Martin Luther King Jr. Day Collection Schedule
City of Charlotte Solid Waste Services will not collect garbage, recycling, yard waste or bulky items on Monday, January 15, 2018. Solid Waste Services will operate on a one-day delay beginning on Tuesday, January 16, 2018 with Friday customers receiving service on Saturday, January 20, 2018. It is a green recycling collection week.
How to Prepare For Collection ::
- Do not overfill carts or place outside of the cart. Items outside the rollout carts will not be collected.
- Please ensure that the lid on your garbage and recycling rollout carts are down.
- Please place the cart within six feet of the curb and with the handle facing toward your property. Do not block the sidewalk.
- Please allow three feet of space between collection items and other obstacles such as mailboxes, phone poles and vehicles.
- Place the cart at the curb no later than 6:30 am on your scheduled collection day.
- Place the cart at the curb no sooner than than the day before collection. The cart must be removed from the curb by midnight on the day of collection. A minimum $50 citation may be issued if you place the cart at the curb sooner than the day before collection or leave it at the curb past midnight on your collection day.
- All recyclables should be loose in the cart. Recyclables should not be bagged.
- For recycling: no plastic bags. Plastic bags aren't accepted and should be recycled at local grocery store. Styrofoam and plastic plates and cups should be thrown in the garbage.
- Christmas tree collection begins on January 1, 2018. Place real Christmas trees curbside and call 311 to schedule an artificial tree collection.
- For yard waste and bulky waste preparation tips visit our item preparation quick tips page.
2017 Food Too Good To Waste Challenge Recap
This holiday season 24 Charlotteans accepted our challenge to improve their health by shopping, preparing and storing their food differently. The challenge, dubbed Food Too Good To Waste, is adapted from an EPA challenge of the same name. The six-week challenge asks participants to reduce the amount of food waste in their garbage.
Why?
The EPA estimates that food waste is the number one thing in garbage AND said waste mixed with all the other things we throw away creates methane gas that is emitted from landfills. This methane gas has a negative impact on our health and the environment.In an effort to better their health - and show a little love to Mother Nature - the 24 participants in the 2017 Food Too Good To Waste Challenge ::
- Separated their food waste from the rest of their garbage.
- Weighed both their food waste and regular garbage each week.
- Recorded their food and garbage weights and documented their waste strategies in the Food Too Good To Waste app.
- Shared their experiences on Facebook.
- Tracked their progress weekly, getting results on their waste and carbon footprint reductions and money saved through waste reduction. They were also able to see how they compared with others in the Challenge
The results?
The overall Challenge winner reduced her waste by 14.6 pounds, that’s a 74 percent increase in the amount of waste reduced from the winner of the 2016 Challenge.
One participant was able to save $45.47 in groceries over the six-weeks, which is the equivalent of 6.5 meals based.
Another participant used 43 out of a possible 44 waste strategies throughout the challenge.
Is this the end for the participants? According to them, not at all!
Participants shared testimonials and said they enjoyed seeing and learning how much food they actually wasted, being held accountable for their impact on the environment. They appreciated the weekly reminders they received and the increased awareness and diligence gained from participating. Additionally, two participants shared that they lost weight during the challenge. One participant lost nine pounds and another 3 pants sizes.
A majority of participants said they would continue to reduce their waste even after the challenge ended.
Out With the Old, In With the New!
