Where and How to Recycle in Lexington County

Waste Wizard

Go to the Waste Wizard or download the free Lexington County SC Solid Waste App from your App Store and use the Waste Wizard included in the App anytime, anywhere to find how to correctly dispose of or recycle any material in Lexington County.

Brochures and Flyers

• Lexington County's Where & How to RECYCLE brochure
• How to dispose of plastic bags & film flyer
• How to dispose of batteries safely guide- DHEC- Also see more information here
• How to dispose of electronics flyer
• How to dispose of paint brochure
• How to dispose of materials when moving brochure
• How to recycle used cooking oil flyer

 

Special Drop-Off Opportunities

(Note Recycling and HHW have separate locations) 

Free recycling drop-off opportunities are offered throughout the county each year to make it more convenient for residents to recycle electronics and other materials, have paper shredded and to safely dispose of hazardous waste. 

Household Hazardous Waste Drop-Off Opportunities (HHW) (LEXINGTON COUNTY RESIDENTS ONLY)

***DUE TO CIRCUMSTANCES OUT OF OUR CONTROL, WE DO NOT HAVE ANY FURTHER HHW DATES AT THIS TIME***

We will update the site as soon as we have more information.  

For most up-to-date information, please be sure to follow us on Facebook

If you would like to be added to our newsletter for updates, please email us at: recycling@lex-co.com

 

PAPER SHRED OPPORTUNITIES

• NO Business (Commercial, school, church) materials
• ONLY Lexington County residents
• LIMTS: 5 copy paper sized boxes or 5 (13-gallon sized) bags of paper
• Please only bring papers with important personal information. Recycle any junk mail, advertisements or other papers that do not contain personal information. 

The next Drop-Off Opportunity for paper shredding is August 10th at Irmo Community Park! 

To download a PDF of this flyer, please click HERE

 

The final Paper Shred Drop-Off Opportunity of the 2024 year will be held on October 5th at Saxe Gotha Church in Lexington. 

To download a PDF of this flyer, please click HERE

 

NATIONAL PRESCRIPTION DRUG TAKEBACK EVENTS

The next Biannual National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day will October 26th of 2024. Most locations accepting materials from 10AM-2PM.

The spring National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day will be April 26th, 2025. Most locations accepting materials from 10AM-2PM.

The Drug Enforcement Administration hosts National Prescription Take Back Day during the last Saturday of the months of April and October. DEA sponsors collection sites throughout the country where medications can be dropped off for proper disposal. CBP encourages all employees and family members to bring any expired, unused or unwanted medications to designated collection sites for proper disposal.  

This event gives you an opportunity to help prevent drug addiction and overdose deaths.

The drug overdose epidemic in the United States is a clear and present public health, public safety and national security threat. 

Locations listed are those that have been reported to us, but is by no means an exhaustive list:

• City of West Columbia - City Hall - 200 N 12th Street, West Columbia
• CVS - 5608 Sunset Blvd, Lexington
• Irmo Police Department - 1230 Columbia Avenue, Irmo
• Lexington County Sherriff’s Department - 521 Gibson Road, Lexington
• Lexington Medical Center Building 3 - 222 East Medical Lane, West Columbia
• Medicine Mart - 1300 Sunset Blvd, West Columbia
• Pelion Police Department - 611 Pelion Road, Pelion
• Springdale Police Department - 2915 Platt Springs Rd, West Columbia
• Walgreens -  5220 Sunset Blvd, Lexington (Has a year-round collection box in store) 
• Walmart - 2401 Augusta Road, West Columbia
• For more locations, search this database: https://www.dea.gov/takebackday 

If you can't make it out to one of these locations on Saturday, there are several disposal options including local drug stores and some lobbies in Police Departments accessed during normal business hours.

To find additional locations, or to learn more, please visit: 
https://scdhec.gov/healthcare-quality/drug-control-register-verify/dea-national-drug-take-back-day

For more information or resources, you can visit www.DEATakeBack.com or Inquiries can also be made at 1-800-882-9539

 

Recycling in Curbside Bins

• 2023 DO's and DONT's card coming soon! showing what should and should not be put in your curbside recycling container and how to prepare the materials.
• Download a one-page guide showing what should and should not be put in your curbside recycling container and how to prepare the materials.
• See what NOT to recycle in curbside containers here.
• Go to the Curbside Collection page of this website for detailed information about what should and should not be included in curbside recycling containers.

Although recyclable materials are picked up from the curb in garbage trucks, the trucks make a separate trip after emptying household garbage.  Recyclable materials are taken from the curb to Sonoco Recycling in Columbia where automated machines and people separate, bundle and sell them.  The better we are at putting the correct materials in our curbside containers, the easier, safer, and less expensive it is to sort them. 

Recycle More but Recycle Right.

For more information, contact Laura Anne Hunt, Recycling Coordinator at lhunt@lex-co.com.

 

Recycling at Collection and Recycling Centers

• COMING SOON Download a poster (distributed as a magnet) showing what can be recycled at Lexington County's Collection and Recycling Centers.
• Go to the Collection and Recycling page on this website for information on locations, addresses, hours and details on materials accepted and how to prepare them.

Recycling at the Edmund C&D Landfill

• Some materials (electronics, mattresses, propane and helium tanks, refrigeration units) are only accepted at the Edmund C&D Landfill.
• Go to the Edmund Landfill page on this website for the address, hours, details on materials accepted, fees, procedure upon arrival, and more. 

Clean Wood Recycling

Lexington County recycles and sells clean wood waste in the form of compost through a public-private partnership with Atlas Organics.  Click ATLAS ORGANICS- LEXINGTON to learn more.

Food Composting

You can save money and help the environment by composting in your backyard.  Click Backyard Composting to learn how.  Backyard compost bins (80 gallon, 3' tall x 3' wide) are available for sale at the Edmund Landfill.  Call (803) 755-3325 for more information.

See DON'T WASTE FOOD SC for more information on preventing food waste.

 

Recycling at Local Stores

• PLASTIC BAGS -
  • Bring plastic bags and film to a Collection and Recycling Center! Click here for Poster
  • Take plastic bags and certain types of plastic films/wraps to grocery stores, Target, Kohls, Best Buy and Lowes home improvement stores.  Learn more about what types of plastic bags and wraps are accepted and where to take them here.  Never put plastic bags and wraps in curbside bins or with recyclables at Collection and Recycling Centers. 
    • For a list of acceptable materials, please click here
• PILL BOTTLES & PILLS - Take empty pill bottles and unused medications to some local pharmacies.  Some veterinarian's offices will take empty pill bottles to be reused and they are accepted (without labels) at Pets Inc. located at 300 Orchard Dr. in West Columbia.  Do NOT put empty pill bottles in recycling bins!  Small object get stuck in the sorting equipment and contaminate glass which gets crushed and falls through holes during the sorting process.  Unused pills may be ground up, mixed with coffee grounds, kitty litter or other undesirable product and thrown away with garbage or may taken to any Lexington County Sheriff's Department and may be put in a drop box.
  • Headquarters: 521 Gibson Road, Lexington, SC 29072
  • North Region Office: 111 Lincreek Drive, Columbia, SC 29212
  • South Region: 102 Airport Road, Pelion, SC 29123
  • West Region: 4079-D Augusta Highway, Gilbert, SC 29054

         Learn more about recycling Prescription Medication and additional options for senior citizens here.

• NEEDLES - Place needles in a large, plastic container (e.g. laundry detergent or bleach bottle) with a sealed screw top and preferably label it with "NEEDLES."  Discard with garbage.  

• BATTERIES - Learn how to identify battery types and where to dispose of each here. 

• INK CARTRIDGES - Take ink cartridges to Office Depot.

• STYROFOAM - Take Styrofoam containers and egg cartons to Publix.

 

See this handout for more information on specific materials accepted at local stores in Lexington County.

Charitable Donations

• Want to donate your car to help others?  Learn more about your options and the process here. 
• Want to donate household goods, furniture, electronics, and more?  Learn more about local options including those that provide pick-up services here.

Want to Recycle Something Not Listed?

Contact Laura Anne Hunt, Recycling Coordinator at lhunt@lex-co.com.

 

 

Frequently Asked Questions