There will be no residential garbage or recycling collection service on Christmas Day, Thursday, December 25th.  Regular service will resume on our next scheduled collection day.

• Garbage Pick up: Monday & Thursday
• Recycling Pick up: Monday
• Yard Waste Pick up: Thursday

Other Important Reminders:

• Three-Foot Rule – At the curb, place the carts at least 3 feet away from other carts, mailboxes, cars, trees, shrubs, fire hydrants and utility poles.
• Everything Must Fit Inside The Carts – Items left outside the carts cannot be picked up by the mechanical arm on a collection vehicle and will not be picked up.
• Garbage, recyclables, and yard waste should be placed out no later than 6:00 AM on  collection days.  Carts are required to be kept out of sight on non-collection days.

There is a public meeting to provide information to the residents and business owners in the vicinity of Bruce B. Downs from Bearss Ave. to Palm Springs Blvd. that the next segment (segment “A”) of the widening of BBD will start the week of January 19, 2015.

Tampa Palms Elementary
6100 Tampa Palms Boulevard
Tampa, Fl. 33647

Monday, January 12, 2015
6:00 pm to 7:30 pm

Additional Information
http://www.hillsboroughcounty.org/index.aspx?NID=2414

As you deck the halls in coming weeks, Tampa Electric has a few handy tips for a safer, more energy-efficient holiday season.

Consider investing in energy-efficient light-emitting diode (LED) lights. LED lights have dropped in price in recent years and are now available in many colors and styles. LEDs produce very little heat, so they reduce the risk of a fire and are safer than incandescent lights. They are also more durable.

And, since they use less energy, LEDs will save you money. Tampa Electric’s team of energy experts ran side-by-side evaluations of 600 LED and non-LED mini lights—enough for a 6-foot tree. To light the tree for 6 hours a day for a month, the non-LED mini lights will cost about $4.50, the LED mini lights will cost 60 cents—that is a savings of 86 percent.

Tampa Electric offers these additional tips for your home during the holidays:

• Make sure your holiday lights and cords are in good condition (no broken lights or frayed cords).
• Never string holiday lights on or near power lines. When using a ladder to install lights outdoors, look above your head before climbing the ladder to ensure you are not near power lines.
• Never place electric cords under a rug or door, or around a sharp edge or corner. Keep all cords away from high-traffic areas in your home.
• Never use indoor lights outside, and don’t overload electrical outlets.
• Be sure to turn off holiday lights before going to bed or leaving home – or use a timer, so it can do the work for you.
• Make sure a reliable testing laboratory, like the Underwriter’s Laboratory, has inspected your holiday lights.
• If you have a natural Christmas tree, make sure it has enough water to keep branches from drying out, which can pose a fire hazard.

If your Thanksgiving and other holiday plans include deep-frying a turkey – or anything else delicious – Hillsborough County has just the place to take cooking oil that has passed its useful life.

The Public Utilities Department’s Cooking Oil Recycling Effort (CORE) offers residents a convenient way to recycle their used cooking oil. Free cooking oil jugs are available from cabinets located in select County collection areas. Used, cooled cooking oil can be stored in the jugs or other sturdy, spill-proof, non-breakable containers, capped securely, and taken to one of the brightly-colored CORE collection cabinets located at:

• Northwest Customer Service Center, 15610 Premiere Drive in Tampa
• Northlakes Recreation Center, 2640 Lakeview Drive in Tampa
• Woodlake Park, 9207 Woodlake Blvd. in Town ‘N Country
• Town ‘N Country Pump Station, 5505 Town ‘N Country Blvd. in Tampa
• Brandon Support and Operations Complex, 332 N. Falkenburg Road in Tampa
• Covington Gardens Pump Station, 6505 Covington Gardens Drive in Apollo Beach

Used cooking oil is a serious problem for residential plumbing and Hillsborough County’s wastewater collection system. When cooking oil is poured down the drain, it gels and solidifies into thick layers inside drainpipes, sewage pipelines, and sewage lift stations. The congealed oil can constrict water flow and cause plumbing backups. Running hot water down the sink does not help because the water eventually cools.

CORE is for residential cooking oil disposal only. The County’s three Household Hazardous Waste collection centers also accept cooking oil, at no charge, during designated monthly collection times. For more information on cooking oil recycling opportunities, visit http://www.HillsboroughCounty.org/CORE or contact the CORE staff at GotGrease@HillsboroughCounty.org.