January 17, 2006
OUR COUNTY
D. GARY DAVIS
BRADLEY COUNTY MAYOR
Recycling efforts in Bradley County are alive and well as evidenced by the 2005 year-end
totals from the public drop-off centers inside the city and at the Bradley County Landfill.
In addition to the two established recycling centers on Urbane Road and the landfill,
residents took full advantage of the creation of a new facility on Peerless Road this year,
returning to good use more than 1,335 tons of disposals between the three facilities.
Throughout the year, residents recycled more than 77 tons of cardboard; 348 tons of
newspaper; 30 tons of glass; 2.5 tons of aluminum; 32 tons of waste oils; eight tons of
lead-acid batteries; 752 tons of tires; and 86 tons of white goods or appliances.
To compliment their weekly recycling efforts, more than 325 residents participated in the
annual Household Hazardous Waste Collection Day last March, disposing of 16 tons of
household toxins free of charge. In addition to the typical household contaminants like
waste oils and batteries, residents disposed of pesticides, paints, electronics, and
fluorescent light bulbs.
As of press time, more than 100 residents started the New Year on environmentally
sound ground by dropping off their Christmas trees for the annual Chipping of the Green
program sponsored by the Bradley County Government, the Bradley County Road
Department, and Santek Environmental, Inc.
The success of our waste reduction efforts is attributable to a public-private partnership
that has continued to thrive for several years. Last year, Bradley County assumed
management responsibilities of the recycling centers from Cleveland/Bradley Keep
America Beautiful. In addition to transportation and waste processing assistance from
Rock Tenn., Santek and its subsidiary, Waste Services, the county was able to forge an
alliance with the City of Cleveland to hire an employee to manage the Urbane and
Peerless roads centers.
I encourage all Bradley County residents to join the growing ranks of recyclers in 2006. It
is a program that has proven itself successful this past year, but it can be even more
fruitful this year with everyone’s participation.
Stop by at the Peerless Road or Urbane Road facilities and see the always friendly and
helpful Gary Ellif today.
The Peerless Road facility is open Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 2:00 p.m. until
5:00 p.m. It is located behind the Farmer’s Market. The Urbane Road facility is open
Tuesday and Thursday from 2:00 p.m. until 5:00 p.m. and on Saturday from 9:00 a.m.
until 1:00 p.m. To get there, go east on Paul Huff Parkway, turn left on Urbane Road (the
site is on the right just past the YMCA).
These facilities accept glass (clear, brown, green), newspaper, mixed paper, corrugated
paperboard, aluminum cans, and cell phones.
Also, Santek Environmental continues to operate its facility near the landfill. The hours
of operation are Monday through Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and Saturday, 7:00 a.m.
to 3:30 p.m. Items accepted there include glass (clear, brown, green), newspaper, mixed
paper, corrugated paperboard, aluminum cans, cell phones, used oil, and automobile
batteries.
At each of the three recycling sites, all items must be separated; separate glass by color;
all glass must be rinsed out with lids removed; and cell phones must include batteries.
The recycling centers are neat and clean, and I urge all who use the facilities to help keep
them that way. With this in mind, we ask that you not bring garbage and please no
dumping!
Please remember, recycling is the environmentally responsible thing to do.