| Solid Waste Division
The Solid Waste Division provides solid waste collection and disposal
within the corporate city limits. The division provides daily service
in eight different areas. In addition to these services, the Solid Waste
Division also assists with waste collection at special events such as
the St. Patrick's Day Celebration in Five Points, 3 Rivers Music
Festival, the Veterans Day parade and special neighborhood clean-ups.
The Solid Waste Division collects garbage, trash and recyclables
throughout the year except for Christmas Day, Thanksgiving Day, and July
4th. Service to affected areas is made up on alternate days. Check
local listing for these schedules.
The Solid Waste Division is divided into the following areas.
RECYCLING
The City of Columbia provides curbside recycling service to
approximately 29,000 residential and small commercial locations. The
City collects the following items for recycling curbside. These are the
only things that you should put in your blue recycling bin; if an item
isn't on the list, that means that the City does not collect it for
recycling.
Items Collected Curbside for Recycling
-
Aluminum cans
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Steel cans + lids (Please place lids inside of can)
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Plastic bottles, jugs and jars
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Glass bottles, jugs and jars; clear, brown and green only
-
Empty Aerosol Cans
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Magazines
-
Cardboard Boxes - Flattened
-
Paperboard Boxes - Flattened
-
Newspaper and Newspaper Inserts
-
Junk Mail & Office Paper
The following items are NOT recyclable in the curbside recycling bins
The city also has a two drop off location for recyclables:
- 2600 Bull Street, located behind DHEC, accepts the same items as our curbside program
- Corner of Washington and Wayne
Streets (@Congaree Vista), accepts flattened cardboard, glass, plastic,
aluminum, newspaper and office paper
E-WASTE RECYCLING
Safe recycling of unwanted computers, televisions, and
other electronics is another step toward improving the quality of life
for city residents.
On May 21, 2007, the City of Columbia became the first
city in the Midlands to start a residential drop-off E-waste recycling
program.
Residential
e-waste can be dropped off at the Public Works headquarters, 2910
Colonial Drive (off Slighs Avenue behind the City's First Tee Golf
Center. Only e-waste will be accepted from city residents at this
location between the hours of 9:30 am and 3:30 pm, Monday, Tuesday,
Thursday, and Friday. No exceptions will be made. Proof of residency
is required. Items dropped off will become the property of the City of
Columbia and cannot be reclaimed.
E-waste
includes end-of-life computers, monitors, televisions, VCRs, DVD
players, audio and stereo equipment, cellular phones, digital cameras,
and other electronic devices. Electronics contain substantial amounts
of toxic materials that leach out of the machines and into the soil and
water when they are buried in a landfill.
Take it back.
Many companies will accept your end-of-life equipment. If you have a
Dell, HP, Apple, Gateway or Toshiba system, contact their customer
service line or website to find out more. Systems and parts are reused
or recycled to keep the products out of the waste stream.
On
average a computer is 23% plastic, 32% ferrous metals, 18% non-ferrous
metals (lead, cadmium, antimony, beryllium, chromium and mercury), 12%
electronic boards (gold, palladium, silver and platinum) and 15% glass.
Only about 50% of the computer is recycled, the rest is dumped. The
toxicity of the waste is mostly due to the lead, mercury and cadmium �
non-recyclable components of a single computer may contain almost 2
kilograms of lead. Much of the plastic used contains flame-retardants,
which makes it difficult to recycle.
OFFICE PAPER RECYCLING PROGRAM
A commercial recycling program, which collects recyclables in bulk
from businesses in the city limits, has also been implemented. This
program also includes an office paper collection program. Below is a
list of acceptable office paper.
Acceptable
-
Uncoated white/colored paper, any color ink
-
NCR/carbonless forms, any color
-
Notebook paper, any color
-
Computer paper (green & blue bar, white)
-
Receipts/tickets, any color
-
Stationery/letterhead, any color
-
Copy paper/copies, any color
-
All FAX paper
-
Self-adhesive notes (Post-It), any color
-
Card stock (any color)
-
Envelopes without windows, any color except manila/gold
-
Laser Copies, any color
-
Cash register/adding machine tape
-
Message notes, any color
-
Typing paper
-
Staples
Not Acceptable
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Kraft envelopes (manila/gold in color)
-
Carbon paper (the black ink kind)
-
Foil paper
-
Slick/glossy/coated paper
-
Catalogs (no thicker than 1")
-
Photographs
-
X-rays
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Photographic or blueprint papers
-
Books/pamphlets/brochures
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Cardboard (unwaxed and brown inside)
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Rubber bands, paper clips
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Pressure sensitive labels
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Report covers and folders
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Brown paper bags
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Plastic - any item
Residents have embraced the curbside program and there
is currently an eighty-five percent participation rate throughout the
city.
ROLL CART COLLECTION
Curbside roll cart collection is provided to approximately 30,000
residential and small commercial locations. There is an ordinance in
Columbia that outlines the times the roll carts may be set out and
removed from the curb. Roll carts may be set out the night before
scheduled day of collection. They must be removed from the curb no later
than 7:30 pm on the day of collection.
Roll carts are serviced weekly and the Solid Waste Division
currently operates ten roll cart garbage collection routes. Roll carts
are to be used for household garbage only. Recyclable items and yard
trash, such as old appliances and compostables should not be placed in
roll carts.
The City uses two types of collection methods. The first is rear-end
loaders that have a driver and two laborers on a collection vehicle.
The second is an automated collection vehicle. The vehicle has only one
operator that drivers and collects the roll carts with an automated arm.
We ask that you place the roll cart with the pushing handle facing the
curb. This allows the operator to collect the roll cart without getting
out of the vehicle.
TRASH COLLECTION
Trash is collected weekly. This service provides curbside trash collection to approximately 30,000 locations.
City ordinance requires homeowners to separate their vegetation
(yard trash) from other debris, such as broken lawn equipment, old
furniture, etc. The vegetation is then diverted to our composting
operation. The remaining debris goes to the inert landfill.
Two separate trucks collect the material: one for vegetation and one for trash.
BULK CONTAINER SERVICE
The bulk container service provides front-end loader garbage collection
service to approximately 3,530 bulk containers per week. For economy and
safety reasons this Solid
Waste operation is performed in the early morning hours.
COMPOST FACILITY
The composting operation receives nearly 25 percent of the city's total trash tonnage.
This is a low-tech composting operation that requires a slow biodegradation of vegetation.
When the compost becomes completely broken down, it is a valuable
gardening material. The compost is available to citizens. The facility
is located in Columbia across for the Animal Shelter on Humane Lane off
Shop Road .
STREET SWEEPERS
Solid Waste Division street sweepers currently sweep the city's main
thoroughfares on a rotating basis and assist other city divisions in
clean up efforts when roadwork is being performed. Blowers and sidewalk
sweepers are used to remove debris from the city's downtown and Five
Points areas. In April of 2003 the City implemented a residential street
sweeping program. This program sweeps City streets on a rotating basis.
If you need information on when your street is scheduled to be swept,
please call the City Solid Waste Division. Sweepers are also used at
Columbia 's special events.
SIX NIGHT SERVICE
Services are provided to our downtown and Five Points business location
six nights per week. Most of these locations do not have space available
for a bulk container and are serviced with roll carts and from the
curb. The night service is also responsible for the litter containers in
the service areas.
OPERATING HOURS
The Solid Waste Division office is located at 2910 Colonial Drive . Our
office hours are 8:00 a.m. -- 6:00 p.m. , Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and
Friday and 8:00 a.m. -- 5:00 p.m. on Wednesdays.
Solid Waste Superintendent
Robert A. Anderson.....................................................545-3800
e-mail: sanitation@columbiasc.net
Solid Waste Asst. Superintendent
Emmanuel Lawson.....................................................545-3800
e-mail: emlawson@columbiasc.net
Links
Keep America Beautiful -- www.keepthemidlandsbeautiful.com
SC DHEC -- www.scdhec.gov/recycle
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