Transfer Station Accepted and Unaccepted Items

Columbia County Transfer Station

Location: 1601 Railroad Ave., St. Helens, OR 97051

Recycling (for free)

Drop off these items at the Recycling Center for free. (Alert scalehouse staff if you have paint to be directed to the right area.)

Accepted items:

• Cartons: milk and juice
• Cardboard: all corrugated cardboard - flattened
• Paper: newspaper, paper bags, paperback books, magazines, catalogs, scrap paper, printer/copy paper, cereal boxes, junk mail, egg cartons
• Metal: aluminum, steel and tin cans, foil, scrap metal (metal cooking pots), empty paint cans, and aerosols. Appliances: metal dishwashers, water heaters, clothes washers and dryers, stoves only
• Plastic: bottles, jugs, yogurt tubs, buckets, rigid plant pots
• Glass: bottles and jars. No window glass, dishware, cookware, porcelain or ceramics.

• Electronic Waste or E-waste: computers, monitors, printers, mice, keyboards, televisions, tablets
• Batteries: All cellphones, alkaline, lithium primary, coin or button cell, lithium-ion, nickel-metal hydride, nickel cadmium, small sealed lead-acid batteries under 25 pounds. (Never throw batteries in the trash or recycling. Give batteries to scalehouse staff for proper handling and disposal).
• Motor oil: leave on the cart near electronics area (motor oil must be in the original container or labeled "motor oil". Do NOT mix motor oil with anything else.)
• Paint (latex, oil, acrylic, stains): For residents only. Drop off up to 10 gallons a day. (Alert scalehouse staff and drive across scale to paint area).

Recycling (for a fee): Fees located here.

Accepted items:

• Appliances with refrigerant: refrigerator, freezers, A/C units
• Antifreeze
• Automotive batteries (lead-acid)
• Fluorescent tubes
• Tires (on and off rim)
• Yard debris 
• Used oil filters (drained, bagged & placed with used motor oil).

Unaccepted items:

• Any material containing asbestos (read here for more information).
• Bio-medical waste
• Construction and demolition waste including but not limited to: roofing, drywall, wood
• Cement (Call Scappoose Sand and Gravel for drop off or Hillsboro Landfill)
• Dirt, rocks, sod, soil
• Dead animals
• Electric vehicle batteries (contact the manufacturer)
• Products with batteries that cannot be taken out.
• Radioactive materials

Garbage

• Cords, wires, hoses
• Glass: windows, dishware, cookware, porcelain or ceramics
• Household trash (donate items in good condition)
• Plastic bags or stretchy plastics: bread bags, newspaper bags, produce bags, dry cleaning bags, air pillows, case wrap, bubble wrap (drop off at select locations for recycling - Plastic Bag and Film Recycling.org)
• Polystyrene or Styrofoam

Hazardous waste

• Check out the household hazardous waste collection event schedule for more information.

When in doubt, call the Transfer Station at 503-397-9811 or the County Solid Waste Coordinator at 503-397-7259 for specific information.