County-wide recycling

Editor's note: This is the third of three articles submitted by the Dalton-Whitfield Regional Solid Waste Management Authority. They can all be found on the Web site through "search our site."

Don’t live in the city and don’t have curbside recycling collection? Don’t worry, you have lots of other recycling options to choose from. Every time you take your garbage to a convenience center you can deposit your recycling as well. This is a free service and we hope you are taking advantage of it. Many of you have realized that recycling is important because these convenience centers collected just over 2,200,000 pounds of recyclable material at these sites in 2008.

While that is a lot of stuff recycled through these centers, less than half of our citizens are fully utilizing the recycling opportunities offered at these sites, just as in the city. We have a goal of increasing participation in all of our programs for 2010 and hope that you will join us in that effort.

There are four sites located throughout the county for your convenience. Here is a list of those sites, hours of operations and materials accepted. These facilities are open Monday – Friday, 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday, 7 a.m. – 3 p.m., except as noted.

Old Dixie Landfill, 4189 Old Dixie Highway

McGaughey Chapel Transfer Station, 819 McGaughey Chapel Road (closed Wednesday)

Martin Luther King, Jr. Transfer Station, 1924 ML King Blvd

Westside Transfer Station, 2598 Landfill Road (closed Tuesday)

They accept aluminum cans; steel cans; glass bottles and jars – all colors; newspapers; magazines; mixed paper; telephone books; cardboard and paperboard; #1 and #2 plastic bottles and jars; rechargeable batteries; lead acid batteries; scrap metals; used motor oil; yard trimmings; scrap tires (fee varies based on size); electronics; carpet and padding at Old Dixie Highway site only (requires fee)

The Dalton-Whitfield Solid Waste Authority also operates a permanent household hazardous waste collection facility at the Old Dixie Landfill site that is open the third Saturday of every month from 7 a.m. – 2 p.m. This site is designed to give Whitfield County residents an environmentally friendly disposal option for common household items that are hazardous and toxic – items that many people may not realize can cause harm to our environment and health if not disposed of properly.

MATERIALS ACCEPTED

Latex and Oil Based Paints

Pesticides

Varnishes and Paint Thinners

Aerosol Cans

Cleaning Solvents

Oven Cleaner

Batteries

Insecticides and Weed Killers

Pool Chemicals

Used Motor Oil and other Automotive liquids

MATERIALS NOT ACCEPTED

Explosives

Ammunition

Business Generated Waste

Compressed Gases

Radioactive Materials

Dioxin Pre-Cursors

Silvex

Penta Chlorophenol

2,4,5 Tri Cholorophenol

Medical Wastes

This facility was the very first to open in the State of Georgia and complies with all State and Federal regulations in dealing with these hazardous materials. Employees, all HAZWOPER certified, handle the materials collected, and secure proper storage for them until licensed hazardous waste vendors come to the site to remove them. We are lucky to have such a model facility here in our community.

Managing carpet waste is certainly a high priority in the “Carpet Capital of the World” and the Dalton-Whitfield Solid Waste Authority found an innovative method of dealing with this specialized waste stream. Recycling markets were secured for 2,918 tons of the carpet and the rest needed to be handled at the landfill. By getting approval to develop a “monofill,” they are able to put this material into an unlined landfill cell which not only allows for potential recovery of the material in the future if markets become available, but also reduces the handling costs and extending the life of the regular Subtitle D landfill. Some mills bale their carpet waste before delivering it to the monofill, but for those who can’t bale their carpet residue, the Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) takes in loose carpet and bales it and then takes it to this special section of the landfill.

Individuals can bring their carpet and padding waste to the Old Dixie Landfill and put it into special containers and pay reduced landfill charges while supporting an important waste disposal alternative. Some of this carpet (2,918 tons) is actually recycled and not sent to the landfill at all.

Another exciting and creative program that Dalton-Whitfield Solid Waste Authority designed is its “Target Recycling” program. By purchasing over two hundred front loading recycling containers and the truck to service them, recycling opportunities for our citizens around the county increased dramatically. Targeting locations where large numbers of our local community work, shop, go to school or play, highly visible recycling bins have been placed, making recycling easily accessible to almost 50,000 local citizens. This program has been implemented in all city and county schools and they have already recycled almost 200 tons in 2009 through this program. Imagine all that paper being diverted into the recycling stream instead of being buried in the landfill! For locations of these public recycling bins, and more information on any of our programs, call the Dalton-Whitfield Solid Waste Authority at (706) 278-5001 or (706) 277-2545.

As we discussed in the very first article of this series, there are so many benefits to our community by recycling that we hope you will utilize one of the many recycling opportunities provided by both the city and county. Recycling is an easy habit to acquire and we are constantly striving to make it accessible to more and more people. So don't waste your chance to recycle, get involved today.