Frequently Asked Questions

For curbside recycling, all types of recycling may be mixed together and placed in a single container; no sorting is needed.

Do not bag recyclables. Please wash, dry and squash items before placing them in the cart / bin.

All items must fit into the bin with the lid closed. Items placed outside the bin normally will not be picked up.

These materials are accepted in recycling containers:

• Glass bottles and containers
• Plastic bottles, cups, containers (generally #1 & #2, except no clam-shells) and plastic tubs (#5)
• Food and beverage cans (steel, tin, aluminum)
• Paper and paper cups (brown paper bags, non-confidential office paper, newspaper, magazines, to-go paper cups)
• Flattened cardboard and paperboard (shipping boxes, cereal boxes, etc.)

• Generally plastics #3-5 & 7 (except plastic tubs marked #5)
• Juice and dairy cartons, and similar food and beverage containers
• Plastic bags, film (do not bag recyclables)
• TVs and other electronics
• Shredded paper
• Food waste
• Liquids
• Foam (Styrofoam) containers, cups, straws
• Medical waste
• Batteries, power tools, flammables, hazardous waste
• Clothing, furniture, carpet
• Green/yard waste (grass clippings, twigs, branches, etc.)
• Anything besides items in the list of accepted materials

View and print a visual recycling guide from WM.

Visit Waste Management’s Recycle Often, Recycle Right web page for details on curbside recycling collection.

Recycling is mandatory, according to the township code.

If you are moving into a newly built home, call 1-800-866-4460 and WM (Waste Management) will deliver a recycling cart to your residence.

Every eligible residence receives one 64-gallon recycling cart for free. The bin stays with the home if you move. It is green with a yellow lid and has the SF township logo on it.

Additional recycling carts

• If you need to purchase an additional recycling cart, you will need to pay an annual fee to WM (Waste Management). The additional cart will have the WM logo (not SF). This fee pays for the additional service, not the cart itself.
• To order an additional cart, call WM at 1-800-866-4460 and say “SERVICE CHANGE” to the phone system prompt. You will be directed to an agent to place your order and pay for your cart.

If your pickup has been missed, or if you have any other concerns regarding trash or recycling collection, please report your issue with our 24-hour online Citizen Request Tracker.

Your message will be immediately and automatically directed to WM (Waste Management) and South Fayette Township.

Alternatively, you may call the township at 412-221-8700 during regular business hours, or call WM at 1-800-866-4460.

Please place your bin a minimum of 3 feet from other objects, such as your garbage can, a mailbox, a car or a tree.

The lid opening (not the logo) should face the street.

You may write your house number on your bin with permanent marker for easy identification.

The 64-gallon wheeled carts are designed to be picked up and unloaded by automated arms attached to Waste Management trucks.

• Size: 31.75” L x 24.25” W x 41.75” H
• Moves easily on wheels
• Withstands wind gusts up to 50 MPH
• Attached, hinged lid

The one bin that the township provides must stay with the house when you move.

Contact WM (Waste Management) is you are discontinuing use of any additional bins that you are paying for directly.

WM (Waste Management) maintains the recycling bins (including wheels and lids). If your container breaks, please report the damage to WM.

To report damage to a recycling cart, visit the WM website.

In the middle of the screen, do the following:

• Type in your address
• Select "For Home"
• Click on "Get Started"
• Choose on "Container Service" to report an issue with the cart.

This will automatically generate a repair or replace ticket on the account.

You may need to create a WM website account to report the cart issue.

Recycling collection in South Fayette Township occurs every other week on the same day as your trash collection.

Please place bins at the curb the night before, or before 6 a.m. on pickup day, and remove promptly after emptied.

Please note that on recycling days, pickup times may vary, and there is no guarantee your recycling will be picked up at the same time each collection.

If a Waste Management scheduled holiday falls during the week (Monday-Friday) and your scheduled pickup is on or after the holiday, pickup will be 1 day later for the remainder of the week. If a holiday falls on a Saturday or Sunday, there will be no change in service.

Waste Management observes six holidays:

• New Year’s Day
• Memorial Day
• Independence Day
• Labor Day
• Thanksgiving Day
• Christmas Day

No. Plastic bags (grocery bags, store bags, trash bags) are not permitted in recycling bins. They cannot be recycled through the curbside recycling program.

Plastic bags get tangled in sorting machines at single-stream recycling facilities, including the one where South Fayette recyclables are sorted. The bags can prevent the sorting machine from working correctly and effectively.

Instead, take them to a bag recycling drop-off bin at a store near you.

No. Do not bag recyclables before placing them in the bin.

Simply place loose, dry items directly into the recycling bin.

At the recycling plant, if items are bagged, extra employees need to be added to open up the bag and retrieve the contents. The bag is then discarded as residue or contamination. Any bags that are missed get tangled in the sorting machines, which can prevent the machine from doing its job.

Cardboard boxes must be flattened and placed inside a recycling bin with the lid closed in order to be collected by Waste Management’s automated recycling trucks.

No. Only the official green and yellow recycling carts may be used.

The carts are specially manufactured to work with and ensure the WM (Waste Management) automated recycling arms.

You can use a permanent marker to write your address on your recycling bin. The serial numbers on the bins are not recorded as being associated with any particular address.

Residents are not billed for the basic level of garbage or recycling collection.

South Fayette Township contracts with hauler WM (Waste Management) for curbside residential waste collection. The township pays the hauler directly from the general fund.

Commercial locations, along with apartment buildings/multi-family residences with more than four units, must make separate arrangements for waste pickup.

Residents can pay WM directly to dispose of larger amounts of trash or recycling, or to engage other special waste collection services.

Specially equipped Waste Management trucks have automated arms that the driver controls to pick up the recycling carts and unload the contents into the truck.

The method is more cost-effective than traditional, manual recycling collection, and it is safer for the waste company employees.