Oyster Gardening Opportunities: Friday, February 14, 11:30am, Sunset Boating Center, 800 S Armistead Avenue, sign up at causink@hampton.gov, AND/OR Dandy Haven Marina, 374 Dandy Haven Rd, date and time dependent on weather, for specifics, contact George at glc74@cox.net. Join in for a hands-on oyster gardening experience, or watch from the dock. Either way you’ll learn about oysters, how they grow, and why they’re important to our waterways.
100 Black Men of America, Virginia Peninsula Chapter, Cleaning Up YH Thomas Park February 15, 9am: Many thanks to the 100 Black Men Virginia Peninsula who are cleaning up YH Thomas Park in preparation for the Solar Smart Light Ribbon Cutting on February 18.
Holiday Closure, Presidents Day, February 17: For more information, hccc@hampton.gov or 757-727-1130.
Tour de Trash Express to the Steam Plant! February 20, 9am – 11am: Have you always wanted to visit the Hampton Steam Plant (Refused-Fired Steam-Generating Facility), but didn’t have time for the day-long Tour de Trash? Now is your golden opportunity to follow your household trash to the Steam Plant, where it is burned and reduced in volume by about 85 percent before going to the landfill! Watch, listen, absorb, ask questions, there will be plenty of time and opportunity. To sign up, contact hccc@hampton.gov, call 727-1130, or to http://bit.ly/TourdeTrash, where there’s a full list of upcoming tours – you can sign up for all of them if you want to! Many people have expressed a desire for Saturday tours, but the sites don’t open for tours on Saturdays. So if you can take a little time off from work, this would be a fun way to learn about trash in Hampton!
Hampton Parks, Recreation, and Leisure Services Master Plan Update Community Meeting, February 20, 6:30pm – 9pm: Hampton Roads Convention Center, Rooms ABC. Additional information at https://hampton.gov/parksplan. Please participate!
TWO Community Cleanups! Some people like to squeeze in a cleanup to end their week on a good note, while others like to start their weekend on the clean foot. So here are two Community Cleanup opportunities for you! Sites are selected based on litter index results and citizen recommendations.
- Friday February 21 at 3pm, we’ll be cleaning up Kearney Park and the surrounding area in Phoebus. This is a family-friendly cleanup.
- On Saturday February 22 at 10am, we’ll go to Hall Road to clean up! This one will be good for older children, teens, and adults.
Two things to know – we need a minimum of five people to hold each cleanup, and you MUST register in advance.
To sign up, contact hccc@hampton.gov or call 727-1130.
Newmarket Creek Clean Sweep Cleanup! February 22 at 1pm, Power Plant: This shoreline cleanup is part of an effort to reduce pollution in Newmarket Creek. To sign up, contact causink@hampton.gov or call 727-1158.
Virginia Peninsula Clean Business Forum Breakfast, February 26 at 8:30am, Sentara Careplex, 3000 Coliseum Drive, Conference Room B: Join us to celebrate clean and green workplaces from across the Peninsula and to learn about the stewardship efforts of Goodwill of Central and Coastal Virginia. This business recognition and education event is a regional partnership among Hampton, James City County, Newport News, and York County. Registration is $10 per person payable in advance at Hampton Clean City Commission, 1296 Thomas Street, Hampton VA 23669 or at the door (cash, checks, and money orders only). Checks and money orders payable to City of Hampton. Registration deadline February 19th. For more information or to sign up, contact cfharris@hampton.gov or call 727-1130.
Tour de Trash Express to the Compost Facility! March 11, 9am – 11:30am: There’s no sweeter smelling place in solid waste circles than a compost facility. Want to check it out? Join us to follow your yard trimmings and yard waste to the VPPSA Compost Facility in York County! You like compost and mulch, don’t you? You need to know how it’s made! Watch, listen, absorb, ask questions, there will be plenty of time and opportunity. To sign up, contact hccc@hampton.gov, call 727-1130, or to http://bit.ly/TourdeTrash, where there’s a full list of upcoming tours – you can sign up for all of them if you want to! Many people have expressed a desire for Saturday tours, but the sites don’t open for tours on Saturdays. So if you can take a little time off from work, this would be a fun way to learn about trash in Hampton!
Rain Barrel Workshop! March 14, 9am – 11am: Make your very own rain barrel for only $50 and learn the skills to make one for every corner of your house at this HCCC and Hampton VCE Master Gardener partnership! To sign up, http://bit.ly/HamptonRainBarrels. For information causink@hampton.gov or call 727-1158!
Oyster Gardening Opportunities: Saturday, March 14, 11am, Sunset Boating Center, 800 S Armistead Avenue, sign up at causink@hampton.gov, AND/OR Dandy Haven Marina, 374 Dandy Haven Rd, date and time dependent on weather, for specifics, contact George at glc74@cox.net. Join in for a hands-on oyster gardening experience, or watch from the dock. Either way you’ll learn about oysters, how they grow, and why they’re important to our waterways.
Check Out & Clean Up! Did you know you could check out cleanup equipment from our libraries? You can clean up your street, your neighborhood, or a nearby park! Yes, you CAN! Try it out! It’s an easy and rewarding way to help your neighborhood or another favorite place you want to clean up. Ask at your favorite library branch! Have you tried it yet? When you clean up, be sure to report so we can thank you! http://bit.ly/LibraryCleanupReport
Plastic Bag Recycling: You CAN recycle plastic bags and wrap, but ONLY at store or civic organization drop-offs. As a matter of fact, you can drop them off at Hampton’s community gardens or HCCC to help earn plastic benches for the community gardens. The locations are: North Phoebus Community Center, 249 W. Chamberlin Ave; Phoebus, 124 S. Hope St; Buckroe, 710 Buckroe Ave; or HCCC, 1296 Thomas St.
The Hampton Master Gardeners (at Bluebird Gap Farm Arboretum and Demonstration Garden, 60 Pine Chapel Rd) and Peninsula Master Naturalists also collect them, and some schools will collect them for competitions.
We urge you to support your local schools by saving your clean plastic bags and plastic case wrapping for them! There’s a lot at stake for them – prizes ranging from $500 - $1000 or a plastic bench! Winners are selected based on the weight of bags per student, so the participating schools need your bags, your neighbors’ bags, and your business or organizations’ bags!
Here’s our list of plastic bag recycling competition schools:
- Aberdeen Elementary School, 1424 Aberdeen Rd
- Armstrong Elementary School, 3401 Matoaka Rd
- Asbury Elementary School, 140 Beach Rd
- Bethel High School, 1067 Big Bethel Rd
- Booker Elementary School, 160 Apollo Dr
- Burbank Elementary School, 40 Tidemill Ln
- Hampton Christian Academy Lower School, NOT A DROP-OFF SITE
- Hampton High School, 1491 West Queen St
- Langley Elementary School, 16 Rockwell Rd
- Phenix Prek – 8 School, 1061 Big Bethel Rd
- Rivermont School, 303 Butler Farm Road, Ste 100
- Spratley Gifted Center, 339 Woodland Rd
Recycling Information: Would you like someone to come to your group and talk about recycling right? Contact hccc@hampton.gov for a presentation! For quick questions, call 311 or HCCC at 727-1130.
Extra Recyclables because of deliveries or family gatherings? Take them to one of three drop-off sites:
- The Yard Waste Transfer Site, 100 North Park Lane
- Gosnold’s Hope Park administrative building, 901 E Little Back River Rd
- Briarfield Park by the ball field, 1560 Briarfield Rd.
At all three sites, the same rules apply as for curbside recyclables: paper (boxes, newspapers, mail, food boxes, clean and dry), household-food-beverage plastic bottles and jugs only; glass bottles and jars only; metal cans, foil, and disposable aluminum baking sheets and pans; and milk and food cartons. NO PLASTIC BAGS, dirty diapers, garden hoses, or other trash. Questions? Call 311 (727-8311) or visit this link: https://hampton.gov/DocumentCenter/View/14663/Acceptable-Recyclables-Information?bidId=. Please don’t put anything else in either your home container or the drop-off containers. Thanks!
Household Chemical & Electronics Collections: The first household chemical and electronics collection of 2020 will be held March 21 at the Coliseum parking lot, 1000 Coliseum Drive (across from the Embassy Suites), from 8am - noon.
Five times a year, Virginia Peninsulas Public Service Authority collects household chemicals and electronics in Hampton.
This keeps chemicals and devices out of our steam plant and landfill, so it’s very important. You can bring the following items to the collection: paint, stain, solvent, glue, varnish, adhesive, gasoline & other fuel [less than 50 gal], wax, gas/oil mixture, brake fluid, engine cleaner, motor oil, antifreeze, insecticide, weed killer, pesticide, fertilizer, pest strips, oven cleaner, drain cleaner, floor wax & cleaner, metal polish/jewelry cleaner, bleach, degreaser, septic tank cleaner, toilet cleaner, charcoal fluid, dye, kerosene, pool chemical, photofinishing chemical, rechargeable batteries, fluorescent lights, CFLs.
Computer-related items accepted for recycling are: desktop & laptop computers; servers; monitors (both LCD & CRT types); computer wiring; desktop printers including multifunction printers, fax machines; desktop photocopiers/scanners; cell phones.
For more information, contact Hampton’s Customer Call Center at 311 (or 757-727-8311) or call Virginia Peninsulas Public Service Authority at 757-259-9850. You can access additional information at https://www.vppsa.org/services/#chemical.
HCCC Board and Committee Meetings for February: For more information, contact hccc@hampton.gov or call 727-1130.
February 13, 6:30pm – 8pm, Hampton Waterways Restoration Project, Ft Monroe Community Center – special speaker Dr Dobbs on Microplastics, must register at 727-1158 or causink@hampton.gov to attend because of limited space.
February 18, 3:30pm – 4:30pm, Clean & Green Workplaces Committee Meeting, Goodwill Community Employment Center
February 20, 1pm – 2pm, Bee City USA – Hampton Committee Meeting, HCCC Office
March 5, 11:30am – 1:00pm, Litter & Recycling Awareness Committee, Mama Rosa’s Restaurant
March 9, 10am – 11:30am, Beautification Committee Meeting, HCCC Office
March 10, 3:30am – 5pm, Hampton Clean City Commission Meeting, HCCC Office
Connect with HCCC in 2020:
Sign up for web page notifications (news flashes and calendars) at https://hampton.gov/list.aspx.
Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.
For more information, hccc@hampton.gov or 757-727-1130.