City Provides Helpful Hints for Tree & Lights Disposal, Holiday Recycling, Excess Trash

RAPID CITY, SD—After this upcoming weekend, the hustle and bustle of Christmas will begin to settle and attention focuses on what to do with all the extra cardboard, wrapping paper and trash, not to mention what to do with the tree and that string of lights that failed to light this season.

            The City's Solid Waste Division is providing helpful advice for holiday trash and recycling collection along with important information about disposal of holiday trees and non-working lights.

**Items such as wrapping paper, packing items, cellophane, ribbons, bows, artificial decorations along with cardboard items should be placed in the regular trash containers. 

**Homeowners are routinely advised to bag and tie their garbage and it’s especially important during the holiday season. Solid Waste officials advise the public to avoid ‘hay stacking’ -- piling up or overflowing the trash in their containers.  As alternatives, the public can place some of the trash items in the following week’s collection or bring excess garbage to the landfill.

**Do not place cardboard boxes or excess trash next to the household trash and recycling containers. Trash collection drivers will not stop and pick up the excess trash.

**Cardboard items can also be taken to remote disposal sites at Fitzgerald Stadium, West Boulevard North or to the Landfill.

**The remote disposal sites are only for recycle items and not for dumping trash and other discarded household items. Solid Waste officials advise the public to take other items to the Landfill. Also if remote site recycle containers are full, do not place the items on the ground. Take the items to the landfill.

**Beginning December 25, natural trees, wreaths and garland can be taken to the remote sites for disposal and should be cleaned of ornamentation and not be placed in tree bags. No yard waste allowed at the tree disposal sites.

            In addition, collection boxes for non-working lights can be taken to various sites through January 31:

**Ace Hardware Stores at 1602 E. St. Patrick Street and 1724 W. Main Street

**Boyd's Drug at Baken Park and 909 E. St. Patrick Street

**City Hall, 300 Sixth Street

**Fleet Farm, 1001 E. Mall Drive

**Hippie Haven, 806 St. Joseph Street

**Menards, 710 N. Creek Drive

**MRF Office Building/Landfill, 5165 S. Highway 79
**Rapid City Library, 610 Quincy Street

**RC Hardware, 770 Mountain View Road

**Roosevelt Swim Center, 125 Waterloo Street

**Runnings, 1020 N. Lacrosse Street

**Western Dakota Tech, 800 Mickelson Drive