Hickory Landfill, Dump & Recycling — Hours, Fees & What They Take
The most useful thing to know about dumping in Hickory: the City's drop-off sites take recycling only, not trash. For garbage you have two choices. Catawba County's convenience centers charge $2 a bag and $20–$30 a pickup, and four are open Saturday until 6 p.m. The Blackburn landfill in Newton takes bigger loads at $41.09 a ton. City customers can also put bulky items at the curb on garbage day.
Here's each site, the hours, and what it costs.
Disposal sites in and around Hickory
Blackburn Landfill
County Landfill
Catawba County Utilities & Engineering — Blackburn Resource Recovery Facility
4017 Rocky Ford Road, Newton, NC 28658 Directions ↗
Free: clean asphalt, brick, block & unreinforced concrete; up to 10 gallons of liquid paint; electronics & TVs (residents); 5 tires a year (residents); mulch
Compost $10 a 3-yard scoop
Uncovered load $50; safety vest required ($1 on site)
The County's fee schedule lists a 7 a.m. weekday opening; its landfill page says 8 a.m. Call before an early run. The grinding area (wood, yard waste, concrete) is open until 4:30 p.m. on weekdays. Wear a safety vest; you can buy one at the gate. Separate clean concrete and brick: they're free, but mixed into a trash load they're billed at $41.09 a ton.
5 sites: Rocky Ford Rd (3864 Rocky Ford Rd, Newton), Bethany Church Rd (2436 Bethany Church Rd, Newton), Cooksville (3659 Rhoney Farm Rd, Vale), Oxford (4637 Lookout Dam Rd, Catawba), Sherrills Ford (8876 Sherrills Ford Rd) Directions to Rocky Ford Rd ↗
Accepts: Bagged household garbage, Furniture, Mattresses, Recycling; Rocky Ford Rd also takes appliances, scrap metal, motor oil & filters, antifreeze and cooking oil
This is the weekend answer. All five are open Saturday, and Oxford and Sherrills Ford are open Sunday too. Garbage must be bagged. Bigger loads are sent to the landfill. The Rocky Ford Road center sits next to the landfill but is a separate site with its own hours.
9th Avenue NE beside Fire Station #2 (under the water tower), and the Solid Waste Transfer Station at 1050 1st Avenue SW, Hickory, NC 28601 Directions to 1st Ave SW ↗
Accepts: Aluminum cans, Newspaper, Cardboard, Mixed paper (9th Ave), Plastics #1 & #2, Green/brown/clear glass, Used motor oil & antifreeze (1st Ave SW)
Recycling only. The City asks that you don't bring non-recyclable trash to either site, despite the “transfer station” name. For trash, use a County convenience center or the landfill.
The Blackburn Landfill in Newton is open Monday to Friday 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and Saturday 8:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., closed Sunday. That Saturday window closes at 11:30, not noon.
For a later weekend run, the County convenience centers are open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and all five are open Saturday; Oxford and Sherrills Ford are also open Sunday. The City's recycling drop-offs are weekdays only: 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on 9th Ave NE, and 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. on 1st Ave SW.
What it costs to dump in Hickory
Hickory residents with City service may not need to haul at all. Bulky items like furniture and mattresses go out at the curb on your garbage day, and appliances are picked up on Thursdays if you call (828) 323-7500.
If you do haul it, a few bags are cheapest at a convenience center: $2 a bag, $20 for a small pickup, $30 for a full-size one. The landfill charges $41.09 a ton with a $20.55 minimum up to 1,000 lbs, so it only makes sense for bigger or heavier loads.
A lot is free at Blackburn if you sort before you go:
Clean asphalt, brick, block and unreinforced concrete — free at the grinding area, if kept separate
Paint and electronics — free for residents (up to 10 gallons of paint a visit)
Tires — up to 5 a year free for Catawba County residents
Mulch — free by the 3-yard scoop (compost is $10)
Household hazardous waste — free County collection events, usually spring and fall
Tearing out a brick patio or a concrete slab? Taking that material separately to the grinding area for free is the biggest saving in the county. Cover your load or pay $50. See what it costs to dump across North Carolina for how Catawba compares.
Haul it yourself, or hire junk removal? — Hickory
Hickory's constraint isn't price, it's logistics. Convenience centers only take bagged garbage and small pickup loads, and the landfill's Saturday gate shuts at 11:30, so a real cleanout means weekday landfill runs. Two ways people get around it:
Haul it yourself — cheapest by a long way if you have a vehicle and can lift it. The gate rates above are the whole cost.
Junk-removal crew — a crew does the loading and hauls it away — check whether the price you are quoted is for curbside or in-home collection. Usually the better call for heavy furniture, appliances, or a cleanout on a deadline.
Not sure which is cheaper for your load? Check an upfront junk-removal price and weigh it against the gate fee — no obligation either way.
Yes, in two ways. The Blackburn Landfill in Newton is open Saturday 8:00 to 11:30 a.m. All five Catawba County convenience centers are open Saturday, most 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., for bagged garbage and small pickup loads. The City's own drop-off sites are weekdays only and take recycling only.
What does it cost to dump in Hickory?
At the County convenience centers: $2 a bag, $20 for a small pickup, $30 for a full-size one. At the Blackburn Landfill: $41.09 a ton from July 1, 2026, with a $20.55 minimum for loads up to 1,000 lbs. Clean concrete, brick and block, paint and electronics are free.
Where do I take construction debris near Hickory?
The Blackburn Landfill at 4017 Rocky Ford Road, Newton, at $41.09 a ton. The County's separate C&D landfill closed in 2023. Clean asphalt, brick, block and unreinforced concrete go free to the grinding area if kept separate.
Is there free disposal in Hickory?
Yes. At the Blackburn Landfill, residents can drop off up to 5 tires a year, paint (up to 10 gallons a visit) and electronics free, plus clean asphalt, brick, block and concrete at the grinding area. Mulch is free by the scoop. Recycling is free at the convenience centers and City drop-offs, and hazardous waste has free County collection events.
Where do I recycle in Hickory?
At either City drop-off: 9th Avenue NE beside Fire Station #2 (weekdays 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.) or the Solid Waste Transfer Station at 1050 1st Ave SW (weekdays 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., which also takes motor oil and antifreeze). Both take recycling only, no trash. Recycling is also free at the County convenience centers.
How do I get rid of a large or heavy load in Hickory?
City customers can put furniture and mattresses at the curb on garbage day, and book appliance pickup at (828) 323-7500. Bigger loads go to the Blackburn Landfill on a weekday. Or get a junk-removal crew to carry it out and haul it. If you'd rather not do the lifting, check an upfront junk-removal price.
