Solid Waste FAQ

The Centralia transfer station is open Monday through Saturday from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. with the inbound gates closing promptly at 5:15 p.m.

The Morton transfer station is open Monday through Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Both sites are closed all major holidays.

You need to separate your recycling into the following categories:

• Metal: Includes scrap metal, pots and pans, aluminum cans, tin cans
• Paper: Includes newspapers, magazines, office/school paper, mail, paper boxes and bags, paperback books. Please no shredded paper, wax-coated milk/juice cartons or frozen food boxes.
• Glass Bottles & Jars: Please remove and discard lids, empty jars and bottles, rinse out.
• Corrugated Cardboard: Cardboard with wavy layers. Please remove and discard all tape, labels and packing material.
• Clothing: Look for green and white bins for old clothing, textiles, shoes, and belts. The items can be stained, ripped and have holes in them, but they cannot be wet or dirty. Please place in a plastic bag before depositing in the bin.

Here is a flyer that further explains how to recycle at the transfer stations.

The transfer stations in Centralia and Morton are closed on all major holidays: New Years Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Presidents' Day, Memorial Day, Juneteenth, July 4th, Labor Day, Veterans' Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day. They are open on all other state and federal holidays for garbage and recycling services. The Administration Office and the Hazo Hut are also closed all holidays as well as county-observed holidays.

No.

Washington State law (WAC 173-433-130) forbids you from impacting your neighbors with smoke, odors, or ash.

Burning garbage causes air pollution as well as releasing toxic gases into the air.

For more information or to report an illegal burn call the Southwest Clean Air Agency at 360-633-0709.

Yes. It is easier to discard your load if all the different types of waste are kept separate.

Load your appliances and tires first with your recyclables in the front of your truck bed or trailer. Load your garbage at the rear of your truck bed or trailer.

At the scale house let the attendant know you have tires, appliances, and recyclables to drop off. You will be told to dump your garbage first. Return to the scale house and pay. Then proceed to the recycling area to recycle appliances, tires and recyclables.

Do not mix garbage with yard waste. Mixed loads will be charged as garbage.

Spent antifreeze may be recycled at the Centralia Transfer Station during Hazo Hut days, which are the first and third Saturday of every month and every Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., or the East Lewis County Transfer Station during normal operating hours.

Please take your empty containers with you and dispose of with your other garbage. There is a 5 gallon per household limit per day.

Please recycle motor oil at the Centralia transfer station during Hazo Hut days, which are the first and third Saturday of every month and every Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., or the East Lewis County Transfer Station in Morton during normal operating hours. In Morton, look inside the green containers for the used motor oil tank.

• Only 5 gallons of oil per household per day.
• Used motor oil includes engine oil, transmission fluid, hydraulic fluid, gear oil, kerosene, and diesel.
• Absolutely no brake fluid, gasoline, solvents, paints or thinners.

No. These materials pose a threat to human health and the environment. Hazardous waste must be turned into the Hazo Hut or a special hazardous waste collection event.

Examples of hazardous waste include:

• Left over oil-based paints and thinners. Paints must be dropped off at PaintCare.org locations in Lewis County.
• Used oil and spent antifreeze
• Hazardous household cleaners including bleach, ammonia, phosphoric acid, hydrochloric acid, and oxalic acid
• Pool chemicals such as muriatic acid and chlorine tablets
• Lawn and garden chemicals, pesticides, diazinon, and most herbicides
• Hazo Hut at the Central Transfer Station in Centralia does not accept paint. Washington state has implemented a new product stewardship program for various types of paint, including latex, called PaintCare. Here is the link to find PaintCare locations in Lewis County, where you can drop off latex, and other paint, for free: PaintCare.org.
  • Latex paint is not hazardous.
    • If your container of latex paint is less than half full, you can dry up the paint yourself and dispose of it in the garbage.
    • To solidify leftover latex paint:
    • Mix cat litter, dirt or sawdust into the container of paint
    • Allow the mixture to harden
    • Wrap container in a plastic bag
    • Dispose of in your curbside garbage pickup or bring to Lewis County transfer stations in Centralia or Morton

No, Hazo Hut does not accept paint. It will only accept paint items that are rejected by PaintCare.org participants.

• Hazo Hut at the Central Transfer Station in Centralia does not accept paint. Washington state has implemented a new product stewardship program for various types of paint, including latex, called PaintCare. Here is the link to find PaintCare locations in Lewis County, where you can drop off latex, and other paint, for free: PaintCare.org.
  • Latex paint is not hazardous.
    • If your container of latex paint is less than half full, you can dry up the paint yourself and dispose of it in the garbage.
    • To solidify leftover latex paint:
    • Mix cat litter, dirt or sawdust into the container of paint
    • Allow the mixture to harden
    • Wrap container in a plastic bag
    • Dispose of in your curbside garbage pickup or bring to Lewis County transfer stations in Centralia or Morton

No, once empty, items that contained hazardous material can be discarded in your household garbage container or disposed of at transfer stations in Centralia or Morton.

You can only dispose of hazardous waste during operating hours of the Hazo Hut, which are every Wednesday (except a major holiday that falls on a Wednesday) and the 1st and 3rd Saturday of the month from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

The Hazo Hut is located at the Central Transfer Station: 1411 S. Tower Ave., Centralia, WA 98531. Phone number: 360-740-1221

You can also dispose of household hazardous waste from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. the second Thursday of each month at the East Lewis County Transfer Station, 6745 US Hwy. 12, Morton.

Businesses must make an appointment by calling 360-740-1221.

If you have additional questions, please emailswu@lewiscountywa.gov.

Yes. This is a subscription service offered by LeMay. Please call 360-736-4769 or visit LeMay Inc.'s website for more information or to subscribe to this service. It is picked up and hauled to a composting facility.

You may place the following items in your commingled recycling container:

• Cardboard
• Paperboard (cereal boxes)
• Newspaper
• Magazines
• Phone books
• Catalogs
• Junk mail
• Aluminum cans,
• Tin cans
• Plastic bottles, such as beverage bottles
• Plastic jugs, such as milk jugs and laundry jugs
• Diary containers, such as yogurt cups, margarine tubs

• Please remember the following rules:
  • Please rinse all containers and discard lids.
  • Don't flatten metal cans.
  • No shredded paper, frozen food boxes or wax-coated milk/juice cartons.
  • No plastic sacks.
  • No strings.
  • No glass.
  • No containers that have been contaminated with hazardous materials.
  • No deli trays.
  • No plastic produce or bakery boxes.

If you have additional questions, please email swu@lewiscountywa.gov.

• Hazo Hut at the Central Transfer Station in Centralia does not accept paint.
• Washington state has implemented a new product stewardship program for various types of paint, including latex, called PaintCare. Here is the link to find PaintCare locations in Lewis County, where you can drop off latex, and other paint, for free: PaintCare.org.
  • If your container of latex paint is less than half full, you can dry up the paint yourself and dispose of it in the garbage.
  • To solidify leftover latex paint:
    • Mix cat litter, dirt or sawdust into the container of paint
    • Allow the mixture to harden
    • Wrap container in a plastic bag
    • Dispose of in your curbside garbage pickup or bring to Lewis County transfer stations in Centralia or Morton

Yes, you can!

Lewis County offers several options:

• For grass clippings and leaves at Central Transfer Station located at 1411 South Tower Avenue in Centralia and the East Lewis County Transfer Station, 6745 U.S. Hwy 12, Morton, the fee $100.00 per ton with a $15.00 minimum for up to 300 pounds.
• For branches and other chippable yard waste at the Central Transfer Station in Centralia, the fee is $100.00 per ton with a $15.00 minimum for up to 300 pounds.
• Chehalis residents, who live within the city limits, can obtain a seasonal permit, and take it to a local drop-off location. Call 360-748-0271 for more information.
• Silver Springs Organics is a composting facility outside of Tenino that accepts clean yard waste from the public.

No noxious weeds please! Here is a list of noxious weeds.

No, the free dump voucher program ended in 2020. There are now several Community Recycle Events throughout the year to help residents recycle difficult-to-recycle items for free. Please follow the link about Community Recycle Events for more information.

LeMay is the company that provides these services in Lewis County. Their number is 360-736-4769.

The Lewis County Solid Waste Utility, which is a division of the Lewis County Department of Public Works, operates the transfer stations.

You have four options:

1. Remove the glass turntable and throw it in your garbage. Recycle the microwave, without the glass turntable, in scrap metal recycling containers, at Lewis County transfer stations in Centralia or Morton.
2. Remove the glass turntable and throw it in your garbage. Recycle the microwave, without the glass turntable, at a scrap metal recycling facility, such as Sutter Metals in Centralia.
3. Dispose of the microwave in your curbside garbage container, if it will fit.
4. Dispose of the microwave in a load of garbage that you have to one of the Lewis County transfer stations, where regular fees will apply. There is a $20 minimum for 340 pounds or less, plus the 3.6 percent state refuse tax.