Refuse and Recycling: Tips from the COG Newsletter
This comprehensive guide to recycling in the Centre Region features updates from the Centre County Recycling and Refuse Authority (CCRRA), as well as Ferguson Township's guidelines for Brush and Leaf Collection; Refuse, Recycling, Compost and Yard Waste; and year-round Prescription Drug Collection.
- What to do with yard and garden waste?
- What goes to the landfill? What doesn't?
- How can you get rid of big stuff when it's not bulk week?
The July 2019 issue of the Centre Region Council of Governments (COG) Refuse & Recycling Newsletter has answers to all of these questions, as well as holiday schedules and important recycling dates.
Learn more
PLASTICS RECYCLING
For full details, see CCRRA's Miscellaneous Plastics Drop-off Recycling Program flyer
MIXED PAPER RECYCLING
Please bag your paper (plastic or paper) for recycling to keep it dry and prevent it from flying away.
All paper types—newspaper, office paper, magazines, junk mail and paperboard containers: cereal, tissue, cracker and pasta boxes, paper towel tubes, etc.—should be bagged together.
Corrugated cardboard is not recycled with mixed paper. Please flatten cardboard boxes and keep them separated from mixed paper.
Upcoming Events
Fall Bulk Waste Collection Week, October 21 - 25, 2019
Advanced Disposal will collect old furniture, bedding, carpeting, appliances, and tires (some restrictions apply). Please place all items curbside by 7:am on your regular collection day.
Items must be bagged or bundled to be collected; no loose piles of debris will be collected. Because of truck restrictions, no metal or wood items in excess of five feet in length can be accepted.
Residents are asked to consider donating usable items to local charities.
Up to three smaller bulky items (under 40 pounds each) may be placed curbside for regular weekly collection. For more information, visit the website
Amy Schirf of CCRRA offers these five recycling reminders -- tips that may be news to some residents:
- Do not leave items outside of recycling drop-off containers
- Fluorescent tubes from households can be recycled in April
- Paper should be bagged or bundled curbside
- To ensure collection, make sure your recycling bin is out by 7 am
- Recycling information is plentiful and available
Learn more
Curbside Recycling
At right, Centre County Recycling and Refuse Authority (CCRRA)'s Red Bin Curbside Recycling Guide.
All paper may be bagged or bundled together, which means that newspaper does not need to be separated.
Spiral cans also are accepted for recycling.
Ferguson Township residents have a multitude of ways to recycle throughout the year, including hazardous household materials, old furniture and appliances, electronics such as computers and TVs, unused
prescription drugs, and yard waste. It's also easy to compost food scraps in your backyard.
Electronics Recycling
CCRRA also made changes to its Accepted Electronics list. CCRRA will accept all computers, laptops, tablets, notebooks, monitors, keyboards, printers, scanners, peripherals, all sizes and types of televisions, CD/DVD & VCR players and recorders, video game consoles and controllers, and more. CDs and DVDs are no longer accepted.
Learn more about the CCRRA electronic recycling program
Residents from 1,254 households — in 33 of the county's 35 municipalities — participated in Centre County’s Household Hazardous Waste Collection Program April 26 - 27, 2019 at the Centre County Recycling & Refuse Authority (CCRRA). Learn more
Brush and Leaf Collection
Your Public Works crews help to make your yard clean-up tasks easier by offering curbside collection of brush and leaves.
C-NET's Brush and Leaf Collection video provides guidelines for preparing your brush and leaves for collection. Following these guidelines will help ensure the safety of our crews.
Brush and leaf collection begins the first Monday of the month, except on a holiday. Please place piles of brush and leaves curbside by 7 am that day.
Learn more
View Brush Collection Guidelines
Refuse, Recycling, Compost and Yard Waste
A reminder to residents: Public Works crews are unable to collect grass clippings curbside along with brush and leaves. Residents may drop off grass clippings from dawn to dusk seven days a week at the Ferguson Township Municipal Building at 3147 Research Drive. Look for the sign directing you to the grass clippings area.
In addition, residents may purchase compost, mulch and wood chips at the State College Borough Recycling Facility at 2145 North Atherton Street, or at the University Area Joint Authority (UAJA), 1576 Spring Valley Road. See details below. The Glenn O. Hawbaker Recycling Center/State College Borough Compost Facility accepts rock, stumps and yard waste for a fee. The site is located at 2145 North Atherton Street. Check its website for more information.
Visit the CCRRA website for information about backyard composting
Prescription Drug Collection
The Ferguson Township Police Department (FTPD) is one of seven year-round prescription drug drop-off sites in Centre County.
Located in the lobby of the Police Department at 3147 Research Drive, this collection site provides a safe, convenient, responsible, and confidential way to dispose of prescription drugs.
The site is part of a local law enforcement and community initiative to educate the general public about the current opioid addiction crisis and the potential for abuse of medications. Anyone who takes opioids or has access to them is at risk of becoming addicted.
The site's mission is working. This year to date, the FTPD drop-off has collected 173 pounds of unwanted prescription and non-prescription drugs, compared to a total of 108 pounds collected in 2018. The FTPD accepts unused medications during regular business hours (8 am - 5 pm Monday through Thursday and 8 am - 4 pm Friday).
Last year, our officers made 51 DUI arrests, administered Narcan (Naloxone) to save the lives of four individuals who were overdosing on drugs, and investigated 13 deaths, including a drug overdose.