Columbia Trash Schedule 2023 (Holidays, Plastic Bags, and Large items)
Columbia is a city in the South Carolina state of the United States. Like the other cities in this country, Columbia also has a fixed schedule for garbage collection which varies a little depending upon the area in which you are living.
If you are a Columbia resident, you definitely need to sign up for this program to get rid of all the unwanted waste around the house. To sign up for the program, or for further information about it, read the following article.
Columbia Trash Pickup Schedule
Collection takes place on a regular basis every week. The trash should be placed outside the house before 6:30 am in Summers and before 7 am on other days because the collection starts after this time.
After your trash can has been emptied, one can again fill the container and put it outside after 4 pm. The trash collection calendar can be searched by entering your address in the following link: https://www.como.gov/utilities/columbias-solid-waste-utility/single-family-home-trash-and-recycling/.
The COMO Recycle and Trash app can also be installed which will help you remind you of your collection days and provide you with your garbage collection schedule.
Public holidays to keep in mind
Some public holidays announced by the government alter the trash collection schedule. Following are the holidays on which no trash will be collected from the houses, and ultimately the schedule will resume from the next day.
- New Year’s Day – January 1
- Martin Luther King, Jr. Day – January 16
- Memorial Day – May 29
- Juneteenth – June 19
- Independence Day – July 4
- Labor Day – September 4
- Veterans Day – November 11
- Thanksgiving Day – November 23
- Christmas Day – December 25
Use of plastic bags in Columbia
We know that plastic garbage bags are harmful for the environment, but due to the fact that there is already a stock of garbage bags present in the city, the people have to use them until their number ends.
As a compensation, a voucher is provided in return for each bag used. Vouchers will be sent in January and June; in January two vouchers are sent for 26 rolls of trash bags and two vouchers for 18 rolls of garbage bags.
Now the question arises, how are these vouchers helpful? Well, wherever you go and buy items, you won’t have to pay for the trash bags if you have these vouchers with you.
Columbia SC recycling schedule
Not all items should be thrown in trash. One should be able to differentiate between items which can no longer find use, and only those things should be thrown in trash containers. Others should be recycled, and the goods which can be repaired and can find a proper use should be donated to those in need. Recyclable items include
- dry paper products like newspapers and magazines
- cardboard boxes or other things made out of cardboard
- glass jars and small glass items
- plastic bottles and containers
- metal cans used for storing food and liquids (emptied) etc.
Note that plastic bags should also be recycled as they take a very long time to be decomposed, however, it is advised to take them to the nearest drop-off location or a landfill and then proceed towards giving them for recycling.
Large items collection Schedule
Items too large to be thrown in trash are termed as bulk waste. These should not be thrown like the daily household waste, instead, one should schedule a collection from the government’s waste department using the 5738742489 number or from their web page the link of which is https://www.como.gov/utilities/columbias-solid-waste-utility/large-item-collection/.
Each bulk waste costs differently with the average being $20. Following are the examples of bulk items.
- Furniture like tables and chairs
- Mattresses
- Small tree shrubs
- Appliances like refrigerators and air conditioners (with CFCs removed). The cost of each such item is $29.
- Other large household items like stove, water heater and dishwasher. These cost $21.50 per item.
Items not to be thrown in bulk trash
Household items which can be thrown in garbage containers should not be placed along with the bulk trash. More examples include industrial materials like concrete and other chemicals, household hazardous stuff like paints, insecticides etc. Bulk items should have a size lesser than 10 cubic yards. The ones bigger than this size require a special collection.
Household dangerous waste
A large number of items we consider safe are actually hazardous to be thrown along with other garbage items. Such items should not be placed inside the containers. Instead, these things should be taken to the collection facilities which are normally open on the first and third Saturdays of the month.
Some examples of household hazardous waste are acids, brake fluid, photographic chemicals, medications, mercury, fireworks and other explosive substances, batteries and cells, glues and adhesives, shoe polish, paints, pesticides and insecticides, swimming pool chemicals, fertilizers, varnishes, wood stain, toner, lead, gas cylinders, furniture polish, smoke detectors etc.
Goods to be taken at a landfill
A landfill named Columbia Sanitary Landfill is located in Columbia, which has separate areas for landfill disposal, small vehicle drop off, white good drop off, compost pickup and compost drop off.
Most of the items taken to a landfill include food waste, recyclable items like paper and plastic, and household solid waste which includes almost all categories of waste products. However, products like large appliances, wood, clothing materials and car parts should NOT be taken to a landfill.
Instructions for the Columbia residents
- All the waste should be tightly packed in bags or boxes and their weight should not exceed 50 pounds.
- Citizens are not allowed to throw trash on streets, and if they do so, they’ll be strictly fined.
- It is the duty of residents to inform the police if any such incident where a person is knowingly throwing garbage on streets occurs.
- Trash bags should be placed far away from the traffic to avoid any kind of disturbance.