Get ready to “explore the world of recycling” next weekend at the family-friendly Rock-n-Recycle event in Shirlington.
The open house, put on by Arlington’s Department of Environmental Services (DES), is set for Saturday, Sept. 17 and will run from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m at the county’s Trade Center on S. Taylor Street.
The event will feature big trucks and machinery, many with “wrestler-like names such as the Rock Crusher, the Tub Grinder and the Food Composter” per DES spokesperson Peter Golkin.
Plus, there will be three dozen hands-on learning stations, take-home art activities, an ice cream truck, and “mountains of mulch.”
Saturday, Sept. 17: Rock-n-Recycle, the Solid Waste Bureau's family friendly open house. Come for the beards, stay for the big trucks and silos of sustainability. https://t.co/7ofbPuAeTG pic.twitter.com/4nJV0pL9hT
— Arlington Department of Environmental Services (@ArlingtonDES) September 6, 2022
“The purpose of this very family friendly open house by the Solid Waste Bureau is to provide a behind-the-scenes look at the world of recycling, composting, trash-to-energy, inert materials collection and other key environmental services provided by Arlington County,” Golkin told ARLnow.
No RSVP is required and the event is rain or shine. This will be the third time the county has put on the event, having done it previously in 2019 and 2021. DES expects at least “several hundred people” to attend.
The hope is that the open house “leaves a big, fun and lasting impression on kids and their adults too” while encouraging them to recycle, compost, and a better understanding of DES’s services.
From the county’s event listing: “See the big work machines (The Rock Crusher! The Tub Grinder!) up close, sit in the driver’s seat and meet the experts who keep Arlington clean and sustainable.”