. Visit the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) Web site (www.texasrecyclescomputers.org) for recycling options offered by the individual computer manufacturers. As of Sept. 1, 2008, all computer manufacturers are required to offer free and convenient recycling options for the equipment they manufacture.

2. Conduct an Internet search for companies that are accepting and in some cases offering rebates for electronic items such as MP3 players, wireless phones, electronic camcorders etc. Some stores such as CostCo and RadioShack offer trade-in programs for computers, monitors, digital cameras, camcorders, game systems and other gadgets.

3. Take unwanted e-waste to one of the City of Fort Worth’s three drop-off stations for recycling. The drop-off stations will accept computer equipment, many other electronic items and up to two televisions per Fort Worth household every six months. These items will then be recycled under an agreement that the city has with Goodwill Industries of Fort Worth. Goodwill also accepts these items at their donation centers.

Currently, the City of Fort Worth operates three drop-off stations.

Please note the following locations and guidelines to drop off your recyclables. ALWAYS CALL FIRST TO VERIFY LOCATION AND HOURS.

Drop-off Stations

• Drop-off Station #1: 2400 Brennan Ave., Fort Worth, 76106 (west of I-35, off Northside Dr.) Mapsco 63E
• Drop-off Station #2: 5150 Martin Luther King Jr. Freeway, Fort Worth, 76119 (south of U.S. Highway 287 at Village Creek intersection.) Mapsco 93F
• Drop-off Station #3: 6260 Old Hemphill Rd.Fort Worth, 76134
  South of Loop 820/I-20, West of I-35W at Altamesa Blvd.

To use a drop-off station, residents must show a recent Fort Worth water bill or current driver’s license with a Fort Worth address to prove you have an active sanitation account. Apartment renters may only bring their recyclables to a drop-off station.

OPEN Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., Saturday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Residents must unload their own materials and place them in the appropriate container. City workers staff the drop-off stations, checking identification and directing residents to separate containers.

Fort Worth residents may drop-off old electronics (working or not) including televisions at one of the city's three Drop-off Stations. See above for addresses. This service is made possible by a partnership with Goodwill Industries, Inc. Please note that no business waste will be accepted.