Athens-Clarke County Municipal Solid Waste Landfill

Description: A state-of-the-art, lined Subtitle D landfill, the Athens-Clarke County Landfill comprises about 400 acres. The current area, Phase 5, is referred to as "Area 51." Learn about where our waste goes if we don’t reduce, reuse, recycle or compost. Approximately 300 tons of material are disposed in the landfill per day.

Address: 5700 Lexington Rd, Winterville, GA 30683

Length of presentation and tour:  20 mins

Ages Permitted: 5 years old and up, for participants under the age of 12, there is a requirement of one adult chaperone per 10 children.

Presentation Style: Combination of spoken word and live viewing of the operations.

Topics:

• Landfill Footprint
• Environmental Protection and Permits
• Trash Sources, Volume and Capacity
• Anatomy of a Landfill 
• Landfill Gas Capture System
• Recycling Programs

Handicap accessibility: Yes

Environment:

• Outdoors
• Odors, beeping and potential wildlife 

 Safety Precautions: This is a working facility with moving equipment. All safety precautions must be followed by all tour participants.

• Must wear comfortable closed-toe shoes. No heels, flip flops or sandals.
• The tour will be held completely outdoors. Participants should wear appropriate clothing for the weather.  In the event of rain, we will have to reschedule the tour.

Parking:

• Parking is limited so carpooling is recommended.
• ONLY one bus is permitted for larger groups.

Special Notes: 

• Composting Facility does not have a convenient bathroom. There is a composting bathroom, like a porta potty, at the Outdoor Classroom.
• Groups are more than welcome to bring lunch to eat at the Landfill Outdoor Classroom.
  • The Outdoor Classroom has a pavilion that up to 50 people can eat under comfortably.

Schedule a Tour

Athens-Clarke County Commercial Composting Facility

Description: Commercial or industrial composting is large-scale composting designed to handle a high volume of organic material, as opposed to backyard composting, which handles organic material from only one household. The compost (finished product) produced by a commercial composting facility can be sold to farms and nurseries, applied to municipal landscaping, or sold to individuals. With a growing interest in composting, recycling, and reducing the environmental impact of doing business, commercial composting operations have expanded in Georgia and around the country. The ACC Commercial Composting Facility is one of two public composting facilities in the state of Georgia.

Address: 5700 Lexington Rd, Winterville, GA 30683

Length of presentation and tour:  20 mins

Ages Permitted: 5 years old and up, for participants under the age of 12, there is a requirement of one adult chaperone per 10 children.

Presentation Style: Combination of spoken word and live viewing of the operations.

Topics:

• What is Compost
• What can be composted
• Benefits of Composting
• Backyard composting vs. Commercial Composting
• Where does the material come from?
• History and Basic Facility Information
• Facility Process and Equipment
• Facility Tour

Handicap Accessibility: Yes

Environment:

• Outdoors
• Odors, beeping, and potential wildlife 

 Safety Precautions: This is a working facility with moving equipment. All safety precautions must be followed by all tour participants.

• Must wear comfortable closed-toe shoes. No heels, flip-flops, or sandals.
• The tour will be held completely outdoors. Participants should wear appropriate clothing for the weather.  In the event of rain, we will have to reschedule the tour.

Parking:

• Parking is limited so carpooling is recommended.
• See map for parking details.
• ONLY one bus is permitted for larger groups.

Special Notes: 

• Composting Facility does not have a convenient bathroom. There is a composting bathroom, like a porta potty, at the Outdoor Classroom.
• Groups are more than welcome to bring lunch to eat at the Landfill Outdoor Classroom.
  • The Outdoor Classroom has a pavilion where up to 50 people can eat comfortably.

Schedule a Tour

Center for Hard to Recycle Materials (aka CHaRM) and Reuse Store

Description: The Athens-Clarke County Center for Hard to Recycle Materials (CHaRM) is a one-stop drop for items that can’t be recycled at the curb or at the ACC recycling drop-off sites due to their chemical composition, hazardous components, size, shape, etc. These materials are collected for reuse, recycling, and in rare cases, safe disposal. This facility offers the opportunity to keep these materials out of the landfill. It is one of only 2 facilities of its kind in the state of Georgia.

The Reuse Store provides an innovative approach to the recovery and reuse of business and industry discards and by-products, as well as community donations. We keep items out of landfills and put them in the hands of our communities’ education systems.

Address: 1005 College Ave, Athens, GA 30601

Length of presentation and tour: 45-60 mins

Ages Permitted: 8 years old and up, for participants under the age of 12, there is a requirement of one adult chaperone per 10 children.

Presentation Style: Combination of spoken word and live viewing of the operations.

Topics:

• History and Basic Facility Information
• What is accepted at CHaRM
• Where does it go?
• Facility Process and Equipment
• Facility Tour

Handicap accessibility: Facility has compact space and ease of movement around materials could be difficult, however, please let us know and we will do our best to accommodate all participants.

Environment:

• Indoors with a small outdoor portion 
• Dust
• Limited climate control

Safety Precautions: This is a working facility with moving equipment. All safety precautions must be followed by all tour participants.

• Must wear comfortable closed-toe shoes. No heels, flip-flops, or sandals.
• Must wear attire appropriate for a visit to a working facility. No loose-fitting clothing like skirts, ties, or capes. Tie back long hair and remove dangling jewelry.

Parking:

• Parking is available near the building with additional parking available within a short walk.

Schedule a Tour