Thursday, July 17, 2025
Sanitary District No. 6 serves Elmont, Franklin Square and several nearby towns, covering more than 30,000 homes on Long Island. The district, established in 1928, is supervised by the Town of Hempstead and funded by local tax dollars. Steven Fredericks, general supervisor of the district’s board of commissioners, said employees are public servants whose goal is to meet the community’s needs as efficiently as possible. More information, including each town’s garbage pickup schedule, is available at SanitaryDistrict6.com. Residents can also call the office at (516) 489-2889.
1. What residents should know
Sanitary District No. 6 collects garbage, recyclables and lawn clippings, as well as various junk items from residents cleaning out their homes and garages. These are picked up on designated collection days. Fredericks emphasized that garbage and recyclables should be placed at the curb only after 7 p.m. the night before the scheduled pickup, and must be retrieved before 7 p.m. the evening after. Residents can contact the district to arrange special pickups for large items such as mattresses or furniture. Cardboard is not recyclable if it is dirty, Fredericks said — meaning pizza boxes and other food-soiled cardboard cannot be placed with recyclables because oils contaminate the material. If residents are in need of new trash cans, they can contact the office and will be provided a replacement.
2. What businesses should know
Sanitary District No. 6 does not provide litter pickup services in front of businesses, Fredericks said. Instead, business owners are responsible for cleaning the sidewalks and parking areas adjacent to their properties. The district is only responsible for curbside garbage collection. Similar to residential procedures, business owners should place their trash in garbage bags and put them in a trashcan at the curb. For businesses that generate large amounts of oils, grease or animal byproducts — such as restaurants — Fredericks said owners can contact the district, which will refer them to fat rendering companies equipped to handle that type of waste. The district can also connect businesses with resources to recycle large amounts of clean cardboard, which Fredericks said is in high demand.
3. What happens to your trash?
After the sanitary district collects trash, it is transported to various private facilities that recycle or repurpose it. Regular garbage is typically sent to Reworld, a private energy-from-waste and industrial waste management company in Hempstead, where it is incinerated at high temperatures to generate enough energy to power more than 55,000 homes annually. Compostable waste — such as lawn clippings and food scraps — is taken to private composting sites like the El Corazon Compost Facility in Oceanside, where it is turned into mulch. Recyclables — demand for which has declined in recent years, Fredericks said — are sold to local contractors that sort, sell and repurpose materials like newspapers, cans, plastics and glass.
