Settled in 1719 and incorporated in 1838, West Donegal Township is named after County Donegal in Ireland. Located west and south of Elizabethtown, in Lancaster County, West Donegal Township comprises an area of 15.6 square miles in land size.

Governed by a five member Board of Supervisors the 2010 census indicates the Township has 8260 residents. The Township is part of the Elizabethtown Area School District with the Rheems Elementary School located in the Township. Located between Harrisburg and Lancaster, West Donegal Township provides residents employment and recreation opportunities with additional amenities in the larger cities. For more information about the Township click here.

West Donegal, Mount Joy, and East Donegal Townships will be hosting a shredding event on Saturday, September 22 from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the Township building located at One Municipal Drive, Elizabethtown.

This event will be free of charge to all residents/businesses that reside or are located within these three townships. Residency identification will be required. We will be limiting the amount of shredding to a maximum of three banker boxes or large 32-gallon bags of paper per property. The shredder can handle staples, paper clips, and rubber bands as well as manila folders and color paper. However, please remove all plastic binders or large binder clips. Boxes or bags containing any materials that cannot be shredded will not be accepted.

Shredding services and equipment will be provided by Tri-State Shredding, who is AAA NAID certified. You can watch while your paper is shredded by bonded personnel and equipment. All shredded paper is then taken for proper and green disposal and the Township is provided with a Certificate of Destruction.

There is no charge to dispose of the shredded paper at this event. However, as it our wish to help others within our community, we are asking those participating in this event for donations of canned goods and boxed items. Please be generous as these donations will be given to the Conoy Brethren in Christ Church’s Food Bank. Last year we donated more than 20 boxes of food and non-perishable items and almost $200 in cash. Their greatest needs include: canned meats, juice, canned/boxed pasta, jams/jellies, cereals, pancake mixes and syrup, and paper products. Baby food and formula will also be accepted. Please no perishable items. Donations should be non-expired, non-breakable, and all items should be in unopened containers. Glass, frozen food, fresh produce/meats or home-made food will not be accepted. Your help is truly appreciated by those in need in our community!

Heisey Quarry Road will be paved today. The road will be closed from Anchor Road to Graybill Farms.

LCSWMA has officially rolled out the " Big 4" (click here to refer to a recent newspaper article) to read about the reasons for the major changes for the recycling industry and how they will impact us. In accordance with this newspaper article, we ask that you click here for the hand out provided by LCSWMA. This is VERY important and the changes should be implemented immediately. We anticipate it will be a work in progress until everyone gets on board.

In addition to the changes to what can be recycled, there are some items such as plastic bags that are not recyclable and should not be placed in the recycling bins. LCSWMA has asked the local haulers to begin checking the curbside recyclables to eliminate contamination of non-recyclable items in the bins. Note that contamination in the bin is NOT the same as those items that are no longer recyclable. Contamination is items that are NOT recyclable and should have been placed in the trash from the beginning. With that request, Waste Management has developed a "Contamination Notice" (click here to see a sample). Should you find one of these notices in your recycling bin, please read what it says and don't take it personally as our objective is to educate everyone on what should and should not be placed in a recycling bin.

Please note a revision from what is published in the newsletter and from what has been done the past few years.

For this year, there will be charge of $1.00 for a pack of 5 Kraft yard waste bags; 10 for $2.00 and 20 for $3.00 (cash or check only). Those of you who have a few bags leftover from last year may use them. Yard waste/woody waste pick up will begin April 10 & 11 (depending on which day your trash/recycling is picked up) and all bags & bundled woody waste should be placed curbside with your trash & recycling. Yard waste/woody waste pick up is every two weeks. Check the calendar on the website for the pick up dates.

We do remind everyone that grass clippings are NOT yard waste and to mulch all that you can and leave it on the ground.

Thank you for your cooperation. As costs associated with trash/recycling continue to increase, we continue to try to keep costs to a minimum while recycling all we can.

West Donegal Township is implementing a cellular, text-based alert system for residents of the township. This system is similar to what the Elizabethtown Area School District and other organizations and municipalities use to inform residents, in a timely manner, regarding late breaking and emergency information.

If you are interested in joining this system, please text “YES” to (208) 252-4718 from your cellular device.

Additional message and data rates may apply. West Donegal Township is not liable for any additional charges you may incur from your cellular service provider for messages received from this system.