My Turn: Programs to benefit Gaston County residents coming up
You know it’s fall in Gaston County when we have two wonderful events happening involving Gaston County Solid Waste and Recycling.
Mulch sales are happening for the next four Saturdays (started on Sept. 16, 2023) from 8 a.m.-noon, and 1-4 p.m. Bring your pick-ups, your trailers, your dump trucks! We’ve got lots of mulch to beautify the yards of Gaston County. At just $2/scoop, it remains the best bargain in the county. Yes, it’s a little bit of work, but this is the excuse you need to enjoy the fall weather and reap the benefits of sunshine and exercise. Price comparison with mulch from the store, we win! You still need to load from the store, unload at your home but pay lots more. Come see us…you will need to bring a tarp to cover your load, and a rake is handy to even out the mulch.
Second wonderful thing… Household Hazardous Waste Event at the Dallas Park, Saturday, Sept. 23, 2023, from 8 until 11:30 a.m. This is the third of four scheduled collections for 2023. If you are out of town, mark your calendar for Nov. 4, 2023, as the last collection event this year. I hear of so many folks who decide to move and are stuck with household chemicals that they don’t want to take with them… on the other hand, so many folks who move into a new-to-them home find a mess left by the previous owners. Do the right thing now and preemptively look through your supply of household chemicals, paints and pesticides and get rid of the ones you are no longer using.
Some do’s and don’ts to make this event easy and quick:
Gaston County homeowners ONLY. We will check licenses.
No businesses, churches, or schools.
Please box up the loose items… paints do not need to be boxed.
Please remain in your vehicle. We have staff to remove items from your vehicle.
Please follow the signs to our HHW event. As you turn onto Leisure Lane, in the Dallas Park, you will come to a fork, stay to the right. Take the next right turn towards the stables and drive between the two rows of stables. Our HHW trailer is straight ahead and there should be a 52-foot trailer from “Republic”… hard to miss that vehicle.
The things we will be accepting are as follows: paints (oil-based, latex, craft, aerosols), all things related to painting like paint thinner, caulks, stains, etc. Please do not bring your paint trash like rollers or brushes. We accept all household cleaners, drain cleaners, and pool chemicals. As the summer winds up, many folks clean out their pool chemicals, and you can bring them to us. We take all kinds of poisons… stuff that kills weeds to stuff that kills critters like mice and rats. Anything that could be dangerous to a human, we will take to dispose. We take flammable materials too, like kerosene, lamp oil, old or bad gas, motor oil, antifreeze, and oil filters. We take any household items that contain mercury like fluorescent tubes, thermostats, thermometers, or other items that may have mercury. We also take cooking oil… even though technically, not a hazardous waste, but we will accept and bring back to our landfill to pour up into our cooking oil tank… may save some people a trip. We accept RECHARGEABLE batteries. Alkaline batteries, the typical Energizer, Duracell, Kodak, etc., AAA, AA or AA can be thrown into your trash. Rechargeable batteries are typically the ones in our tools, electronics, and hearing aids that we plug in to reenergize.
We will also have a medication drop off, and as usual, no syringes or any blood-stained items, but accepting pills, liquids, and capsules. This can be prescription medications as well as over-the-counter medications.
Please no tires, electronics, or household trash. Looking forward to seeing you on Saturday!
Nan Kirlin is the recycling coordinator for Gaston County.
This article originally appeared on The Gaston Gazette: My Turn: Programs to benefit Gaston County residents coming up
