Over 550 Christmas Trees Treecycled

DALTON, GA -  On Saturday, January 8, residents of Whitfield County participated in the annual Christmas tree recycling event called “Bring One For The Chipper”.  The free event organized by Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful took place at The Home Depot on Shugart Road and included the participation of 25 volunteers from several organizations.  “Bring One For The Chipper” has been a holiday tradition in Dalton-Whitfield for over ten years.  The 2011 event marked 20 years of “treecycling” in the state of Georgia.

During the event 145 residents dropped off their live Christmas tree for recycling in exchange for free seedlings, seeds, discount coupons, and if they came during lunch, a free spicy biscuit from Chick-fil-A.  Mascots greeting visitors included the Chipper, official mascot for “Bring One For The Chipper”, the Chick-fil-A Spicy Cow, and Recycling Ben from the Target Recycling Program.  Trees collected were recycled into mulch that will be used for beautification projects and is available for free to residents within Whitfield County.

Residents who missed the event were able to “treecycle” with curbside pickup from City of Dalton Public Works or yard waste drop-off at a Convenience Center.  During December and January, over 550 Christmas trees were collected in Whitfield County through the event and secondary collection options.  Statewide over 5.5 million trees have been recycled as mulch or habitats for wildlife since the beginning of the program in 1991.

Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful would like to thank the following organizations for contributing to this year’s event: Dalton-Whitfield Solid Waste Authority, Whitfield County - Georgia Forestry Commission, Whitfield County Public Works Department, The Home Depot in Dalton, Dalton Falls Miniature Golf, Chick-fil-A on Walnut Ave. I-75, City of Dalton Public Works Department, The Daily Citizen, and Daylight Donuts on Old Dixie Hwy.  State level sponsors for this year’s event include the Georgia Department of Community Affairs’ Keep Georgia Beautiful program, The Home Depot, The Davey Tree Expert Company, Ferry-Morse Seed Co., and 11 Alive – Atlanta’s NBC Affiliate.

For more information visit www.KeepDaltonWhitfieldBeautiful.org or call 706-278-5001.

Electronic waste piling up

The Dalton-Whitfield Solid Waste Authority's electronics recycling program was featured in a story by the Chattanooga Times Free Press on January 20, 2011. To read the whole story click here: Electronic Waste Piling Up

Whitfield County and Dalton, Ga., have collected e-scrap since the county collected 13.4 tons in its first drop-off event in February 2008, said Liz Swafford with the Dalton-Whitfield Solid Waste Authority.

In 2010, the waste authority collected 12.66 tons of e-scrap for recycling — equivalent to the weight of 10 compact cars, Swafford said.

Electronics recycling is available year round at the Old Dixie Hwy. Landfill and Convenience Center location only. Please see the on site attendant for assistance.

Landfill and Convenience Centers to be OPEN on Monday, January 17

DALTON, GA - The Dalton-Whitfield Solid Waste Authority facilities will be OPEN on Monday, January 17, 2011 during their regularly scheduled hours of 7:00 am to 6:00 pm. Locations include the Old Dixie Landfill & Convenience Center, McGaughey Chapel Convenience Center, Westside Convenience Center, and the M.L. King Convenience Center.  For detailed listings of the locations visit the Convenience Centers page.

All Locations OPEN on Wednesday, January 12

DALTON, GA – The Dalton-Whitfield Solid Waste Authority facilities will reopen on Wednesday, January 12, 2011.  The Old Dixie Landfill will open at 8:00 am, and Convenience Centers will open at 10:00 am. Convenience Centers include, McGaughey Chapel, Westside, Old Dixie and M.L. King. For detailed listings of the locations visit the Convenience Centers page.

CLOSED on Tuesday, January 11

DALTON, GA - The Dalton-Whitfield Solid Waste Authority facilities will be CLOSED on Tuesday, January 11, 2011 due to inclement weather.  Locations include the Old Dixie Landfill & Convenience Center, McGaughey Chapel Convenience Center, Westside Convenience Center, and the M.L. King Convenience Center.  For detailed listings of the locations visit the Convenience Centers page.