Holiday Hours of Operation - 2013

The Dalton-Whitfield Solid Waste Authority announced its Holiday Operating Schedule for the Landfill and Convenience Centers.  Locations include the Old Dixie Landfill & Convenience Center, McGaughey Chapel Convenience Center, Westside Convenience Center, and the M.L. King Convenience Center.  For more information call 706-277-2545.

Christmas and New Year’s Holiday Operating Schedule for Landfill and Convenience Centers

• Tuesday, December 24 – Christmas Eve: Early Closing –
  • All Locations OPEN - 7:00 AM to 3:00 PM (Westside Normally Closed)
• Wednesday, December 25 – Christmas Day: All Locations CLOSED
• Thursday, December 26 – All Locations OPEN – 7:00 AM to 6:00 PM

• Tuesday, December 31 – New Year’s Eve: Normal Schedule – 7:00 AM to 6:00 PM (Westside Closed)
• Wednesday, January 1 – New Year’s Day: All Locations CLOSED
• Thursday, January 2 - All Locations OPEN – 7:00 AM to 6:00 PM

Live Christmas Tree and Electronics Recycling Event January 4, 2014

Christmas trees will be collected at The Home Depot in Dalton along with electronics during Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful’s annual treecycling event.  The next event will be on Saturday, January 4, 2014 from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm. 

Residents are invited to start their new year fresh by recycling their live Christmas tree and dropping off used electronic devices for recycling at the community’s annual “treecycling” event. On Saturday, January 4, 2014 Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful volunteers will be collecting live, natural, undecorated Christmas trees, and electronic devices for recycling.  The annual collection event will be held from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm at The Home Depot parking lot located at 875 Shugart Road in Dalton. 

Residents may drop-off their Christmas trees for free.  Trees must be free of ornaments, nails, hooks, wire, tinsel, lights, and other decorations.  Only natural, live, real trees will be accepted – no artificial trees please.  Trees will be recycled on site into mulch that will be used for beautification projects throughout Whitfield County. 

Used electronics accepted include computers, digital cameras, video cameras, cell phones, gaming systems and components, mp3 players, scanners, and laptops.  There is a fee of $5.00 per item for the proper recycling of television sets, and computer monitors.  All other electronics can be dropped off for free. Electronics will be processed by Reworx Recycling, which is part of the Tommy Nobis’ Foundation program NobisWorks.

Please remember to secure your load for cleaner roads.  Tie down and put a tarp on items placed in the back of a pick-up truck, trailer, or on the roof of a vehicle.

Those unable to participate the day of the event may use one of the following options to properly dispose of their holiday items.

1.) The City of Dalton Public Works Department will collect Christmas trees from the curb for city residents that have garbage collection service through the city.  City residents should call 706-278-7077 to request pick-up.  Yard debris is regularly picked up throughout the year every other week.

2.) The four Convenience Centers managed by the Dalton-Whitfield Solid Waste Authority have drop-off areas for yard debris that is recycled year round.  These include the McGaughey Chapel, M.L.King Blvd., Westside, and the Old Dixie Hwy. Landfill & Convenience Center. 

3.) Electronics are collected for recycling year round at the Old Dixie Hwy. Landfill & Convenience Center.   For hours of operation and directions to any of the four Convenience Centers visit www.DWSWA.org or call 706-277-2545.

Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful would like to thank the following organizations for making this event possible: Dalton-Whitfield Solid Waste Authority, Reworx Recycling, Whitfield County Public Works Department, and The Home Depot in Dalton.  For more details about the event visit www.KeepDaltonWhitfieldBeautiful.org or call 706-278-5001.

Click here to download the event flyer. 

Annual Conasauga Watershed Clean-up a Success

Members of Girl Scout Brownie Troop 14603 volunteered at the Lakeshore Park cleanup site during the 19th Annual Conasauga Watershed Cleanup.  Pictured from left to right are Adults: Jennifer McGaughey, Michell Gray, Amber Stiles. Kids: Jayda Harrod, Alana McGaughey, Paige Stiles, Laila Perry, Abigail Rann, Chassidy Crider, Sarah Key, and Bree Worley.

(Dalton, GA, November 20, 2013) –258 volunteers from Whitfield and Murray Counties participated in the 19th Annual Conasauga River Watershed Clean-up on Saturday, October 26.  The annual event took place during the United Way’s “Make a Difference Day”.  Volunteers spent the morning removing trash, debris, and invasive plants from seven sites in the two counties.  Overall, volunteers collected and removed 8,329 pounds of trash and 37 tires. 

Event organizers want to thank everyone who participated and contributed to the success of this year’s event.  The amount of clean-up time donated by volunteers, approximately 774 hours, is valued at $16,077.  Volunteers received a t-shirt and a hat or reusable water bottle in appreciation for their participation. 

Organizers want to especially thank this year’s funding sponsors: Shaw Industries, J&J Industries, Dalton Utilities, Dalton-Whitfield Solid Waste Authority, The Nature Conservancy, and the Conasauga River Alliance.  Also, they would like to recognize these additional organizations that helped coordinated the event: Carpet & Rug Institute, Dalton State College, Dalton Utilities, Keep Chatsworth-Murray Beautiful, Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful, Limestone Valley RC & D, and Murray County Extension.

The Conasauga River, one of the six most biologically diverse freshwater river systems in the United States, supports 24 endangered species and a dozen other imperiled species, including the Southern Pigtoe mussel and the Conasauga logperch, a fish found nowhere else in the world.  The Conasauga Watershed Clean-up has long been a part of Rivers Alive, a statewide campaign to clean and preserve over 70,000 miles of Georgia’s rivers and streams.

Rivers Alive continues to be the state’s and one of the South’s largest volunteer efforts to beautify water resources.  So far this year, 23,930 volunteers have participated in 260 clean-up events through out the state and have collected 477,569 pounds of garbage from Georgia waterways. For more information about efforts in other areas or the statewide campaign visit www.RiversAlive.org.

2013 Billboard Design Contest Winner Announced

“I Recycle. Do You?” is the overall winner for this year’s America Recycles Day Billboard contest.  The design was created by Dalton Middle School 7th grader Larissa Hernandez.

(Dalton, GA, November 19, 2013) –  Dalton Middle School 7th grader, Larissa Hernandez, is the overall winner of the 2013 America Recycles Day Billboard Design Contest hosted by the Dalton-Whitfield Solid Waste Authority’s program Target Recycling at School. 

The design chosen out of 265 entries includes the phrase, “I Recycle. Do You?” which was one of the themes of the contest.  The artwork is eye catching and very colorful with multicolored blocks of letters, and a recycling symbol.

The winning design will be displayed on two billboards in the Whitfield County area for at least one month.  This is the fourth year of the design contest open to Whitfield County middle school students in 6th, 7th, and 8th grade attending either a public or private school that recycles with Target Recycling at School.

The billboard design contest had a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winner from each grade level.  The nine students, listed below, received a certificate of participation and a gift bag with items made from recycled materials.  The first place overall was selected from the first place design from each grade level.

6th grade:

• 1st Place – Alexis Lynch, Dalton Middle School
• 2nd Place – Nubia Loya, Eastbrook Middle School
• 3rd Place – Jenny Jimenez, Eastbrook Middle School 

7th grade:

• 1st Place and Overall Winner – Larissa Hernandez, Dalton Middle School
• 2nd Place – Laisha Rubio, Eastbrook Middle School
• 3rd Place – Gisselle Cisneros, Dalton Middle School 

8th grade:

• 1st Place – Mackenzie McDermott, Eastbrook Middle School
• 2nd Place – Angelina Calderon, Eastbrook Middle School
• 3rd Place – Elena Leyssens, Dalton Middle School

America Recycles Day is a community-driven event dedicated to promoting recycling awareness, commitment, and action in the U.S. thru its partnership with Keep America Beautiful.  For more information on recycling, and to take the pledge to recycle visit www.AmericaRecyclesDay.org.   

Target Recycling at School provides recycling collection services and environmental education opportunities to schools in Whitfield County.  For more information call 706-278-5001 or visit the Environmental Education page.

Correction:  Ms. McDermott was incorrectly listed in the 8th grade category.  However, since prizes have been given and results announced, there will be no changes in the winners for this year.  We apologize for any inconvenience.

Dalton Middle School students that placed in the billboard contest are pictured with their artwork.  From Left to Right: Alexis Lynch, Elena Leyssens, Gisselle Cisneros, and Larissa Hernandez. 

Eastbrook Middle School students who placed in the billboard contest are pictured with their artwork.  From Left to Right: Mackenzie McDermott, Laisha Rubio, Jenny Jimenez, Nubia Loya, and Angelina Calderon.

Thanksgiving Holiday Hours of Operation - 2013

DALTON, GA – The Dalton-Whitfield Solid Waste Authority announced its Thanksgiving Day Holiday Operating Schedules for Landfill and Convenience Centers.  Locations include the Old Dixie Landfill & Convenience Center, McGaughey Chapel Convenience Center, Westside Convenience Center, and the M.L. King Convenience Center.  For more information call 706-277-2545.

Thanksgiving Day Holiday Operating Schedules for Landfill and Convenience Centers

• Wednesday, November 27, 2013 – All Locations OPEN – EARLY CLOSING:

7:00 AM to 3:00 PM  (McGaughey       Chapel Normally Closed)

• Thursday, November 28, 2013 – All Locations CLOSED – Thanksgiving Day

• Friday, November 29, 2013 – All Locations OPEN – 7:00 AM to 6:00 PM (Resume Normal Schedule)

• Saturday, November 30, 2013 – All Locations OPEN – 7:00 AM to 3:00 PM