Warren County’s Convenience Centers will no longer accept furniture. Those bins are closed until the threat of COVID-19 passes.
“I know this is going to be a burden on the citizens of Warren County and I hope they understand it’s for their protection as well as the protection of my employees,” said Warren County Sanitation director Josh Roberts. “Until COVID-19 passes, the open top furniture bins at both the Fairgrounds and Fairview will be closed.”
The decision was made Saturday, March 28.
“When you service 500 people in eight hours and my employees are interacting with that many people in an eight-hour timeframe, it becomes a safety hazard for my employees and the public,” said Roberts. “That’s the situation we had Saturday at the Fairgrounds. In eight hours, we had 500 visitors.”
County Executive Jimmy Haley approved the reduction in services.
No other changes are under consideration at this time.
“We have 12 convenience centers and all of those are running at their regular hours,” said Roberts. “We are still accepting bagged household garbage and recyclables. Fairgrounds and Fairview were the only two centers that accepted furniture. I project we will lose 20-30 percent of the trash flow when we shut those bins and stop accepting furniture. It’s a slight reduction in the number of visitors, which is what we are attempting to achieve.”
Once the threat of COVID-19 passes, that service will resume.
“If you can keep the furniture items until then, we will happily take them,” said Roberts. “If you cannot, Southern Central Iron and Metal on Manchester Highway will take it. The cost is 3 cents per pound with a $25 minimum. We will get the furniture bins back open as soon as we can. The COVID-19 threat needs to pass first for the safety of our employees and the community. Safety is our main priority.”
For more information, Warren County Sanitation Department can be reached at 473-6874.
The Fairgrounds Convenience Center is open Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m., Saturday from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m., and closed Wednesday and Sunday.
Hours of operation for Campaign, Centertown, Earleyville, Fairview, Dibrell, Midway, Morrison, Rock Island, Starlight, Smartt and Viola convenience centers are:
Monday 6 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Tuesday 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Thursday 6 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Friday 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Saturday 6 a.m. to 2 p.m.
