Lincoln County residents will be given the opportunity to ridtheir homes and their property of unwanted trash in the next fewweeks.

Organizers with Keep Lincoln County Beautiful said trash binswill be set out in different locations throughout the county overthe next month beginning April 6 and ending around May 8. LincolnCounty Solid Waste Litter Control Coordinator Ronnie Durr saidsites have been specified in five areas of the county where binswill be set out.

The first site to open will be at the Brignall Voting Precinctat the intersection of Howard Road and Brignall Road. WasteManagement will deliver a large trash bin to site the morning ofApril 6 and will return to pick up the bin on April 10.

The items that can be thrown into the receptacles includefurniture, mattresses, televisions, clothing, building materialsand similar items. Batteries, tires and white goods can be placedon the ground near the receptacle. White goods include homeappliances, refrigerators, air conditioners and stoves.

Durr said no household garbage or hazardous materials, such aspaint cans, motor oil or asbestos, can be left at the sites.

On the designated weekends, trash receptacles will be brought toa different site each Thursday morning and picked up around lunchtime the following Monday, Durr said.

“I have to go back several times after the date is ended becausepeople continue to bring things,” Durr said.

Durr said he relies on private citizens to provide the areaswhere each trash bin site is located.

“We appreciate the landowners,” Durr said. “We try to put theproperty back the way it was before the event.”

The local organization joins nationally with the Great AmericanCleanup and the Keep America Beautiful Project, said committeemember Homer Richardson. Each spring for the last five years theorganization has sponsored the project.

In addition to setting out trash receptacles, organizers areencouraging individuals and area groups to take up the cause ofhelping rid Lincoln County of unwanted litter. In years past,letters have been sent out asking for help, but because of budgetconstraints, no letters were sent this year.

“We encourage youth groups, churches and organizations to pickup bags and sponsor a clean up of an area,” Richardson said.

Groups and individuals can obtain free trash bags provided byKeep Mississippi Beautiful at the Lincoln County District Two Barn.Once the bags are filled, they can return the loaded bags to thebarn for disposal.

Keep Lincoln County Beautiful President Jimminette Phillips saidthe program has made a drastic impact in the county since itsinception. Durr and Richardson said 220 tons of trash werecollected during last year’s event.

“We’ve seen a significant reduction of litter on roadways in thelast five years,” Richardson said.

Richardson estimated 80 percent of roadside litter comes fromfast food packages, beer bottles and cans. Another problem is theillegal dumping of tires, said Richardson.

Durr said tires belonging to residents can also be dropped offat these sites during the next few weeks.

“We collected 1,500 tires last year,” Durr said.

Tires can also be dropped off all during the year, five days aweek, at the District Two barn located on Old Highway 51, saidDurr.

Keep Lincoln County Beautiful officials praised the good workand diligence of county personnel. Phillips and Richardson bothcomplimented the county and Durr on the county’s commitment tolitter cleanup.

“The supervisors do a good job of keeping the roadsides mowedand when it’s clean, it stays clean,” Phillips said. “The countyhas made a big impact by hiring Mr. Durr to take care of theseproblems.”

Durr said the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department also does agood job by providing inmates who help keep litter picked up alongroadways.

Durr encouraged county residents to bring their trash items outto the trash bins for disposal. He also wanted to discourageresidents from salvaging through the trash.

The trash bin sites fall under the same laws that govern thecounty landfill, said Durr, which says that salvaging is notallowed. Even though these sites are on private property, they areconsidered a temporary extension of the landfill.

Trash bins will continue to be set out in various locationthroughout the county in the coming weeks – including HurricaneLake, California Road, East Monticello Street and Highway 51 inBogue Chitto.