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Clearwater Offers Safe Place to Dump Christmas Gift Trash

Clearwater | Clearwater Police | Christmas Trash

This is the fifth year for Operation Safe Disposal.

CLEARWATER – You’ve got the new 65-inch TV mounted on the wall and the new computer on the desk in the home office. The kids have the latest PlayStation 4 in their rooms. The big question now – what to do with all of those boxes?

The wrong thing to do, Clearwater police and solid waste officials say, is to put them by the curb for your regular trash collection. Leaving them curbside for hours or even days is a telltale way to let would-be burglars know what kind of goodies you got for Christmas. They don’t even have to break in to see what you have.

“You don’t want the bad guys to know that easily what you have in your house,” police Chief Dan Slaughter said. “When they see those boxes, their eyes light up. They don’t have to guess which house might have what.”

To combat that, the Clearwater police and solid waste departments are teaming up for the fifth year for Operation Safe Disposal. Large trash bins are being placed at nine different sites across the city so that residents can drop off their large boxes instead of leaving them outside their houses. Bins are available from Christmas Eve through Jan. 4.

“We are proud to offer this service for the citizens of Clearwater for the fifth year,” said Earl Gloster, director of solid waste and general services for the city. “We enjoy being a partner with the police department to keep our neighborhoods safer.”

The bins are at nine sites throughout Clearwater:

  • Clearwater police headquarters, 645 Pierce St.
  • Countryside fire station #50, 2681 Countryside Blvd.
  • Clearwater Beach recreation center, 69 Bay Esplanade Blvd.
  • Clearwater solid waste facility, 1701 N. Hercules Ave. (out front at the recycling drop off center)
  • Morningside pool, 2400 Harn Blvd.
  • Clearwater fire station #49, 565 Sky Harbor
  • Ross Norton recreation center, 1426 S Martin Luther King Jr. Ave.
  • North MLK police sub-station, 1310 N Martin Luther King Jr. Ave.
  • Clearwater fire station #45 (new location), 1140 Court St.

Also remember to keep a record of valuable gifts by documenting make, model, serial numbers and a detailed description. You can download a form at clearwaterpolice.com.

Clearwater | Clearwater Police | Operation Safe Disposal | Christmas Trash | TB Reporter

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