1. How much does it cost
to dump at the landfill?
2. What are the days and hours that the site is open?
3. Where are the landfills and transfer stations?
4. I would like service or have questions about trash
collection at my home or business?
5. Why are foothill rates higher?
6. What if I’m dissatisfied with my hauler's service?
7. Can I haul my neighbor’s trash to the dump?
8. How do I get a large bin or roll-off?
9. Are commercial bins and roll-offs regulated by the
County?
10. Can I pick up some free fill dirt at the landfill?
11. Why am I required to have a waste tire manifest?
12. Can I salvage material from the landfill?
13. Is there required collection in the County?
14. Do the landfills ever close because of bad weather?
15. Why should I cover my load?
16. Can I bring non-hazardous materials from an
environmental cleanup to the landfills?
17. Can I bring in waste from sources outside of Tulare
County?
18. Can I look for something at the landfill that was
accidentally thrown out?
20. Are there any other special rates at the landfill?
21. What is the phone number at the landfill?
22. Do you take personal checks at the landfill?
24. Do you have charge accounts?
25. Is there any relief from illegal dumping?
26. Why do you ask where I live when I go to the landfill?
27. Can I have confidential records securely buried at the
landfill right away?
28. How do I dispose of an old computer monitor or TV?
29. Do you accept old mobile homes at the landfill and what
is the procedure and costs?
30. Are there any restrictions on wood waste that is
accepted?
31. Can I bring asbestos material to the landfill?
1. How much does it cost to dump at the
landfill? It depends on the type of
waste, what site you are taking it, how much waste you have and if the load is
covered. The short answer is $10 per pickup load or $31 per ton, but there are
exceptions. Check back at the Fees page for the prices at the specific site you wish to bring
your waste.
2. What are the
days and hours that the site is open? It depends on what site you plan to take the waste. If you know which
facility you want to take the waste, go to that site from the About Solid Waste page for the
hours and days of operation.
3. Where are the landfills and transfer stations? The general locations are described on the Landfill Locations page or the Transfer Station Locations page.
4. I would like service or have questions about trash collection at my house or business. The County does not provide trash collection service. This is performed by your city or a private hauler licensed by the County. The County does not regulate collection services in the cities. For information regarding trash collection service and recycling programs, call your city.
In the unincorporated areas of the
5. Why are foothill rates higher? If you live east of a foothill boundary line, the rates
for collection service are a little higher because of the sparse population and
the expense of hauling the trash a further distance to the landfills. All rates
are set and controlled by the Board of Supervisors.
6. What if I'm dissatisfied with my
hauler's service? Talk to your hauler first and try to
resolve the problem. If you cannot settle your differences, give us a call at
733-6291.
7. Can I haul my neighbors trash to
the dump? It is a violation of the
Tulare County Ordinance Code if you live in an area served by a hauler licensed
by the County.
8. How do I get a roll-off or large
bin? If you live in a city, roll-offs
and bins are probably regulated by the city in which you live, so call them first. If
you live in the County, your licensed hauler will provide you with a bin or roll
off and service it -- for a fee. There are a couple of other companies that
will also be happy to provide you with a bin of roll off for a fee. Check the
Yellow Pages under "Garbage Collection" for a list of companies
providing this service. This applies only to non-regular service. In the
unincorporated areas, the County does not regulate roll-offs for construction
and demolition.
9. Are commercial bins and roll-offs regulated by the County? Yes, there is a fixed rate structure set by the Board of Supervisors depending on the size of the bin and the frequency of the service.
10. Could I pick up some free fill
dirt at the landfill? No. Many years
ago, this used to be the practice, but changes in landfill design driven by
regulations has resulted in our need for all the fill dirt that we have. This
is why we will now accept clean fill dirt for free rather than give it away for
free.
11. Why am I required to have a waste tire manifest? As you are probably aware, there is a big problem with tires being dumped illegally in the County and all over the State. In response, the State has required that loads of waste tires be manifested to identify where the tires are from, who is hauling them and where they are going. It also requires that all waste tire haulers, except public entities, be certified by the State to be sure they understand and comply with the rules and documentation requirements. To deliver ten or more tires to the landfill, you must have a manifest. To obtain a manifest, contact the State at (866) 896-0600. If you have a lot of waste tires, we recommend that you contact a certified tire hauler to perform this service. If the tires were illegally dumped on your property, you may be eligible for a fee waiver through the County. You may haul fewer than ten tires to the landfill without a manifest, so if you have a few more than that to dispose of, it may be easier to make a couple extra trips to the landfill.
12. Can I salvage materials from
the landfill? We would not allow it. There is too much liability to the
County and it is a nuisance to our operations. Legal salvaging and recycling is
done in the recycling area at the entrance to the landfill by companies under
contract.
13. Is there required collection in
the County? If you live within certain
designated urban area boundaries around the cities or in unincorporated communities,
you are required to have waste collection service. This is because the haulers
share the responsibility to meet the County's recycling goals and the only way
they can do this is to collect and process as much of the waste stream as is
feasible. The required collection in the more densely populated areas of the
County is a first step in this direction. If you believe you can do a better
job of recycling than the hauler or if your property is vacant with no waste
being generated, you may apply for an exemption. We will inspect your recycling
efforts and make a determination if an exemption from required collection is
warranted.
14. Do the landfills ever close
because of bad weather? No. However,
conditions at the landfills can be difficult after heavy or sustained rains.
Our equipment will pull you out if you get stuck, but only after you sign a
release that if we damage your vehicle in the process, we are not liable. Wait
a week or so after significant rains, if at all possible, or go to one of the
transfer stations if you have a small amount of waste during the wet season.
15. Why should I cover my load? Yes. Our rates are higher for uncovered loads. We use the
extra money we charge to pick up waste along the highways near our landfills.
Tarps are not expensive and we strongly encourage you to cover your loads.
Also, it is a violation of the California Vehicle Code to bring loads to the
disposal sites that are not covered and you could be cited by the Highway
Patrol.
16. Can I bring non-hazardous
materials from an environmental clean-up to the County landfills? Generally not. There is a category of waste called
"designated waste". We are not allowed to accept designated waste.
Questions need to be answered on a case by case basis. Call the Tulare County
Environmental Health Department at 733-6441 for more information.
17. Can I bring in waste from
sources outside
18. Can I look for something at the
landfill that was accidentally thrown out? No. We do not keep records on where specific loads are
buried. It would be impossible to find and we would not allow you to try.
19. When is cleanup week? In an effort to keep
¨
Valley residents: third full week of
every April and third full week of every October.
¨
Mountain residents: full week prior to
every Memorial Day and full week prior to every Labor Day.
20. Are there any other special
rates at the landfill? We will take
your Christmas tree or loads of Christmas trees for free during specific times
of the year. Contact 733-6291 for details. We will take clean fill dirt free
anytime. If you have clean loads of broken asphalt surfacing, give us a call
because we may accept this for free if it is needed to build our on-site
roadways.
21. What is the phone number at the
landfill? We do not give the phone
numbers at the landfill out to the public. If you have an emergency and need to
contact someone at the landfill, call the main office at 733-6291.
22. Do you take personal checks at
the landfill? Yes. No third party
checks are accepted. Checks must have a printed address. Checks from outside
the area or beyond the surrounding counties will not be accepted. Checks should
be made out to "Tulare County Solid Waste". Checks will be accepted
only for the cost to use the landfill.
23. Do you take credit cards? No.
24. Do you have charge accounts? They are not credit cards. Technically they are charge
cards for which the balance must be paid in full each month. If you are with a
company that regularly delivers loads to the landfill, talk to our accounting
office at 733-6291 about setting up a charge account. If the balance is not
paid in full each month, the charge account is canceled and you will have to
pay on a cash basis to use the landfill.
25. Is there any relief from
illegal dumping? The following steps outline
the fee waiver procedure for illegal dumping. First, contact either the Solid Waste
office or the Sheriff’s office to report the illegal dumping. Be very specific
about the location of the illegal dumping. If you contact the Solid Waste
office, we will contact the Sheriff’s office and give them the location of the
illegal dumping. The Sheriff’s office has blank fee waiver forms and they will
investigate and determine whether or not there appears to have been illegal
dumping. If they determine that there has been illegal dumping, you will then
be asked to sign the completed form along with the investigator. You will then
present the fee waiver form to the Refuse Site Attendant when you take the
refuse to the County landfill. This procedure only waives fees at the
landfill. It does not waive any other
government regulation, local or otherwise.
Specifically, it does not waive any of the waste tire hauling
regulations enforced by the State.
26. Why do you ask me where I live
when I go to the landfill? The County
and each city are required to demonstrate they are achieving recycling goals
that are mandated by the State. In order to estimate how much waste is recycled
or diverted from the landfill, we need to know how much actually goes to the
landfill. We need to determine the origin of the waste to identify and
attribute it to the city or county that generated it.
27. Can I have confidential records
securely buried at the landfill right away? Yes. You should bring them out at between 10:30 to 11:30
in the morning or between 1:00 and 2:00 in the afternoon. Let the person at the
scale house know what you are doing and you will be charged the "special
handling fee". The caretaker and equipment operators at the landfill will
locate a spot deep in the active face and cover the files with other trash
right away while you watch. Do not bring your files out late in the day because
there will be less incoming trash to cover it.
28. How do I dispose of an old
computer monitor or TV? The County
will not accept computer monitors or TVs at the landfill sites or transfer
stations. The picture tube, also known as a cathode ray tube (CRT), is subject
to hazardous waste regulations which went into effect 08/31/01 and must be
handled with care.
Goodwill at 732-7922 and American
Cancer Society Discovery Shop at 627-1955 will accept only operable televisions
as a donation for continued use.
Residents of Tulare County may
deliver five or less CRTs at no charge to the Recycle America Alliance (Tulare
County Recycling) collection facility at 26951 Road 140, Visalia, CA 93277. Residents
will be required to show identification to prove residency.
Businesses may deliver this
material to Recycle America Alliance (Tulare County Recycling) for a fee.
Contact Recycle America Alliance (Tulare County Recycling) at (559) 741-1766
for pricing information.