Athens-Clarke County Solid Waste Department

10/15/2026

Ron on, Athens! 🙌

We collected and composted 51.11 tons of food scraps in September from all of our Athens composters. That prevented the same amount of greenhouse gas as not driving 8 cars for a year!

Composting keeps food out of our landfill and adds nutrients back to our soil. What can your leftovers do?💚

10/09/2026

Hey, Carrion Crafters- we're looking for more artists and makers to join us at Vulture Festival 2026!

The Artist Market Application is now REOPENED for our NEW Vulture Festival date on Sunday, October 25th! We are seeking artists whose work is geared towards birds of prey, reuse, waste reduction, and nature to present and sell their work. Vulture Festival attendees love the weird and wonderful, so show us what you've got!

The 2026 Vulture Festival will be on Saturday, October 25th from 8AM to noon at the ACC Landfill Outdoor Classroom (5700 Lexington Rd, Winterville, GA).
The deadline to apply is October 14th at 11:59 PM.

Sign up using the link below!
https://forms.cloud.microsoft/g/7WAEpYJgJq

10/09/2026

For ACC Solid Waste Customers Only:

The Athens-Clarke County Solid Waste Department will suspend compost, garbage, recycling, and leaf & limb collections on Monday, October 12th, 2026 in recognition of the Indigenous People’s Day Holiday.

More details can be found at accgov.com/swholiday

10/09/2026

Material request from Athens Area Teacher Reuse Store

**WE HAVE ENOUGH** Wow, that was quick, but we have collected enough for now. Thanks everyone!

Did you know that we take teacher requests for reuse items to be used for class projects?

Our current request is for regular-sized water bottles but they MUST have the ridges seen in the picture. This teacher will be creating guiros with her kindergarteners and needs 60-70 bottles.

If you currently have these types of bottles in your recycling, we would love it if you would drop them off at TRS when we are open (Tues/Wed 12-6 and first 2 Saturdays of the month 7-1)

10/08/2026

VULTURE FESTIVAL UPDATE:

Due to safety concerns because of the approach of hurricane Isaias, we will be postponing VF to Sunday, October 25th from 8AM to 12PM!

Location: 5700 Lexington Road, Winterville, GA

We hope everyone stays safe this weekend and we look forward to celebrating vultures with you all soon❤

10/06/2026

Extended Halloween Costume Collection! Donate your gently used costumes!

10/05/2026

Hello solid waste community!

I am this year's Vulture Festival artist AND event coordinator :) This is my third time running this rodeo, so for my last VF, I wanted to be the one to design this year's artworks!! Hopefully you all love the black vulture as much as me ;)

The solid waste community has always been a place I have felt welcomed in and will forever enjoy being a part of, so even though I will be graduating in spring, my love for solid waste will live on! ♻❤️

📸:

10/02/2026

Food Waste Prevention Week - 'what do labels mean' edition.

We've all seen the labels, the ones that make us nervous that our food is no longer good. Washington Department of Ecology gives a good rundown of what 'best by', 'sell by', and 'use by' mean for our food. Spoiler alert - they are probably not *spoiled*

10/01/2026

Food Waste Prevention Week:

Looking for a simple way to reuse those kitchen scraps? How about collecting your veggie scraps in the freezer and making some vegetable broth. You can also use a slow cooker and let it cook all day while you are at work and it will be ready to use (or freeze) when it is time to make dinner. This method also works great for chicken bones - perfect for rotisserie chicken night.

09/30/2026

Our colleagues at the ACC Sustainability Department have installed window film and Accopian BirdSavers, which consist of paracord hung at four-inch intervals to form a curtain. The American Bird Conservancy rates the curtain method as highly as, or better than, the dotted film. We are currently testing both methods to prevent bird strikes at the Solid Waste Department Administrative Building. Please feel free to come and observe both installations. This is a wonderful way to support local bird populations just before the fall migration.🐦