Charleston County News Release

MEDIA CONTACT

Name:   Jennie Davis, Charleston County Public Information Officer

Phone: 843.958.4012

Email:   jdavis@charlestoncounty.org

Release Number: 2909

Date: August 13, 2008
 

SEE PHOTOS OF CFLs: http://www.charlestoncounty.org/newsimages/bulbs.htm
 

Charleston County Recycling Accepts Fluorescent Bulbs (CFLs)

            Citizens can take CFLs to any of the County’s eight convenient centers to be recycled

Charleston County’s Solid Waste and Recycling Department now accepts compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs), along with the fluorescent tube light bulbs that the County already recycles.
 

Charleston County Government encourages its citizens to be proactive and recycle their CFLs.
 

“CFLs have become more popular because they use less power and last longer than regular light bulbs,” said Gregg Varner, Charleston County Solid Waste Director. “However, CFLs do contain some amount of mercury, which is harmful to the environment if not disposed of properly. I urge citizens to help Charleston County by disposing of CFLs at one of our eight locations.”
 

The light bulbs cannot be recycled through the bi-weekly curbside pick-up service, but citizens can take their CFLs to the following locations for recycling:
 

• Bee’s Ferry Road Convenience Center, 1344 Bee’s Ferry Road, Charleston (West Ashley), S.C. 29414

• Adams Run Convenience Center, 8326 Old Jacksonboro Road, S.C. 29426

• Hollywood Convenience Center, 5305 Highway 165, Hollywood, S.C. 29449

• Edisto Convenience Center, 2844 Highway 174, Edisto Island, S.C. 29438

• Wadmalaw Convenience Center, 1558 Liberia Road, Wadmalaw Island, S.C. 29487

• Charleston County Recycling Center, 13 Romney Street, Charleston, S.C. 29403

• Maxville Road Convenience Center, 6380 Maxville Road, Awendaw, S.C. 29429

• River Road Convenience Center, 1775 River Road, McClellanville, S.C. 29458

Charleston County’s convenience centers are currently only capable of accepting recycled materials, including CFLs, from residences, but not large quantities from businesses.
 

Charleston County is recycling the CFLs and fluorescent tubes through Cleanlites Recycling South, Inc. Over 400 million fluorescent bulbs are thrown in the trash each year in the U.S., so Charleston County is doing its part to increase the number of bulbs that are recycled.
 

The following household hazardous materials and electronic waste (e-waste) are accepted at the County’s convenience centers:
 

E-Waste:

• CPUs; monitors (color and black and white); laptops; hard drives; keyboards; mice; printers; copiers; scanners; fax machines; adding machines; calculators; telephones (cell phones and cordless phones included); PDAs; pagers; and shredders

• Audio visual equipment: TVs; VCRs; stereos; radios; camcorders; CDs; DVDs and      cassette players
    

Household Hazardous Materials (carefully separate in original or clearly marked containers):  

• Household cleaners and polishes: kitchen and bathroom cleaners; glass cleaners; bleach; ammonia; drain openers; oven cleaners; rug and  upholstery cleaners; and silver, copper and chrome polishes

• Pesticides and insecticides

• Automotive and other products: used motor oil and gasoline; brake and transmission  fluid; antifreeze; car batteries and battery acid; pool chemicals and NiCad batteries; cooking oil; compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) and fluorescent tubes

• Paints and solvents: water-base (latex) or oil-base paint; paint thinner; rust remover; turpentine and furniture stripper

Visit the Charleston County Web site at http://www.charlestoncounty.org/ for news, services and up-to-date information relating to Charleston County Government.