Retire Old Glory with Respect

With Flag Day on June 14 and the Fourth of July coming up, it’s time to inspect your current flag. If the American Flag flying at your home or business is faded, torn, tattered or frayed, it should be replaced. 

Prince William County Solid Waste offers a way to retire U.S. Flags with the respect that aligns with the U.S. Flag Code that states “the flag, when it is in such condition that it is no longer a fitting emblem for display, should be destroyed in a dignified way, preferably by burning.”

Prince William County residents can bring old or tattered American flags to the county’s American Flag Collection Center at the Prince William County Landfill and the Balls Ford Road Compost Facility. Both facilities are open Monday-Friday from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Flags are then appropriately retired by local Boy Scout groups in a traditional ceremony or a private one at the Covanta waste to energy facility. 

“The flag collection center opened in 2014 as a free service coordinated by the Boy Scouts’ Prince William District. Residents and businesses have an easy and convenient way to make sure old flags are properly retired,” said Solid Waste Division Communications Analyst Deborah Campbell. 

Visit pwcva.gov/trashandrecycling for holiday hours and other Solid Waste Division programs and services.