It’s no secret that when you stay in a beach house Charleston - either Isle of Palms vacation rentals or Folly Beach house rentals Charleston SC - you generally buy a lot of groceries and generate a lot of recyclables. Nothing like a hot day at the beach to inspire you to stay hydrated with bottles or cans of cool beverages. As I covered in the previous blog, there’s a great way to put any supplies you have left over from your stay in a Charleston beach house to good use, by donating them to the local food bank.
Charleston County operates a terrific recycling program, which experienced a big boost with the introduction of the big blue rollout carts. They make curbside recycling a snap, and participation numbers have jumped exponentially - good news for the environment. If you’d rather drop off recyclables yourself, the City maintains big ones in the municipal parking lot off Pavilion Drive near Front Beach, next to the big IOP Public Safety Building, just down the street from Exclusive Properties' office and an easy drive from all our beach rentals Charleston, and especially our Isle of Palms luxury rentals. There is also a very large recycling drop-off location at the DMV, which is where the IOP Connector meets Highway 17. Just turn right at the stoplight onto Sweetgrass Basket Parkway, they turn into the large parking area on your left. FYI, in Charleston County, recyclable materials basically include things you would buy in a grocery store. The following can be put in your blue cart: plastics (# 1 through 7), glass bottles and jars, aluminum and steel cans, and all paper (magazines, junk mail, office paper, notepads, paper board, paper bags) and cardboard (please flatten first, and if there’s no room in the cart, just set it next to the cart). NOTE: Please put the items directly in the can, NOT in bags. Recently, the recycling powers-that-be started a mini-education program informing people what NOT to put in the bin. Many people put just about anything in there, in a kind of “wishful recycling,” hoping that it would encourage such an item to be recycled. Unfortunately, what happens is that they clog the machines, cause a total work stoppage, or taint an entire load of recyclables and render them unusable. Yikes! These so-called “contaminants” were the subject of a recent story in the Post & Courier: Here is a good reminder of what is NOT recyclable curbside in Charleston County and should NOT be placed in the blue carts:
- Plastic bags
- Plastic wrap
- Shredded paper (the little pieces clog the machinery)
- Styrofoam – trays, egg cartons, packing peanuts, etc.
- Bubble wrap or air pillows
- Garden hoses
- Construction debris
- Medical waste
- Food waste
- Batteries
Some handy FYIs - most grocery stores including WalMart recycle plastic bags, so be sure to drop them off there. Also, Publix recycles Styrofoam trays and egg cartons. If you do shred paper, please drop it off at one of the many shred day events sponsored by various businesses throughout the year. The following items may be dropped off at a Charleston County Recycling Convenience Center: electronics, batteries, light bulbs, chemicals, paint, tires, scrap metal and oil. This is good not just for residents of Charleston County but for our friends staying in rental homes South Carolina; we all need to work together to keep the Lowcountry and our beaches beautiful. Check out their official website for the details and drop-off locations: http://www.charlestoncounty.org/departments/environmental-management/index.php 
Check out the SURF near your beach house Charleston ...
Also, if you are in one of our SC vacation rentals this weekend, you might check out something fun happening tomorrow (Saturday, July 9th). It’s the Carolina Coast Surf Club Exposition, and it takes place at The Windjammer on the Isle of Palms, at 1008 Ocean Boulevard, super close to your luxury house on Isle of Palms. Here’s what it’ll include:
- Everything surf, including SUP and body boards
- Bring your surf board for appraisal, swap or sell - Noted appraiser and surf historian Bill Simon on site
- Raffles and door prizes
- All ages are welcome
- 11:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
- Exhibition of vintage boards
- Board care, shaping and repair
- Surf art by Steve Rhea
- Participants include Charleston Waterkeeper, Surfrider Foundation, Carolina Surf Film Festival, Ocean Fitness Charleston
- Sign up for surf or SUP lessons
- Here’s their website with more http://www.carolinacoastsurfclub.org/
So recycle right, check out all things surf, and call EP when you are looking for luxury beach house rentals SC. We can connect you with the perfect beach house Charleston for your needs/wants/wishes. All best, Lowcountry Lisa your Isle of Palms vacation blogger