Fulton residents will be able to rid themselves of their doohickeys, whatsits, whatchamacallits, hazardous household chemicals and expired prescriptions during next week's fall cleanup.
The fall cleanup is one of two events scheduled by the city of Fulton aimed at helping citizens get rid of unwanted clutter. J.C. Miller, Fulton's solid waste manager, said the spring and fall cleanup events have been around for a decade.
"The fall cleanup is an event that's been going on for the last 10 years," he said. "It gives people an opportunity to get rid of old furniture. The city will come by and pick it up at no charge."
Participating in the cleanup costs no additional money and is easy as taking out the trash, Miller said.
"You put it out by the curb on your scheduled trash day," he said. "Eventually, we will be picking all your trash up on the same day. Be sure to leave a little space between your pile and the trash can."
In addition to having cleaner houses, Miller said many dumpster-diving treasure hunters can take advantage of the event, as long as they do so in a respectful manner.
"If someone's driving down the road and sees something they like, we don't have an issue with them taking," he said. "All we ask is people be respectful."
The event has been popular in past years, Miller said.
"During the cleanup weeks, we average around 60-80 tons extra than what we normally pick up," he said.
Items that are accepted include sofas, televisions and microwaves. However, the city is not able to take some items, such as appliances, hazardous chemicals, paints and tires. For those who need help hauling away an appliance, the city officials are not able to haul them away, but can still be helpful.
"If they call us here and they have an appliance they need hauled away, we have people who can contact who can come pick them up," he said.
In conjunction with the city's cleanup, the Fulton Fire Department will have their last week of the year for hazardous material pickup.
"They can call the station or go to the city website and request the hazardous material pickup," Assistant Fire Chief Kevin Coffelt said. "We also have electronic waste pickup. We take anything with a battery and cords. However, we don't take televisions."
Coffelt said if a household chemical isn't being used, homeowners should strongly consider disposing of it.
"If it's a chemical they're not using, it's important to get it out of the residence," he said. "It can be dangerous if kids get into the chemicals, or if there's a fire, we could be exposed to them."
In addition to picking up chemicals, Coffelt said the fire department encourages residents to turn in expired or unnecessary prescriptions to the fire station.
"If you're not using the medications, it's good to get them out of your house," he added. "A lot of people used to flush them, but by bringing them in, we can keep those medications out of our sewer system."
The last day for chemical pickup is Saturday.
"We do the drug take back all year long," Coffelt added.
For those needing to dispose of tires, Mid-MO Solid Waste Management will also provide an opportunity for tire dropoff. From 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Oct. 26, people can bring unwanted tires to the Callaway County Road and Bridge Building and dispose of them for $1 per tire. Electronics and all appliances will also be accepted free of charge.