Gwinnett County to Celebrate Earth Day with Community Recycling Event

Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful (GC&B) and Gwinnett County Solid Waste are calling out to the public to start collecting tires, paint, electronics, clothing, sneakers and paper for this year’s Earth Day Community Recycling. 

Over the last six years, GC&B has hosted a community-wide Earth Day-themed recycling event. Co-hosted with Gwinnett County Solid Waste, this year’s event will take place Saturday, April 22, 9 a.m. to 12 noon at Coolray Field, 2500 Buford Drive in Lawrenceville.

“Celebrated by more than a billion people all over the planet since 1970, we are excited to participate in the world’s largest environmental movement on Earth Day,” said Schelly Marlatt, Executive Director of Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful.

“Designed to change human behavior and create opportunities for civic engagement and volunteerism, this year’s theme is ‘Invest in our Planet,’ so we’re asking our Gwinnett County neighbors to invest their time by either volunteering for this event or by combing through their closets, file cabinets, garages, basements, attics and storage sheds for items they no longer need that can be recycled into new products,” she said.

“It’s a win-win. Local residents get to declutter their homes, and we get to divert tons of items from our local landfills and give them new life!” Marlatt added.

During last year’s event, Earth Day organizers helped 1,549 neighbors recycle 175,540 lbs. of items they no longer needed within the event’s three-hour window. All told, 44,000 lbs. of electronics, 6,682 gallons of paint, 14 tons of tires, 2,720 lbs. of clothing and sneakers were collected for recycling, and 34,000 lbs. of paper were collected for shredding. 

Beyond the all-important act of recycling, the Earth Day Celebration will include Touch-A-Truck, refreshments, a chance for residents to meet their haulers, opportunities to learn more about programs and services from various county departments, and more.

What to bring for recycling

Items collected that day will include latex and oil-based paints, electronics, tires, clothing, sneakers and paper for shredding.

Throughout the April 22 “rain-or-shine” event, the following items will be collected:

• Paper for secure shredding — Limit to five copier paper boxes per vehicle.
• Electronics — Recycling is free except for TVs, monitors and printers. There is a $15 cash fee per monitor or TV; and a $5 cash fee per printer. Projection/console TVs have a $35 cash fee.
• Oil-based and latex paint — Please limit to 10 gallons per vehicle; cans must contain 25% wet paint.
• Tires — Limit to eight tires per vehicle; no dealer tires.
• Clothing and sneakers.

Materials should be placed in disposable containers or boxes. Containers cannot be returned. 

Looking for volunteers

Volunteers are also needed for the event.

To register as a volunteer for Gwinnett County’s Earth Day recycling event, visit the Volunteer Gwinnett page under the Employment tab at GwinnettCounty.com. 

For more about this and other upcoming GC&B events, visit gwinnettcb.org. Questions may be directed to gwinnettcb@gwinnettcb.org or 770-822-5187.