By: Claire Tribble
For those of you who still haven’t heard, the Limestone County Commission has brought recycling back to Limestone County. It’s not the recycling program that we lost in 2022, but it’s a start — and you have to start somewhere! The Limestone County Recycling Department is run by Keri Chalmers, and let me tell you, this lady knows her stuff when it comes to recycling. She has an amazing support team behind her as well, the Limestone County Commissioners Daryl Sammet, Danny Barksdale, Derrick Gatlin, and LaDon Towsend led by Chairman Collin Daly, County Attorney Drew Dill, and Christa McCurry, a grant writing extraordinaire. They have already been able to secure a grant through the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) for a facility!
Keep Athens-Limestone Beautiful is very excited for a recycling program to be back in Limestone County! We have become strong partners with the Limestone County Commission to help them further this program and make it as successful as it can be. The KALB Board made the decision to donate all the equipment from the previous recycling center to the Limestone County Commission. We are to get back at it by offering more educational programs in the schools and community. We are making BIG plans to help Keri and the Limestone County Commission make their new program a HUGE success.
So, just a little information on the Limestone County Recycling Program. It is located at 1301 North Jefferson Street in Athens (the old L&S shopping center). It is open Monday-Thursday from 7 a.m.-3 p.m. They accept aluminum cans, steel cans, plastic containers #1 & #2, cardboard, and paper. You will need to place each type of recyclable in the proper trailer, but don’t worry, Keri has them very clearly marked. She even has trash cans beside each trailer for you to throw out any trash that gets mixed in. Keri thought of everything to make it as easy as she could for people to recycle, and we owe her a great thank you!
This brings me to the next point…when unaccepted items are dumped. We understand ‘wish-cycling.’ We wish we could recycle everything, too! At this time, Keri CANNOT accept glass, plastic bags, and any plastic not marked a #1 or #2. Having said this, these trailers are also not for dumping other things such as trash, clothing, and all the other random things she has come across. When she has to stop and sort through trailers to rid them of trash, it quite literally slows the entire program down. Since the Limestone County Recycling Program is just getting started, Keri is a one-woman show for the time being. She works extremely hard to keep all the wheels turning, so let’s all do what we can to make it run smoothly. If you have any questions about items that are accepted, you can call Keri at 256-871-0674.
Again, thanks to a grant from ADEM, Limestone County residents are also able to recycle automobile tires. You can take them to any one of the County Commissioner’s sheds (the addresses can be found on their website www.limestonecounty-al.gov) any weekday to be recycled. So, there is no reason to dump your old tires anywhere! And just to be clear, this is a service for individuals, not tire dealers.
Let’s all come together and RECYCLE RESPONSIBLY! We can’t have nice things unless we all work together and put in a little effort!
By: Claire Tribble
Executive Director, Keep Athens-Limestone Beautiful
April 19, 2024
