Did you know? Each Public Works Sanitation crew member physically handled more than 1 million pounds of refuse in 2019.

Toter trash carts improve the way Harrisonburg collects trash! The Toter system utilizes a Toter trash cart that attaches to a tipper plate, attached to each of the City's sanitation trucks, to lift the 96- or 48-gallon Toter trash carts provided by Public Works for use at each of the serviced addresses.  The Toter program is cleaner, quicker, and has less of a physical impact on our sanitation workers.  We know you have questions, visit the Toter-FAQ [1] page to see answers to some of the most common Toter questions. Do not see your question in the FAQ's [1]?  Email your question to PublicWorks@HarrisonburgVa.gov [2] or call the office at 540-434-5928.

Toter Flyer - English [3] [388KB]

¡Los Toter están aquí! - Toter Flyer - Español [4] [742KB]

Toter Flyer - Arabic [5] [7MB]

The Toter trash cart program offers a wide range of benefits, including:

• Ease of use for citizens
• Improved curb appeal on "trash day" by making sure everyone has a large, uniform trash cart instead of placing bags on the ground
• Creating progress toward the City's Environmental Action Plan [6] goals
• Increased employee safety by reducing the amount of lifting staff has to endure
• Cleaner streets and stormwater systems (thanks to enclosed, lidded trash carts keeping debris out of the City road and stormwater ways)
• Improved collection operations and efficiency

Clean Your Trash Toter

Sometimes the trash toters get stinky and unsanitary. Check out our videos in both English [7] and Spanish [8] with some helpful tips on how to keep your toters and the City looking clean.