By: Claire Tribble
Currently, Athens City curbside recycling has been suspended. Once the blue bins are emptied, the recycling is transferred to Decatur for sorting and bailing. The Decatur facility is experiencing a staffing crisis, and it is absolute chaos, so they have been forced to stop accepting new loads. Thankfully the Limestone County Commission has started a recycling program, so there are still options for Athens residents. The Limestone County Commission and Keri Chalmers are working diligently to grow this program for Limestone County residents, but this will cause an influx, and any help to minimize the chaos will be greatly appreciated.
The drop off location is located at 1301 North Jefferson Street, where the old L&S Shopping Center used to be. Currently, the drop off location is open Monday-Thursday 7 a.m.-3 p.m. If the gates are open on a Friday, you are more than welcome to stop in and drop your sorted recycling. They accept plastics #1 (items like drink, shampoo, and detergent bottles), aluminum cans, steel cans, mixed papers (books, magazines, junk mail), and cardboard. A new service that is being offered is USED MOTOR OIL recycling! There is a large white tank in the lot, and you are welcome to leave your containers to be emptied and then ethically disposed of. If you choose to empty your own containers, please be sure to put the cap back on the tank!
Please, keep in mind that this program is growing. While they are close to completing a building, they aren’t there yet. It is very important to sort your recycling and not to dump trash. As always, break down boxes and remove all plastic and Styrofoam. Things will be hectic until a new rhythm is established to handle the excess. Please, don’t start filling an empty trailer until the ones in the line are full. The extra empty trailers are needed and used every day to transport materials.
When the Athens-Limestone Recycling Center closed, we lost the option to recycle glass in Limestone County. Currently, the only option for recycling glass is with Phoenix Glass Recycling of North Alabama. They are in Huntsville. Check out their Facebook page or website — phoenixglassrecycling.com — for details on their process. Glass recycling is very important for the environment. Glass NEVER breaks down, nor does it ever lose quality. It can be recycled infinitely.
Electronics are full of precious metals and plastic. You can take small electronics, such as computers, computer accessories, and cell phones, to Staples for recycling at any time for free. To recycle larger items, such as flat screen and plasma televisions, call Keri Chalmers at 256-871-0674. The old box televisions are only accepted at the Household Hazardous Waste collection hosted by KALB and the Limestone County Commission. They will not be picked up in bulk trash or accepted at the transfer station because they contain mercury.
Pak Mail on Forrest Street accepts several different items for recycling. They accept Styrofoam packaging peanuts, bubble wrap, plastic air pockets, and packaging paper. This is all very important to get as much use out of these items as possible because only the packing paper breaks down. And all of it is lightweight, so it travels fast and far like plastic bags.
We can help make Limestone County better in so many ways. Recycling is a major benefit to Limestone County. It will create more jobs, which benefits everyone. It will cut down on waste in our landfills. Recycling will cut down on the litter that seems to cover our roadways these days. It will reduce the number of raw materials mined for making new products. So, make life easy and sort your materials until the City of Athens has a recycling service again.
By: Claire Tribble – Executive Director,
Keep Athens-Limestone Beautiful
