Hey, Seymour. It’s time to make the city shine.
While Seymour Department of Public Works employees work year-round to collect trash and recycling and perform other duties, they set aside one week each April for Make Seymour Shine.
From Monday to April 16, they will collect up to a pickup truck size load free of charge from city residences and small businesses.
Mayor Matt Nicholson said Make Seymour Shine is a great chance to clean up and clean out. In recent years, hundreds of tons of trash have been collected.
“I can’t thank the crew at DPW enough for all the extra work they put in for this event,” he said.
Those wanting to participate should set trash out curbside by 7 a.m. on their regular trash day. There, however, will be no alley pickups.
Be sure to separate trash, metal and yard waste. Landscaping, wood debris, drywall and remodeling debris should be separated from yard waste.
Latex paint must be dried with cat litter, sawdust or oil dry. According to a post on the DPW Facebook page, latex paint is not considered a household hazardous waste; however, it needs to be dry before it goes in the trash.
“Absorbents such as kitty litter, sand or even shredded paper can be used to dry the contents,” the post reads. “Please do not replace lids so our employees can see the contents.”
Household hazardous waste items are not included in Make Seymour Shine. Antifreeze, cleaning chemicals, fluorescent lamps, herbicides, oil paints, motor oil, pesticides and rechargeable batteries are a few examples and should be taken to DPW, 865 F Ave. East, during regular business hours.
Also during Make Seymour Shine, up to four passenger-size vehicle tires can be set out per household. No semi or agricultural tires are allowed.
If you set out trash in a small container (30 gallons or less), DPW will take the trash and the container during Make Seymour Shine.
Items accepted for pickup or dropoff are appliances and other scrap metal, including appliances with Freon.
Large appliances accepted include air conditioners, clothes dryers, dishwashers, drying cabinets, freezers, induction cookers, kitchen stoves, microwave ovens, refrigerators, trash compactors, washing machines and water heaters.
Electronics are not considered trash and are not included in Make Seymour Shine. There is a $20 recycle fee for each device with a screen (televisions, monitors and laptops) at the DPW facility.
Asbestos items are not accepted, either.
No phone calls are required for pickup of items during Make Seymour Shine. Only call DPW at 812-524-1100 if you have a car to be picked up. Titles are required.
Local residents said they appreciate the annual event.
“I love it,” Leta Ahlbrand said. “Glad to have an opportunity to get rid of stuff.”
Linda Larson said she’s thankful for the program to help her clean out, especially this year with a lot of empty boxes and other items piled up.
“My garage will be happier after,” she said.
Roger Wessel said Make Seymour Shine is an awesome service for the community.
“It provides residents a way to declutter and make our neighborhoods nicer, cleaner and even safer,” he said. “The offering of getting rid of harmful chemicals and paints at their DPW facility is also very helpful for sure with the very important safety aspect of the entire process. Kudos to the city of Seymour for your continued help and support to make this an awesome and safer community.”
Julia Aker said she’s glad the city still does the event to encourage spring cleaning.
“I just wish they would bring back identifying areas where nonprofit groups could volunteer to clean up as a project,” she said. “That may have been coordinated by the chamber beautification committee. Highway 50 west of Airport Road to Hangman’s Crossing is one that I have noticed.”
Brennan Williams said her family always purges a lot of items during Make Seymour Shine, and Stacey Dunn said she is able to get rid of unused clutter and junk.
Megan White and Bobbi Sellers both said they wish it was offered twice a year.
“I look forward to it all year so I can purge the things I can’t normally throw out,” White said.
