Backyard Composter Sale this Saturday, May 7

DALTON, GA – Celebrate International Compost Awareness Week on Saturday, May 7 during Downtown Dalton Saturday Market from 9 am to 1 pm with Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful.  You will receive educational materials about backyard composting and have the opportunity to purchase a “Garden Gourmet” Backyard Composter for only $45 (regular retail price $75.99).  A portion of each sale benefits Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful programs like ‘Bring One For The Chipper’, Adopt a Mile, and ‘The Great American Cleanup’.

Gardeners refer to composting as “turning your garbage into gold” because it saves landfill space, conserves natural resources, and improves soil quality.  Items that can be added to your compost pile include coffee grounds, tea bags, fruit and vegetable scraps, leaves, hair and grass clippings.  The “Garden Gourmet” backyard composter is an attractive bin that fits neatly into almost any backyard space thanks to its efficient design.  This easy to assemble bin is made from 51% recycled plastic and includes convenient features like a sliding bottom door to remove compost.  This is an ideal choice for beginners since it includes a basic composting and user guide.

For more information about Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful visit www.keepdaltonwhitfieldbeautiful.org or call 706-226-6211.  For more information about International Compost Awareness Week, visit the US Composting Council at www.compostingcouncil.org.

GA-SWANA Scholarships Awarded to Dalton and Chatsworth Students

Kasey N. Hendrick receives her scholarship award from Mr. Harvey Levitt, Treasurer for GA-SWANA and Operations Manager at the Dalton-Whitfield Solid Waste Authority.  (Not pictured is Nathaniel B. Hammontree.)

The Georgia Chapter of the Solid Waste Association of North America has awarded five Academic Scholarships this year to outstanding High School seniors and College students in the Environmental Science field.   Two of the scholarships were awarded to students in Northwest Georgia.

Dalton resident Kasey Nicole Hendrick, who attends Southeast Whitfield High School, was awarded a scholarship in the amount of $1,500.  She has been accepted to Piedmont College and plans to study Nursing.

Chatsworth resident and Murray County High School student, Nathaniel Blake Hammontree was awarded a scholarship in the amount of $1,000.   Hammontree has been accepted to the University of West Georgia and plans to study Environmental Science.

SWANA maintains that the education of students and the general public is an important step in eliminating some of our biggest solid waste management problems.  The scholarship program aims to support the growth of knowledgeable and responsible solid waste management professionals for the future.  For more information about the GA SWANA Scholarship program visit www.gaswana.org. 

Community Pride Day on April 16, 2011

Annual Bulky Waste and Electronics Collection Day for Whitfield County

DALTON, GA – Community Pride Day during the Great American Cleanup will be on Saturday, April 16 from 8:00 am to 2:00 pm.  Community Pride Day facilitates Spring Cleaning by inviting Whitfield county residents to dispose of bulky items and electronics without paying disposal fees at select drop-off locations.  The Old Dixie Hwy. Landfill and Convenience Center is the Main Location for this event.  Community Locations include three middle schools, Westside Middle School, Eastbrook Middle School, and North Whitfield Middle School.

To download the event ad, click on the image to the left.

All four locations will be accepting bulky items for disposal and electronics for recycling.  Bulky items include furniture, household equipment, and appliances.  Electronics include computers, digital cameras, cell phones, printers, scanners, and laptops.  There is a limit of one television accepted per vehicle.  Small electronics collected this year will benefit the 2011 Relay for Life of Whitfield County.

The Old Dixie Landfill and Convenience Center is the only location accepting Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) that includes household pesticides, pool chemicals, varnish and latex paints.  For a complete list of HHW please visit www.DWSWA.org or call 706-277-2545.

Community Pride Day is open to residents of Whitfield County only.  Only residential or household waste will be accepted.  No business, commercial, construction or demolition waste is accepted.  Tires are not included in this event and should be disposed of at a Convenience Center for a minimal fee.  Household hazardous waste and tires will not be accepted at the school locations.

If you are unable to attend the event this year, please keep in mind that Household Hazardous Waste is accepted at the Old Dixie Landfill and Convenience Center on the third Saturday of the month from 7 am to 2 pm.  Electronics are accepted year round at the same location, Monday thru Friday 7 am to 6 pm, and Saturday 7 am to 3 pm.

Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful, the Dalton-Whitfield Solid Waste Authority, and Whitfield County Public Works organize this annual event.  For more information or to volunteer, call Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful at 706-226-6211, visit www.keepdaltonwhitfieldbeautiful.org, or e-mail lswafford@dwswa.org.

City of Dalton Curbside Recycling Increases in 2010

DALTON, GA - During 2010 the City of Dalton Curbside Recycling program increased the amount of materials collected for recycling in by 8% compared to 2009. Participating Dalton residents collected 1,088 tons or 2,175,800 pounds from January to December 2010 making it the largest amount collected on record. In fact, it was the second year in a row that over 2 million pounds of recyclables were collected through the Curbside Recycling program. Items accepted for recycling include mixed paper, cardboard, plastic bottles and jugs with the #1 and #2 recycling symbol, aluminum beverage cans, bi-metal food cans, and glass bottles and jars.

On Monday, February 21, 2011, during the City Council meeting at City Hall representatives from the Dalton-Whitfield Solid Waste Authority (DWSWA) recognized City of Dalton residents and the City of Dalton Public Works Department for their outstanding results. “Recycling reduces waste and pollution, saves energy, conserves our natural resources, and is good for our economy.” said Liz Swafford, Recycling and Education Program Coordinator for the DWSWA. “One third of plastic bottles with the #1 recycling symbol collected in the US are used in Georgia carpet manufacturing. Fibers created from plastic #1 can be used to make clothing and other items like these shoelaces, which read, ‘I used to be a soda bottle’.” Target Recycling program mascot Recycling Ben distributed the recycled shoelaces to the attendees during the presentation.

Norman Barashick, Executive Director of the DWSWA, presented two awards made with recycled blue glass. Mayor Pennington and Councilwoman Wood accepted the award on behalf of the residents. Public Works Director, Benny Dunn, Operations Manager, Reece Carroll, and Foreman, Tim Cruse accepted the award on behalf of the Public Works Department. The drivers of the Curbside recycling trucks, Dwayne Carvelle, Glen Gambrell, and Derek Bagley, were also recognized for being the ones that get the job done on a daily basis. It’s estimate that together they handle more than 4,000 recycling bins per week.

The City of Dalton’s Curbside Recycling program began in 1991. 2010 marked 19 years of environmental stewardship thru recycling. Today, the City of Dalton provides one of the few curbside recycling programs in Northwest Georgia. In 2003 the Curbside Recycling program began delivering its recyclable materials for processing to the Dalton-Whitfield Solid Waste Authority. The Authority operates a Materials Recovery Facility or recycling center which sorts, processes, and markets the materials. Since that time, the amount of recyclables collected by residents has almost doubled.

If you live in a single family home or duplex of three units or less with in the city limits you may qualify for Curbside Recycling. Call the Public Works Department at 706-278-7077 to participate or to request an additional blue recycling bin. If you have more than one bin, please put the fiber materials, such as paper, cardboard, and newspaper, in one bin and everything else in the other.

For more information about recycling in Whitfield County visit www.DWSWA.org or contact Liz Swafford, Recycling and Education Program Coordinator, at 706-278-5001.

Pleasant Grove Elementary Receives 1st Quarter Recycling Award from Target Recycling

DALTON, GA -  On Friday, January 28, the students and faculty at Pleasant Grove Elementary School received an award for having the highest recycling rate during the first quarter of the 2010 – 2011 school year.  During the months of August, September, and October, Pleasant Grove reached an average recycling rate of 17.1 pounds per student collecting a grand total of 9,110 pounds of recyclables.  Recycling Ben, mascot of the Target Recycling program, presented PeeGee, mascot for the school, a grey heavy-duty cart to help collect recycling bins from classrooms and offices.  Students cheered when PeeGee accepted the award during the school assembly.

Target Recycling is a recycling program managed by the Dalton-Whitfield Solid Waste Authority, which includes educational opportunities and recognition of participation to public and private schools in Whitfield County.  Since the Fall of 2008 local schools have hosted Target Recycling Containers where they collect mixed paper products like cardboard, paper, office paper, books, cereal boxes, magazines, and newspapers.  Each quarter of the school year the school with the highest recycling rate receives an award that will help improve the recycling program or beautify their campus.  Awards include items like recycling bins for classrooms or benches made from recycled materials.

To improve the recycling rate at your school, contact Liz Swafford, Recycling and Education Program Coordinator, at 706-278-5001, e-mail: lswafford@dwswa.org.