Rural Collection Centers: What Can I Take There?
What is a collection center?
The five Alachua County Rural Collection Centers are local facilities for the collection of recycling, solid waste, yard trash, bulk items and household hazardous waste. These facilities are for residential use only and are staffed by Solid Waste and Resource Recovery employees during all operating hours.
Why make a trip to the Rural Collection Center?
Let’s say you’re doing some spring cleaning, doing some yard work or just find yourself with more waste than will fit in your weekly collection bins – you don’t have to wait until next week to dispose of your extra waste. The Alachua County Rural Collection Centers are the perfect place to drop off the extra waste that won’t fit in your weekly garbage or recycling pickup.
What’s the difference between a RCC and Alachua’s other two facilities?
The five Alachua County Rural Collection Centers are for residential use and specific waste items. But there are two other facilities to be aware of:
If you have commercial waste, you would bring it to LBEP.
Main Facility: Leveda Brown Environmental Park (LBEP)
52-334-0172
5115 NE 63rd Avenue, Gainesville
Mon-Fri 7:00 am – 5:00 pm | Sat 7:00 am – Noon
Closed Sundays and Holidays
And if you have items other than the household hazardous items that are accepted at a rural collection center, you would bring them to the HWCC.
Hazardous Waste Collection Center (HWCC)
352-334-0440
5125 NE 63rd Avenue, Gainesville
Mon-Fri 7:00 am – 5:00 pm | Sat 8:00 am – Noon
www.AlachuaCountyHazwaste.us
What’s accepted at Alachua County’s Rural Collection Centers?
Recycling
- Cardboard (please ensure cardboard is dry & flattened)
- Paper: junk mail, newspaper, magazines, pasteboard (i.e. cereal boxes)
- Commingled containers: plastic bottles/jars, plastic yogurt/margarine tubs, aluminum, steel & tin containers, glass bottles/jars.
**No plastic bags, food trays, any black plastics, plastic cups, plant-based plastics, plastic toys, tubs or Styrofoam. Also, please no Clamshell (blueberry etc.) take-out containers, items that contained petrochemicals, pool chemicals or pesticides.
Garbage
Please place trash bags in the available compactor or in the dumpster if directed. Please refrain from leaving items outside the gate if the center is closed. Do NOT place any electronics or batteries in the compactor.
Yard Waste
- Leaves
- Grass clippings
- Brush and small tree limbs
**Please remove yard waste from plastic bags before recycling.
**Please do not include: boards, lumber, rocks, fencing, pallets, toys, furniture, or plastic bags.
Bulk Metals Recycling
- Washers & dryers
- Stoves
- Grills
- Filing cabinets
- Metal exercise machines
- Metal patio furniture
- Metal roofing
- Bicycles
- Lawn mowers & other gas-powered equipment
**Please empty gas & oil – attendant’s must check gas powered items
Rural Collection Centers cannot accept: Air Conditioners, Refrigerators, Water Coolers, Dehumidifiers, Metal Fencing, or Intact Metal Sheds. To recycle these items please take them to The Leveda Brown Environmental Park
Household Hazardous Waste
- Oil filters
- Fluorescent lamps
- Rechargeable batteries and vehicle/boat batteries
- Computer equipment
- Electronics
- Up to five gallons of waste oil and old paint per day are accepted.
**No items can be removed from the Household Hazardous Waste Area at any of the RCCs.
Take note of collection limits.
Residents are permitted one visit per day to one of the five RCCs. The load limit is one level truck bed per day of any combination of bagged household garbage, yard waste or any other acceptable item. Remember, only up to five gallons of waste oil and old paint per day are accepted.
Also, double check that the items you are bringing to a RCC are accepted with the Zero Waste Wizard. If not, you’ll have to take those items to either the Main Facility: Leveda Brown Environmental Park or the Hazardous Waste Collection Center.
Also, did you know about the Reuse area?
Each RCC has a Reuse Area that may have some items worth taking home. All items in the Reuse Area are FREE to Alachua County residents. If you want to contribute, simply place any gently used items (such as toys, pots and pans, furniture, etc.) in the Reuse Area for other RCC patrons. Then, if you want to check out what’s available, each customer will be allowed a 15-minute visit per day.
When can I drop items off?
7:30am – 5:30 pm every Monday, Tuesday, Friday, & Saturday.
NOTE: Closed on Sunday, Wednesday, & Thursday
The RCCs are closed on the following holidays:
- New Year’s Day
- Martin Luther King, JR. Day
- Memorial Day
- Juneteenth
- Independence Day
- Labor Day
- Veterans Day
- Thanksgiving Day
- Christmas Day
Locations and contact info
If you’re an Alachua County resident and would like to take advantage of the Rural Collection Centers, here are their locations and phone numbers. We’re proud to offer this free service to residents to help with our waste efforts.
Archer Rural Collection Center
19401 SW Archer Road
Archer, FL 32618
Phone: (352) 495-3257
Alachua/High Springs Rural Collection Center
16929 SW US Highway 441
High Springs, FL 32643
Phone: (386) 454-2563
Fairbanks Rural Collection Center
9920 NE Waldo Road
Gainesville, FL 32609
Phone: (352) 334-3873
North Central Rural Collection Center
10714 N SR 121
Gainesville, FL 32653
Phone: (352) 334-3875
Phifer Rural Collection Center
11700 SE Hawthorne Road
Gainesville, FL 32640
Phone: (352) 334-3874