Hays County operates this yard under its current name, the Hays County Citizens Collection - Wimberley, at 1691 Carney Lane at the end of CR 278. The county is explicit about who it is for: the two collection sites exist for rural households that have no waste or recycling service at the kerb, because Hays County runs no trash pick-up of its own. Gates are open Tuesday to Saturday, 8am to 4pm, and shut on Sunday, Monday and official county holidays.

There is a published rate card, although the copy the county hosts carries an effective date of 1 July 2017, so a quick call to (512) 618-7175 before an expensive trip is sensible. Household trash runs $15 per cubic yard against a $2 floor. Construction material and metal debris are both $25 per cubic yard with a $10 floor, and brush is likewise $25 per cubic yard. One detail catches people out: loads are measured unbounded, so the empty space inside a trailer is charged the same as the rubbish in it.

Larger items are priced individually. Empty fridges and freezers cost $20 small or $25 large, with air-conditioning units between $15 and $25. Washers, dryers, water heaters and barbecues are $10 apiece. Seating ranges from $5 to $25 by size, sectionals billed per piece; end, coffee and kitchen tables are $10 or $20, and dressers or other bulky furniture $25. Televisions fall between $10 and $25. Mattress sets are $14 twin, $16 full, $20 queen, $25 king. Car tyres below 35 inches cost $8 off the wheel and $10 still on it, while large equipment tyres are quoted by phone. Cash, cheque and credit cards are all taken.

An attendant checks every arrival in before unloading begins, and recycling has to be sorted into the right containers rather than tipped in loose. The centre receives number 1 and number 2 plastic bottles only, flattened corrugated cardboard, glass jars and bottles with lids and caps removed, paper of most kinds, aluminium and tin cans, batteries, motor oil, antifreeze and fluorescent tubes. Electronics are welcome too: desktops, laptops, servers, hard drives, tablets, mobile phones, circuit boards and cabling. Turned away are number 3, 5 and 7 plastics, plastic bags, pool chemicals, petrol, diesel, brake and transmission fluid, other flammable liquids, pressurised containers and anything bio-hazardous.

Nothing hazardous is handled on site. Those materials go to the City of San Marcos collection facility on East Hopkins Street opposite the big HEB, free to Hays County residents who can prove where they live, open Friday noon to 3.30pm and Saturday 8am to midday as a drive-through where you stay in the vehicle. Note that the county page gives the number as 634 while the city brochure prints 630. Plan to finish unloading by 4pm, and remember that no large load is accepted after 3.30pm.