By Rebecca Gitlen
May 18, 2012. The Watauga County Board of Commissioners have designated May 14 to 19 as “Community Pride Week” with the goal of improving the appearance of Watauga County. During this week, Watauga County residents have an opportunity to dispose of many types of waste for no charge, including old furniture, yard debris, appliances, electronics and household hazardous waste. This does not apply to commercial haulers or businesses.
“This week is all about working together to protect and conserve our vast natural resources, which is essential to the continued quality of life for the residents of Watauga County,” said Chairman Nathan Miller. “We want to provide as many opportunities as possible for residents to dispose of their waste in an environmentally responsible way.”
Watauga County Landfill will collect hazardous waste, like batteries, antifreeze, ethylene, gasoline, lighter fluid, solid and liquid pesticides, oxidizers and used oils, from Watauga County residents for free during this week.
Community Pride Week is kind of like a spring-cleaning, said Commissioner Blust.
“It’s about people taking pride in their community,” he said. “Everybody comes together – it’s about springtime, and it’s refreshing.”
He added that we should preserve the natural beauty of our area.
“We live in a wonderful place up here,” said Commissioner Blust. “We want to keep the place looking good to show it off for tourists and for people that live here.”
The Pharmaceutical Take-Back, “to keep our rivers and our children safe,” will be from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, May 19. Locations to drop off old prescription medications are Boone Food Lion on Blowing Rock Road, Deep Gap Food Lion at U.S. 421/Old U.S. 421, Blowing Rock Food Lion on U.S. 321, Foscoe Fire Department on N.C. 105, Beaver Dam Fire Department on Bethel Road.
The Watauga Sheriff’s Office will be at the Blowing Rock Food Lion with a locked container to dispose of people’s old prescriptions with no questions asked, said Junior Gragg, Blowing Rock Food Lion Grocery Manager.
“It’s a safe alternative so the medicines won’t get into our streams,” Gragg said.
Deputy Preston Russell of the Watauga Sheriff’s Office said that the point of the Pharmaceutical Take-Back is also to keep unused medications off the streets.
“They’ll gather it up and take it to a distribution center where they get rid of it so the drugs don’t get back out on the streets for substance abuse,” he said.
Sgt. Absher said the Sheriff’s Office will “barrel up and tally up” liquid and solid meds to get them out of the county.
Following is a list of Community Pride Week events. All events are free for Watauga County residents.
Free Disposal of Residential Debris
- When: Monday, May 14 – Saturday, May 19
- Hours: Mon. – Fri. 8 a.m. – 4 p.m. and Sat. 8 a.m. – 12 p.m.
- Where: Watauga County Landfill
- 336 Landfill Road
- What: appliances, tires, furniture, metal, asphalt (no asphalt shingles), brick, cement, rocks, brush (no stumps)
Household Hazardous Waste Day
- Residential only, no commercial waste
- When: Saturday, May 19
- 9 a.m. – 2 p.m.
- Where: Watauga County Landfill
- 336 Landfill Road
- What: paint, household batteries, NiCad batteries, lead-acid batteries (car type), antifreeze, ethylene, gasoline, lighter fluid, solid and liquid pesticides, oxidizers, used oils, household cleaners, etc.
Pharmaceutical Take-Back
“To keep our rivers and our children safe.”
- When: Saturday, May 19, 2012
- 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
- Where: Food Lion (3 locations)
- 1. Hwy 321 near Wal-Mart
- 2. Hwy 421/Old Hwy 421
- 3. Blowing Rock
- Foscoe Fire Department on Highway 105
- Beaverdam Volunteer Fire Department on Bethel Road
- What: All prescription and over-the-counter medications and medical supplies
No Questions Asked
Please contact Lisa Doty, Recycling Coordinator at lisa.doty@watgov.org, or call 828-265-4852 or 828-264-5305 for more information about Community Pride Week or with questions about recycling.
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