Junk removal in Arlington, Alexandria & Fairfax
Highrise condos, garden apartments, townhouse rows and HOA subdivisions — plus the one county in this region that tells haulers where they are allowed to tip.
Fairfax County controls where the load goes
In most of this region a hauler chooses a facility. In Fairfax County it does not work that way: the county requires trash haulers providing service within its borders to use county disposal facilities. In practice that means the I-95 Landfill Complex at Lorton or the I-66 Transfer Station Complex, which moves waste from the northern and western parts of the county on to Reworld in Lorton.
The rate is published rather than negotiated. For fiscal year 2026 the commercial tipping fee at those facilities is $90 per ton, with a penalty of $166 per ton where a load breaks County Code or facility rules. Commercial pay customers settle at the time of disposal rather than posting a bond.
Two consequences worth knowing as a customer. First, nobody serving Fairfax can undercut anyone else on disposal — the floor is the same for everyone, so a suspiciously cheap Fairfax quote is being made up somewhere else. Second, weight matters more here than volume does. A pickup bed of soil, tile or plaster can outweigh a truckload of furniture, and in a per-ton county that shows up directly in the price.
Checked September 2026 against Fairfax County Public Works and Environmental Services published rate schedules. Rates are set per fiscal year and reviewed annually — confirm the current figure before budgeting a large job.
Two independent jurisdictions with their own collections
Arlington County and the City of Alexandria run their own services rather than sitting under Fairfax, which is why advice that applies in one frequently does not apply next door.
- Arlington provides weekly curbside collection for single-family homes, duplexes and some townhouses
- Bulky items there are a separate on-demand special collection, not part of the weekly pickup
- Appliances, large metal items and unbundled brush are handled as their own categories again, with their own arrangements
- Alexandria runs its own bulk and yard debris collection on a scheduled cycle
- Alexandria also operates its own waste facility at Burnside Place rather than sending everything to a county site
If your job is a couple of items at a single-family curb in Arlington or Alexandria, the municipal collection is very likely the cheaper route and we will tell you so. Where it stops working is apartments and condos, which are generally not covered by those services at all, and anything that has to come down from a floor rather than out to a curb.
Collection arrangements checked September 2026 against Arlington County published guidance; confirm current schedules and any fees with your jurisdiction, since these are reviewed regularly.
Highrises, HOAs and the loading dock
Freight elevators
Standard in Rosslyn, Ballston, Crystal City, Old Town and the Tysons corridor. Buildings book them in slots, and a slot missed is usually a day lost. Tell us the building and we will book it.
Certificates of insurance
Most managed buildings want one on file naming the property before a vendor works there. It takes a day or two to arrange and cannot be produced at the front desk on arrival.
HOA rules
Fairfax subdivisions frequently restrict when a work truck can be on the street, where it may park and how long anything can sit at the curb. Worth a glance at your covenants before booking a time.
Garden apartments
Three-storey walk-ups with no elevator and exterior stairs are everywhere in inner Arlington and Alexandria. Perfectly normal; just slower, and quoted that way rather than discovered on the day.
Townhouse rows
Rear-loaded garages make life easy. Front-loaded rows with a shared alley and assigned spaces mean a longer carry, which is worth mentioning when you call.
Weight, not volume
In a per-ton county, dense material prices differently from bulky material. If the load is tile, plaster, soil or masonry, say so — it changes the number more than the size of the pile does.
Where we go in Northern Virginia
Arlington, Alexandria and Old Town, Fairfax City, Falls Church, McLean, Vienna, Tysons, Annandale, Springfield, Burke, Lorton, Reston, Herndon, Centreville and Chantilly. Coming from Suitland, the Wilson Bridge puts Alexandria and southern Fairfax closest.
Further out toward Loudoun or Prince William, ask — sometimes yes, sometimes the honest answer is that somebody local will beat us on the drive.
Northern Virginia questions
Which parts of Virginia do you cover?
The Northern Virginia side of the DMV: Arlington, Alexandria, Fairfax County and the towns inside it. Coming from Suitland we cross at the Wilson Bridge, so the Alexandria and southern Fairfax side is the shortest run.
Why does Fairfax County come up in every quote?
Because Fairfax requires trash haulers providing service within the county to use county disposal facilities. That means a Fairfax load goes to the I-95 Landfill Complex in Lorton or the I-66 Transfer Station Complex, at the county's published rate, rather than wherever happens to be cheapest that week. It is a real cost line rather than a padding line.
What does Fairfax charge to tip a load?
The published commercial rate for fiscal year 2026 is $90 per ton at the I-95 Landfill Complex, the I-95 Energy/Resource Recovery Facility and the I-66 Transfer Station Complex. There is also a penalty of $166 per ton for loads that break County Code or facility rules. Rates are set annually, so treat that figure as current-year rather than permanent.
Can you remove furniture from an Arlington or Alexandria highrise?
Yes, with notice. Most buildings want the freight elevator booked and a certificate of insurance on file with management before anyone moves anything. Tell us the building when you call and that gets arranged in advance rather than at the front desk on the day.
Tell us the building, not just the pile
In NoVA the building decides the schedule as much as the load does. Give us the address, the floor and whether there is a dock or a freight elevator, and we will have the access sorted before we quote a day. Call or text (978) 328-4523.