Get ready to “explore the world of recycling” next weekend at the family center Rock-n-Recycle Event at Shirlington.
The open house, hosted by the Arlington Department of Environmental Services (DES), is scheduled for Saturday, September 17 and will run from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at county mall on S. Taylor Street.
The event will feature large trucks and machines, many with “wrestling names such as the Rock Crusher, Tub Grinder and Food Composter,” according to DES spokesman Peter Golkin.
Plus, there will be three dozen hands-on learning stations, take-out art activities, an ice cream truck, and “mulch mountains.”
Saturday, September 17: Rock-n-Recycle, the Solid Waste Bureau family open house. Come for the barbs, stay for the big trucks and silos of durability. https://t.co/7ofbPuAeTG pic.twitter.com/4nJV0pL9hT
— Arlington Department of Environmental Services (@ArlingtonDES) September 6, 2022
“The purpose of this very The Solid Waste Bureau Family Open House is to provide a behind-the-scenes look into the world of recycling, composting, waste-to-energy, inert material collection and other key environmental services provided by the County of Arlington,” Golkin told ARLnow. .
No RSVP is required and the event is rain or shine. This will be the county’s third time hosting the event, having previously done so in 2019 and 2021. DES expects at least “several hundred people” to attend.
The hope is that the open house “leaves a great fun and lasting impression on children and their adults too” while encouraging them to recycle, compost and better understand DES services.
From county event list: “Watch the big working machines (The Rock Crusher! The Tub Grinder!) up close, sit in the driver’s seat and meet the experts who keep Arlington clean and durable.”