FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Oct. 4, 2023

COLUMBIA, S.C. — The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) in partnership with Richland County encourages residents to drop off a variety of unwanted household items for Richland Recycles Day this Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023. 

The free event will be from 8 a.m. to noon at Columbia Place Mall in the parking lot of the former Sears building, 7201 Two Notch Road, Columbia, and is open to Richland County residents only. Identification is required. Items from commercial businesses will not be accepted. 

Residents may drop off the following items: 

• Tires (car, light truck, motorcycle) 
• Scrap metal – appliances, bicycles, metal chairs, metal shelving, and lawn mowers with no gasoline or oil 
• Household hazardous waste, including paint, stains, sealers, solvents, household cleaners, household chemicals, pool chemicals, herbicides, pesticides, acids, bases, mercury, fire extinguishers and propane tanks 
• Paper for shredding (up to five boxes or bags per household) 

Events such as Recycles Day bring in a haul, with Richland County Solid Waste and Recycling (SW&R) collecting an average of 40 tons of material to be recycled or disposed of properly. 

“Tires are something most of us need but sometimes aren’t properly disposed of, creating an environmental hazard in our communities,” said John Ansell, general manager for Richland County SW&R. At collection events, “Waste tires collected are transported to a permitted tire recycler and transformed into a raw material that has many uses. This is an effective use of a waste product creating opportunities from something typically discarded.” 

Electronic waste will not be collected at this event, but items such as televisions, computers, printers, cellphones and tablets are accepted for recycling year-round at Richland County’s C&D Landfill and Lower Richland Drop-off Center. 

Get information on these locations or search the Waste Wizard tool on the Richland County website or on the Richland Solid Waste app. For more information, contact SW&R at 803-576-2440 or navigate to the division’s page on the County website: www.richlandcountysc.gov.  

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