Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/970398
24 UCW APRIL 18-24, 2018 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM Hope Mills News & Views Hazardous chemicals focus of Hope Mills cleanup day by EARL VAUGHAN JR. If you live in Hope Mills and you've got old cans of paint or other hazardous chemicals cluttering the garage or storage building, your chance to safely get rid of everything is coming up this weekend. e town will host multiple events this Saturday, April 21, that are part of the town's effort to clean up the community and improve its overall appearance. Beth Brown, stormwater administrator for the town of Hope Mills, said the town's commissioners have made beautification of the community a focus for this year. "is certainly allows us to clean up and make the town look better,'' she said. e triple effort this weekend will focus on disposing of hazardous waste, shredding old documents and a city- wide litter sweep. e biggest and most expensive part of the project is the disposal of hazard- ous waste. "Other stormwater departments around the state of North Carolina have used this idea to allow residents to have an oppor- tunity to come out free of charge and drop off any type of household chemicals that are no longer good and can't be disposed of in the trash can,'' Brown said. e town provides citizens with the chance to drop off their dangerous chemicals at a central collection loca- tion in the parking lot between Town Hall and the police station from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. this Saturday. e town annually budgets $30,000 toward hazardous waste disposal and hires a firm called Clean Harbor to come in and take care of the job. Brown said Clean Harbor has to get permits to do the collection and the town pays the cost to transport the collected waste to a proper landfill, pos- sibly as far away as Virginia, she said. "We provide the service to our resi- dents because it makes it easier for them to get here to Town Hall to drop off their items,'' Brown said. People are asked to arrive at Town Hall with the waste they are dropping off in the original container it came in. All waste should be carried in the bed of a truck or the trunk or back seat of a car. Once they arrive at the collection point, signs and town staff will direct them where to go. ey don't even have to leave their cars as personnel from the collection company will be on-site to take it from their car. ere's a wide list of things that are accepted, in- cluding adhesives, glues, resins, stains and thinners. Also taken are various kinds of batteries, pesticides and weed killers, propane cylinders, aerosol cans, computers and electronic devices. ings that will not be accepted include ammuni- tion, fireworks, explosives, infectious and biological waste, syringes, radioactive waste and unknown compressed gas cylinders. Medications are also on the list of things not ac- cepted. If you have a question about a specific type of waste material, call 910-424-4555 before going on Saturday. In addition to the waste collection, the town will also hold a shredding event, but the papers won't be shredded on-site. Brown said they used to rent trucks that did the shredding but learned from expe- rience that if the truck breaks down, a replacement truck isn't sent to replace it. Now, the town provides collection bins for people to bring their old papers and drop them off. As soon as the shredding event is over, the company that handles the shredding picks everything up and takes it to be destroyed. e third aspect of the town-wide cleanup day is a litter sweep. It focuses on areas in the general vicinity of Town Hall, including Rockfish and Golfview roads. Kenny Bullock of the Hope Mills Recreation Department said people just need to show up at 8:30 a.m. the morning of the cleanup to register for the litter sweep. Volunteers are needed to make the event the biggest possible success. A lot of young people usually take part, he said, especially members of local high school Key Clubs and Girl Scouts, but there are restrictions. To be allowed to clean up along roadways, all par- ticipants must be 16 or older. Anyone younger is welcome to volunteer, but those participants can't go on the roadways and are limited to helping clean up local parks. "We try to get all the streets in the neighbor- hood,'' Bullock said. "is is the 21st year of the litter sweep.'' ere will be a second litter sweep in the fall. e hazardous chemical disposal and shredding events are only held once a year. EARL VAUGHAN JR., Senior Staff Writer. COMMENTS? EarlUCWS- ports@gmail.com. 910-364-6638. Meetings For details about all meetings and activities, including location where not listed, call Interim Town Clerk Debbie Holland at 910-426-4113. • Citizens Academy every Tuesday through June, 6-8 p.m. • Parks and Recreation Advisory Monday, April 24, 6:30 p.m. • Appearance Committee Tuesday, April 24, 6:30 p.m. • Veterans Affairs Commission ursday, April 26, 7 p.m. Promote yourself: Email hopemills@upandcomingweekly.com. Activities • Hope Mills Area Kiwanis Club at Sammio's, second Tues- days at noon at and fourth Tuesdays at 6 p.m. For more informa- tion, call 910-237-1240. • Mid-Carolina Senior Games April 11-30 at Hercules Fitness Center on Fort Bragg. • National Day of Prayer Service ursday, May 3, at Hope Mills Town Center flagpoles. Noon. All are welcome. • Hope Meals Food Truck Rodeo ursday, May 3, at the parking lot between Town Hall and Parks & Rec Center. 5p.m. EVENTS NEWS The town annually budgets $30,000 toward hazardous waste disposal.