April brings St. Joseph residents plenty of ways to get rid of unwanted items
By Kyle Schmidt
Spring cleaning might leave you with some items you don’t know how to dispose of, but several city programs, like Clean Sweep, are kicking off in April and can help get rid of waste.
Clean Sweep runs April 1-7 and allows residents two days of free disposal at the city landfill for items like yard waste, trash and appliances.
“Operation Clean Sweep, which is the opportunity for the residents two days a year to come out and drop off trash, tires, appliances,” said Rod McQuerrey, superintendent of solid waste and recycling. “This isn’t intended to be a replacement for trash service. It’s meant to get rid of bulky items and things that typically to try out your trash service wouldn’t take “
During the weekdays, the landfill will be open from 7 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. On Saturday, it will be open from 7 a.m. until 2 p.m.
For items that don’t quite fit the bill of the landfill, a hazardous waste and electronics drop-off day will take place April 20 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the parking lot of the Remington Nature Center.
Most of the drop-offs will be free, but some come with a fee.
One week later on April 27, a prescription drug drop-off sponsored by the Drug Enforcement Administration will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the East Hills Shopping Center parking lot on the east side facing Woodbine Road.
“So once they’re collected there, we remove labels. If there’s any labels with personal information, we remove those (from) the pill bottles themselves. Certain ones are able to be recycled through local agencies here,” said Capt. Shawn Collie of the Drug Strike Force. “And then the the actual prescription drugs we then store in a safe location and then the Drug Enforcement Administration will come pick those up. They are actually responsible for the destruction of the drugs.”
If all you’ve got left is leaves, open burning season also begins April 1. Residents will have the opportunity to burn yard waste throughout the month as long as it is within the hours presented by the fire department.
Burning is allowed from 8 a.m. until 6 p.m. with all fires being put out by 6 p.m. No fire can be within 15 feet of a building.
Full lists of rules and regulations for each event can be found in the flyers attached on newspressnow.com. Residents can also reach out to each organizing agency with questions.
