HANCOCK COUNTY — Got an old TV or some half-used cans of paint laying around? It’s time for a little spring cleaning.
Recycle Hancock County’s annual spring recycling event will take place 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. this Saturday, April 29.
Hazardous waste, electronics, tires, latex paint, and document shredding are among the items that will be accepted, with various fees for disposal.
Unwanted shoes and expired non-perishable food will also be accepted.
The collection takes place at a new location this year — in the Elanco parking lot at 2500 Innovation Way in Greenfield, just north of I-70 off Ind. 9.
“We are hoping the additional space will work much better and allow for better traffic flow,” said Dede Allender, director of Recycle Hancock County.
The nonprofit organization — formerly known as Hancock County Solid Waste Management District — hosts a county-wide recycling event each spring and fall, but Allender encourages residents to be smart about how they dispose of recyclable material all year long.
She’ll soon distribute an updated A-Z Recycling Guide for the county with the help of a $1,500 mini-grant awarded by the Community Foundation of Hancock County.
Allender said the grant would help cover about half the expense of publishing an updated guide, which she tries to do every four or five years. The most recent guide was updated in 2018.
“This guide is important because it helps to inform residents how to dispose of items properly,” she said. “Things like electronics and Freon appliances are getting harder and harder to find places to take them. Both of these items can have hazardous materials in them and are not good for the environment if placed in the trash. Therefore, we are helping residents do the right thing by taking these items to approved locations for proper disposal.”
The guide instructs people on where they can take items to be recycled or disposed of properly, along with the name and location of businesses which accept various types of items.
“I am hoping to have the guides in my hand within a week or two and will be working hard to distribute them around the county,” said Allender, who said the guides will soon be available at local libraries, real estate offices the Greenfield Area of Commerce and Purdue Extension office.
The guides will also be available at the April 29 collection event, provided they’re available by then.
“I am planning on working extra hard this year to get as many distributed to as many places as possible,” said Allender.
The guide — as well as fees and guidelines for the April 29 spring recycling event — can be viewed online at RecycleHancockCounty.com.
