Lincoln County residents have one last chance to throw out their household junk at no cost.

Dumpster Days, part of the Great American Cleanup, will wrap up Thursday-Saturday at Case Grocery at the intersection of California Road and Hilltop Lane. Crews will be available from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily to oversee the trash drop-off.

The annual Great American Cleanup helps combat litter and illegal dumping by allowing residents to get rid of old furniture, broken and out-of-date appliances and other hard-to-dump items for free at designated locations.

Throughout April, dumpsters have been located in each of the county’s districts to give residents an opportunity to throw out junk. The goal is to keep the stuff out of ditches, wooded areas and other illegal dumping spots.

The disposal event is possible through a grant from the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality, which calls for certain restrictions.  Only non-hazardous, residential rubbish is allowed. No commercial items will be accepted.

Non-commercial tires are allowed, but are not to be placed in the dumpster. Tires are collected together in a spot separate from the dumpster area.

County crews will be available to help with a crane if needed, as long as the weather allows.

“If you need the crane to assist, your vehicle front end needs to be facing the same as our crane truck front and the load needs to be close enough to grab. This prevents loads from being picked up over your vehicle, as something could fall out and damage your vehicle or injure you,” Bob Knight, the county’s solid waste coordinator, said.

Knight is asking that individuals refrain from scavenging items that have been tossed. Only those who are disposing of items during working hours are allowed to be in the dumpster area, he said.

Knight has warned that lines may be long at the dumpster location. Supervisors this year decided to reduce Dumpster Days from four days to three, cutting out Sundays.

Last year, nearly 700,000 pounds of rubbish and just over 100,000 pounds of metal were collected during Dumpster Days. The metal was recycled.

Suggestions from Knight:

• Separate your metal items from the trash as it saves time disposing of them.

• Do not bring household garbage such as food and diapers.

• Do not bring construction items that should be disposed of by your contractor.

• Be patient and expect lines.

The county collected hazardous waste at a one-day event in March, and thousands of pounds of aerosol cans, flammable liquids, corrosives, batteries, paint, used oil and electronic waste were tossed.