Transfer Stations


Transfer station means a facility created to receive solid waste from collection areas and transport in bulk in covered vehicles or containers to waste processing and, or, disposal facilities. Some transfer stations are also called resource recovery facilities; many are open to the public and accept construction and household waste.

Transfer stations are an important lynchpin in the municipal solid waste management system. They are facilities, buildings, campuses where waste is consolidated into large transfer batches for subsequent transport and/or processing. Trucks may bring waste from household or commercial building collection to the station, where the truck is emptied so it can go out again. The emptied waste is mixed with waste from other sources. Either before or after mixing, there may be some removal of items identified as worth recycling: probably metal, glass, and cardboard will be separated. Sometimes paper, fabrics, and plastic will be removed. If air conditioners come through, they will be processed to remove freon. If tires come through, they will probably be separated and diverted to waste tire facilities.

The NAICS code for transfer stations is 562111 - Solid Waste

As a generator of waste, you probably won’t directly deal with a transfer station. But your waste will go through them and in rare cases, you may be asked to interact with the management of a station if they have a question about your waste.