Solid Waste
"Let's Talk Trash"

New Unincorporated
Chatham County
Monthly Bulky Item
Collection Rules and Schedule
Started Friday, July 23, 1999

Chatham has one collection route within each area of the County per month.

•Definition: Bulky Item -- Materials that will NOT fit into a household roll-off container.
•Most materials collected from bulk collection days go to the landfill.
•Bulky items include such items as: Small furniture, small appliances, gardening equipment, sofa, etc.
•Appliances for example freezer, refrigerator, washing machine, etc. please call Public Works at 912-652-6840 to make special arrangements.
•Household garbage is NOT a collected waste.
•Plastic bags may be used (if left open for inspection) in conjunction with bulky items.
•Keep bulky items separate from yard waste.
•Place bulky items at curbside, away from utility and mail boxes by no later than 7:00 a.m. on the day of collection.

MONTHLY COLLECTION SCHEDULE

1st Friday of Month Westside
2nd Friday of Month The Landings
3rd Friday of Month Isle of Hope/Whitfield Ave./Eastside
4th Friday of Month Island Areas

QUESTIONS? Call (912)-652-6863

New Weekly
Yard Waste Recycling Program
Started Monday, July 19, 1999!

" THE RULES FOR RECYCLING YARD WASTE":

Yard Waste ONLY collected, once, weekly.
Separate yard waste from other bulky items.
Put "baggable" yard waste, such as pine straw, grass clippings, leaves, in a reusable container or purchase compostable Kraft paper bags. NO PLASTIC BAGS!
Keep weight of containers or bags to 50 lbs. or less.
Stack loose branches, limbs, brush, and larger tree prunings at the curbside for collection. Maximum of 4 ft. lengths for tree trunks.
Place all yard waste at the curb by no later than 7:00 a.m. on the day of collection.
Stack all yard waste, including Kraft bags and loose materials away from utility and mail boxes.
Yard waste contaminated with plastic bags or bulky items or other non-vegetative yard waste materials WILL NOT BE COLLECTED.

REMEMBER: Recycling Yard Waste Saves:
Landfill space
Money
Time

QUESTIONS?: CALL (912)-652-6863 OR (912)-652-6858

County Savings Continue to Mount through
Yard Waste Recycling Program

For the second month since its beginning in July 1999, Chatham County avoided nearly $28,000 in disposal fees in September by recycling and diverting over 1,200 tons of yard waste collected into a reusable chip/mulch product.  This brings the total disposal savings to over $58,000.

An even more positive note is that all the chip/mulch produced has been given away to the public free of charge.  The chip/mulch material is available at County drop-off centers during normal operating hours.  Residents interested in the material should bring containers and appropriate loading equipment.

Want to Cut Your
Yard Work Time in a Third?
THEN, CUT NO MORE THAN 1/3, AND REMEMBER:

Understand your grass:

•Grass clippings do not have to be composted to be recycled. Leaving them on the lawn, most will decompose quickly.
%- 90% of grass is water.
•Grasscycling does not cause thatch when done by the 1/3 Rule.*

Use the right tools:

•There is no need to buy a mulching lawn mower, unless you need a new lawn mower. A sharp blade on an existing mower will do the job.
•Keep mower blades sharp. Sharp blades cut the clippings smaller. Sharp blades also made a cleaner cut, which is better for the grass.

Know how to mow:

•Mow in a pattern that evenly distributes the grass clippings.
•Mow every 5 to 7 days during the spring and summer months.
•Mowing more often actually saves time because clippings are not being bagged.
•Mow when the grass in dry. Dry grass scatters better than wet grass.

Go easy on the water:

•Irrigate correctly to maintain a moderate growth. No more than 1 inch of water is needed twice per week, including rainfall, for healthy growth in the summer.

TO HAVE MORE TIME FOR FUN THIS SUMMER:

Remember the 1/3 Rule:
Remove no more than 1" of grass or the top 1/4 to 1/3 of the blade each time the yard is mowed!