Sanitation

SANDIA HEIGHTS SERVICES SANITATION DEPARTMENT HAS A DEDICATED TEAM PROVIDING EXCEPTIONAL REFUSE AND RECYCLE COLLECTION FOR SANDIA HEIGHTS, PRIMROSE POINTE AND NORTH TRAMWAY ESTATES RESIDENTS.

Refuse must be at the road edge no later than 7:00 a.m on the day of scheduled collection and no earlier than 5:00 p.m the night before.

All refuse and recycling must be placed inside your Sandia Heights Services bins (Trash: brown lid / Recycle: green lid) not outside, sitting next to or on top of the bins. Please see the Refuse Collection Policy page for more detailed information.

Should you have additional items that need to be picked up, a Special Pickup may be scheduled by calling Customer Service at (505) 856-6419. Special Pickups are scheduled for Monday’s only and requests must be made no later than 4:30 p.m the Friday prior to the pickup on the following Monday. The minimum cost is $20.00 depending on volume and/or weight.

Items considered to be a special pickup include but are not limited to:

• Furniture
• Appliances (written certification from service person that compressor has been removed)
• Bags/Bundles that will not fit in your trash bin

Please be advised, per Bernalillo County solid waste regulations, items not allowed for pickup at any time include but are not limited to the following:

• Lumber scraps, tires or batteries
• Construction materials, hazardous waste
• Flammables, open piles of weeds/chamisa
• Electronic Devices/Televisions/Aerosol spray cans/Pesticides/Antifreeze/Fuels
• Dirt/Rocks/Gravel/Sand/ Concrete/Brick/Cinder Block

ALLOWED Recyclables:

• #1 through #7 plastic bottles/tubs, rinsed and caps removed & rigid plastic toys
• Phone books, junk mail, brown paper bags, cereal boxes (chipboard) & paper egg cartons
• Newspapers, magazines, catalogs, junk mail, office paper, paperback and hardback books
• Corrugated cardboard (no dirty pizza boxes) broken down to fit in recycle bin
• Aluminum &tin cans, lids removed and cans rinsed & foil & pie pans
• Small electronics & appliances, NO televisions

Do I Have To Rinse My Recyclables?

Jars, Bottles and Cans:

• If the empty jars, bottles, and cans have visible residue within the container, you should rinse them out before tossing them in the recycling bin.
• This doesn’t mean you need to break out the dish soap and a sponge in order to clean out the remaining contents. All you need to do is fill the jar, bottle, or can with water and swish the water around until a majority of the remaining contents are removed from the sides. That’s it!
• However, for containers that were filled with more sticky substances (jelly, honey, marshmallow fluff), take the extra few seconds to give it a quick scrub.

Cardboard and Paper Guidelines:

• Grease and oil make cardboard and paper unrecyclable, so pizza boxes covered in grease aren’t fit for the recycling bin. However, if the box is mostly clean with just a few specks of grease, you’re fine to recycle it.
• The same goes for other contaminants. If you’re making pancakes and a drop of egg lands on the box, it’s still clean enough to recycle. However, too much of a mess will make it impossible to recycle.
• Additionally, crumpled, torn or misshapen paper and cardboard can be recycled the same as flat products. As a side note, paper that has been shredded or torn into bits must be contained in paper bags to avoid the small pieces from blowing away and causing littering.

Throw Away Heavily Soiled Items:

• Items that are heavily soiled or impossible to clean, unfortunately cannot be recycled and should simply be thrown away.

NOT PERMITTED for Recycle:

• Glass, styrofoam, wrapping paper or plastic grocery bags
• Food, garbage, yard waste or wood
• Batteries, light bulbs or ink cartridges
• TVs or computer monitors
• Hazardous waste, motor oil bottles,
• Sharp metal or medical waste/needles

Should you need assistance with your bins, please download the Assistance Form, have your healthcare provider certify the need for assistance and submit the completed form to our office.

HOLIDAY SANITATION & RECYCLE SCHEDULE FOR 2024

* Holidays not listed below are not observed by Sanitation and will not affect collection.