BERRYVILLE, VA (Feb. 13, 2019) After only five weekends of operation, the Clarke County Convenience Center has added Monday hours. Beginning Feb. 18, the facility for household trash and recyclables is open 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Mondays in addition to 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturdays and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sundays.

The center, located at 90 Quarry Road (Rt. 612) in the northeastern part of the county, opened on Jan. 12. Snow, rain, and freezing temperatures on a few weekends affected use, but traffic is picking up. About 90 residents went to the center on opening day, and it closed early the second day because of a snowstorm. Since then, more than 100 county residents use the facility each Saturday and between 50 and 100 use it on Sundays. When spring finally arrives, county officials expect the center to be quite busy.

The Clarke County Convenience Center is the first county-operated facility for household trash and recyclable materials. The county operates it through a shared agreement with the Frederick County (Va.) Landfill & Solid Waste system that includes the regional landfill and 11 convenience centers for household trash.

The convenience center only accepts bagged household trash. It has containers for unbagged recyclables: paper, cardboard, aluminum, and plastic (#1 and #2). The facility does not accept plastics #3 through #7 or glass, as these are no longer in demand as recyclable materials.
An attendant is on-site whenever the convenience center is open to assist residents and maintain the site.

Only Berryville and Boyce residents have regular trash service. Other Clarke County residents pay for private trash pickup, or they use Frederick County convenience centers located at Double Tollgate (4201 Stonewall Jackson Hwy.), Stephenson (235 Hot Run Dr.), and Greenwood (801 Greenwood Rd., Winchester). Residents in southern Clarke County use the Warren County convenience center at Shenandoah Farms (47 Blue Mountain Rd., Front Royal). Clarke residents also use the Frederick County Regional Landfill at 280 Landfill Rd. in Winchester.

A county-owned and operated convenience center for household trash was a priority for the Board of Supervisors since 1999, but finding a suitable location proved challenging. In 2015, Stuart M. Perry Quarry Inc. generously offered 2 acres in the northeast corner of its 149-acre property at Harry Byrd Highway (Va. 7) and Quarry Road. Clarke Supervisors accepted and added the project to the capital budget in 2015, setting aside funds toward the project every year.

The total project cost — $936,172 — included architectural and engineering fees, permits, advertising, excavation, construction, a trash compactor with hopper, two (2) 40-yard compaction containers, four (4) 30-yard recycling containers, fencing, and security cameras as well other associated purchases and fees for electricity, water, and sewer hookups.

Clarke County is leasing the 2-acre property from Stuart M. Perry Inc. at no cost for 20 years with an option to renew the lease for another 20 years.