The City of Charlotte Solid Waste Services will collect garbage, recyclables, yard waste and bulky waste on Independence Day, Monday, July 4.

Residents are reminded of the following tips to ensure collection:

• Bag all garbage before placing it in the rollout cart. Do not overfill the cart.
• Remove food/liquid residue from all recyclable containers before placing them in the recycling cart. Cut cardboard into 3 in. x 3 in. pieces. Do not bag recyclables.
• Trimmings from shrubs and trees must be no longer than five feet in length and no larger than four inches in diameter.
• Place leaves in untied plastic bags or uncovered trash cans (not City-issued rollout carts).
• Place collection materials curbside by 6:30 am on collection day. Rollout carts must be removed from curbside by midnight the same day.
• Place collection items within six feet of the curb. Please do not block the sidewalk.

Call 311 (704.336.7600) or visit curbit.charlottenc.gov to schedule bulky waste collection.

The weather is warming up and that means spending more time outdoors enjoying great weather, great company and great food around the grill. Don’t spoil the fun with a charcoal fire.

Charcoal can stay warm for a long time. The ashes can smolder – sometimes for days. When placed inside plastic bags and into plastic containers, they can cause a fire to not only the container it is in, but also to surrounding structures, like houses and cars.

From 2007-11, fire departments across the United States responded to nearly 9,000 house fires a year caused by grills. More than a quarter of those fires started on a courtyard, terrace or patio, and nearly 30 percent started on an exterior balcony or open porch.

Fires can be caused when residents put charcoal from a grill into a plastic garbage can. In all three cases, the fires caused significant damage, including destroying two homes and a car.

So, just how should you dispose of your charcoal?

Charcoal can be placed in your garbage cart, but please make sure:

• Charcoal is completely cooled.
• Place them to cool in a metal container with a metal lid.
• Keep cooling coals away from flammable liquids and materials.

Get more tips on how to safely manage charcoal disposal.

Have fun and keep it safe!

City Solid Waste is leading an effort to support the City's goal of being a zero-waste city by 2050 by helping to change the way minority communities, communities that have shown to produce a lot of waste, think about waste reduction. Through the Healthy Communities program, City Solid Waste is making waste reduction personal by showing residents in minority communities that there is a direct connection between the environment and personal health. 

Healthy Communities program launched in April with Goodie Ideation [HEALTH],  the first of a three part series to have tech-enabled waste reduction ideas developed. Photo shows participants collaborating on ideas. As a result of Goodie Ideation [HEALTH], seven tech-enabled ideas were created from fifty-eight event participants (Charlotte residents, community leaders and environmentalist). 

The second series, Goodie Hack [HEALTH], will allow participants to develop the tech-enabled Goodie Ideation [HEALTH] ideas into actual applications and or websites. We need techies, community leaders and residents to register to participate. To register and for additional information on the Goodie Hack [HEALTH] weekend, August 19-21, go to hchack.eventbrite.com.