Richland County is making spring cleaning a little easier for residents by sprucing up its services, promoting collection tips and reminding residents to responsibly dispose of unwanted household junk at Richland Recycles Day this weekend.

Richland County Solid Waste & Recycling (SW&R) is attending community meetings across the County to address specific trash and recycling issues and to educate residents about the many services the department provides. Richland County is also promoting “Spring Cleaning Tips” to help keep the curbside collections program running as smoothly as possible for both residents and haulers.

Some important reminders are:

·         Trash and recycle carts should be placed curbside by 7 a.m. on collection day to ensure pick up. Carts should be removed from curbside by 7:30 p.m. per County ordinance.

·         Bulk items are collected by appointment only. After calling 803-929-6000 and scheduling a bulk item collection, residents should have the bulk items curbside by 7 a.m. on the day of their appointment.

·         Yard waste collection is picked up weekly and should be placed curbside by 7 a.m. on collection day. Yard waste should not be placed in a roll cart and instead should be placed curbside, in a way that does not impede streets or roads.

·         Yard waste will not be collected if any branches or debris are longer than feet four or bigger than four inches in diameter. This is for the safety of the haulers and to protect the equipment.

SW&R is implementing a new system on its collection trucks to record whether or not a roll cart was placed curbside by 7 a.m. on collection day. This system will help alleviate complaints about missed collections. SW&R is also purchasing a clamshell truck to be used by Refuse Control to help with illegal dumping.

Residents are encouraged to download SW&R’s free mobile phone app by searching for “Richland Solid Waste” or utilize an online version of the app at www.rcgov.us/richlandrecycles. This free service reminds residents of their collection days, sends email or text message notifications when it is a collection day and identifies which items can be recycled and which belong in the trash cart.

Richland Recycles Day – a huge, annual recycling event that’s free for Richland County residents – is 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, May 13 at the S.C. State Fairgrounds, 1200 Rosewood Drive, Columbia. Residents should enter through Gate 12, where they will be directed to the appropriate drop off stations. Workers will unload all acceptable items, then direct drivers to the exit.

Materials accepted at Richland Recycles Day include tires, paint, electronics, mattresses, used cooking oil, fluorescent light bulbs, household chemicals, batteries, scrap metal and more. The S.C. Department of Agriculture will be on hand to accept pesticides from any S.C. resident – all other drop off is for Richland County residents only.

For more information about Richland Recycles Day, visit www.rcgov.us or call 803-576-2446. For more information about Richland County SW&R’s services, visit www.rcgov.us/richlandrecycles.