News Flash

Reminder: the HCCC Office is closed to the public, and all cleanups are discontinued until further notice. We’ll be sure to let you know when we reopen! You’ll get a special celebratory message from us!

This announcement affects Walk Hampton Clean, Adopt-A-Spot Cleanups, Special Cleanups, Community Cleanups, Kayak Cleanups, Check Out and Clean Up Cleanups, and Newmarket Creek Clean Sweep Cleanups. 

Right now, we are tentatively rescheduling all cleanup events to June 11 or later, but circumstances may change, so stay connected! If we can start cleaning up again sooner, we WILL!

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Tours de Trash! Upcoming Tours de Trash are (pending permission):

• June 17: Tour de Trash Express to Goodwill! 9am-11am
• July 23: Tour de Trash Express to the Composting Facility! 9am-11:30am
• August 12: Tour de Trash Express to Goodwill! 9am-11am
• September 24: Tour de Trash Express to Composting Facility! 9am-11:30am
• October 28: Tour de Trash Express to Steam Plant! 9am-11am
• November 13: America Recycles Day Tour de Recycling, 9am-1pm, TFC MRF

Naturally these dates depend on widespread healthiness! So sign up, and we’ll all cross our fingers that the tours will go on!

To sign up for Tours de Trash Express or Tour de Recycling  go 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! For information, contact hccc@hampton.gov or call 727-1130.

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Recycling Information:

Solid Waste is experiencing very high levels of contaminated recycling, which is household trash mixed in with the recycling. We believe that residents are using the recycle container as an overflow household trash container, partly due to being at home during the COVID. This is NOT good, because it will increase the cost of our solid waste program!

RECYCLING GUIDE:

Recyclable Items - Allowed: Aluminum Cans, Plastic Bottles, Mixed Paper, Steel & Tin Cans, Glass Bottles & Jars, Empty Food Boxes, Card Board, News Paper, Magazines, Food & Beverage Cartons, Junk Mail, and Phone Books.

Non-Recyclables, Not Allowed: Food Waste, Wood, Yard Waste, Plastic Bags, Electronics, Hazardous Waste, Styrofoam, Light Bulbs, Bubble Wrap, Needles, Paint, Toys

The Green Container is for household trash, and the Gray Container is for Recyclables

Would you like someone to come to your group and talk about recycling right when we can gather again? Contact hccc@hampton.gov for a presentation! For quick questions, call 311 or HCCC at 727-1130.

Meanwhile, don’t let social distancing keep you from recycling right.

SIX IMPORTANT RECYCLING TIPS:

1. Place unbagged recyclables in your container. No plastic bags at all, please. None. Not one.

2. The only plastics that can be recycled are bottles and jugs.

3. Flatten cardboard and corrugated boxes to make more room for your other recyclables.

4. Rinse or wipe cans, bottles, and jugs before putting them in your bin.

5. Remember aluminum foil and foil pans (pie pans, baking pans, cookie sheets) can be recycled, just rinse or wipe.

6. ONLY the recyclables listed in the most recent recycling chart can be recycled. Check here to make sure you’re recycling right: https://hampton.gov/DocumentCenter/View/14663/Acceptable-Recyclables-Information?bidId=

Extra Recyclables or Live in an Apartment or Condo? Take them to the Yard Waste Transfer Site, 100 North Park Lane.

The same rules apply for drop-off recycling 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!

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Please Help Prevent Litter! Here are ways you can help prevent litter:

• Put your trash (NOT RECYCLING) in bags, and tie or twist tie them closed.
• When you wear masks and gloves for safety, please put them in the trash when you’re finished with them. Too many people are littering them in store parking lots. Those masks and gloves are going to start clogging storm drains and littering the Chesapeake Bay!
• After garbage collection, please go out and pick up any accidentally left-behind garbage (preferably using gloves) and wash your hands thoroughly afterward! If you don’t pick it up, it will wash down our storm drains.
• Now more than ever, it’s important to share your Clean City ethics with family, friends, and neighbors! We can’t do cleanups right now, and every piece of trash that hits the ground has an 80 percent chance of ending up in the Chesapeake Bay. Please help spread the word!
• While we’re talking about litter… It’s great and essential when people pick up their pet waste. Otherwise IT goes into the Chesapeake Bay, too! But putting it in a bag is only half the job. The other half is getting it into a trash can. Otherwise, it becomes more litter.

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You can connect with HCCC via three Facebook options, as well as Instagram and Twitter!  HCCC’s Facebook page serves as an information source for all things “clean city” – beautification, community environment improvement, litter prevention, recycling, the 3Rs, and general environmental education. We share reputable information about these topics and provide information about our programs, activities, and volunteers. If you want a good overview of what’s happening in Hampton and the larger world of our topics of interest, the Hampton Clean City Commission page is a can’t-miss sign-up!

HCCC sponsors two Facebook groups – Hampton Waterways Restoration Project and Bee City USA – Hampton.

The Hampton Waterways Restoration Project Group focuses on the HWRP Committee’s efforts to improve Hampton’s waterways through awareness and action projects. Among the posts you’ll see are reports on committee oyster activities, waterway cleanup announcements, information about various impacts on water quality, and volunteer reports on their various HWRP projects.

The Bee City USA – Hampton Group focuses on building a resilient habitat for bees and other pollinators. You’ll see educational posts about pollinators of various types, the plants they thrive on, how you can support a sustainable pollinator habitat, and occasionally cool educational resources.

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The Next Household Chemical & Electronics Collection will be July 18!:  The next household chemical and electronics collection will be held at the Coliseum parking lot, 1000 Coliseum Drive (across from the Embassy Suites), from 8am - noon. Just a reminder, please stay in your vehicle when you take materials to this collection.

Virginia Peninsulas Public Service Authority collects household chemicals and electronics in Hampton, James City, Poquoson, and York County. If you miss the Hampton collection, you can take your materials to the collections in these communities.

This collection 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.

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Educational Posts on Social Media: HCCC has put a series of educational materials on social media. If you would like copies to use in your newsletters on the topics of recycling, beautification, community improvement, and litter prevention, you’re welcome to save them from social media or ask for the originals at hccc@hampton.gov.

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HCCC Board and Committee Meetings for May and June are canceled, per the City Attorney’s Office: We will notify you when we can resume meetings.

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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. Or look for Hampton Clean City Commission on each platform.