Guilford County residents will have an unusual chance this weekend to take care of several chores at once – recycling hard-to-dispose-of items, safely getting rid of old medications, shredding personal documents and even donating food – all at a single community event.
Guilford County Environmental Services, the Town of Pleasant Garden and several community partners are hosting the Pleasant Garden Community Recycling Event on Saturday, March 14, from 8 a.m. to noon at the Pleasant Garden Community Center at 5024 Alliance Church Rd.
The event is one of four community recycling events the county holds each year.
However, this one is a bit different because it bundles several programs the county and its partners often hold separately.
Normally, residents might see individual events such as a hazardous-waste drop-off, a medication take-back day or a shredding event held at different times during the year. This event combines several of those services into one large community drop-off opportunity.
The event is free and open to all Guilford County residents.
There is one caveat: Business waste will not be accepted.
One of the featured components of the event will be a Medication Take-Back station hosted by the Guilford County Sheriff’s Office. The station will allow residents to safely dispose of unwanted or expired medications – including prescription and over-the-counter drugs.
Proper medication disposal is intended to help prevent addiction, overdoses and environmental contamination that can occur when medicines are thrown away or flushed down the toilet.
According to event organizers, residents may bring bottled prescriptions, loose pills, creams and vitamins.
Liquids, however, won’t be accepted.
Needles generally aren’t accepted, but they may be dropped off if they are properly capped and placed in small plastic containers or boxes.
Another feature of the event will be a food drive hosted by A Simple Gesture, which will collect non-perishable food items that will be distributed to local food pantries across Guilford County.
Organizers say residents can donate canned foods such as tuna, vegetables, beans, fruit, soups, chili and tomato sauce. Boxed foods such as cereal, oatmeal and macaroni and cheese will also be accepted, along with bags of rice and beans.
Other accepted donations include peanut butter, jelly, pasta sauce, baby formula, granola bars, crackers, applesauce and 100 percent juice boxes.
Glass jars won’t be accepted.
The event will also serve as a drop-off location for several types of hard-to-recycle items.
Residents will be able to dispose of appliances such as washers, dryers, push mowers and hot water heaters, provided that no fuel remains in the equipment.
Electronics such as computers, televisions, microwaves, video game consoles, electronic toys and cell phones will also be accepted. Batteries, on the other hand, won’t be.
Drivers may also bring tires – up to 50 passenger tires or 10 heavy truck tires per vehicle. Large equipment tires will not be accepted.
The event will also allow the collection of clean plastic bags, flattened cardboard boxes and certain foam materials.
Residents who want to protect themselves from identity theft can also bring personal documents for secure shredding. The event will offer shredding for up to five file boxes per vehicle.
While the event will accept many items that can be difficult to dispose of, household hazardous waste will not be accepted.
That includes items such as batteries, various fuels and light bulbs.
Those materials should instead be taken to the Guilford County Household Hazardous Waste Collection Center at 2750 Patterson St. in Greensboro. The center is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
County officials say the Pleasant Garden event is intended to make recycling and safe disposal easier for residents while also helping support community needs through the food drive.
Residents who want additional information about the event can contact Guilford County Environmental Services or the Town of Pleasant Garden.
