Starting on January 31st, 2017, the city of Charlotte will have a new rule when it comes to how residents recycle their cardboard.

The city will now be requiring residents to rip, cut or tear cardboard boxes to pieces no bigger than 18 inches by 18 inches.

“You don’t have to get out your measuring tape. It’s a loose guideline. We want to make sure that the cardboard fits loosely into the cart. We will leave a door hanger and we will tell you to properly prepare that item, properly prepare your cardboard and we will collect it next time,” commented Charlotte spokeswoman Erica Robinson.

Erica noted that after the city switched to their new 98-gallon recycling bins, they started receiving complaints that recycling bins weren’t being emptied. The city soon discovered that the cardboard was getting wedged in the larger 98-gallon bins.

If recycling bins are filled with cardboard pieces larger than 18×18 inches after January 31st, sanitation engineers will no longer empty them.

If you don’t want to go through the hassel of ripping up your boxes, you can always get a cat to do it for you:

What do you think of the new rule? 

Let us know your thoughts in the comments below! 

The City of Charlotte is now declaring Thursday evening’s Belk Bowl to be an extraordinary event. The game is expected to draw tens of thousands of fans and tailgaters in and around the Bank of America stadium beginning Thursday afternoon.

Designating the Belk Bowl as an extraordinary event gives CMPD officers more power to search people, restrict various activities, and make arrests.

The last ‘extraordinary event’ in Charlotte took place during the Keith Scott protests when the National Guard surrounded the Panthers Stadium during their Sept. 25th game.

Security officials are expecting thousands of outsiders to pour into our city tomorrow to watch the game while tailgating in parking lots, in local bars, and at the stadium. Recent terrorist attacks in Berlin and Nice, France, have made event’s like the Belk Bowl a high priority for police and security.

The Belk Bowl is an annual college football bowl game played at Bank of America Stadium. The game currently features a matchup between the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and the Southeastern Conference (SEC), this year the Virginia Tech Hokies will be taking on the University of Arkansas Razorbacks.

Tickets are now starting at $54 each – click here to buy tickets.

According to the Charlotte City Code, these are the regulations that go into effect when an ‘Extraordinary Event’ is declared:

(a)During the period of time and within the boundaries of an extraordinary event, it shall be unlawful for any person, other than governmental employees in the performance of their duties to push, pull or transport any, vehicle, cart, or float, unless a permit specifically authorizes the use of that item(s).

(b)During the period of time and within the boundaries of an extraordinary event, it shall be unlawful for any person, other than governmental employees in the performance of their duties, to throw any item unless a permit specifically authorizing such throwing.

(c)During the period of time and within the boundaries of an extraordinary event, it shall be unlawful for any person, other than governmental employees in the performance of their duties, to willfully or intentionally possess, carry, control or have immediate access to any of the following:

(1)A bar, chain, shaft, staff, cable, wire, lumber, or plastic pipe capable of inflicting serious injury to a person if thrown at or struck upon another, except as permitted by subsection 19-303(d);

(2)A container or object of sufficient weight that may be used as a projectile, or that contains objects that may be used as a projectile, that could inflict serious injury to a person or damage to property;

(3)An aerosol container, spray gun or soaker device;

(4)A paint gun, etching materials, spray paint container, liquid paint or marker containing a fluid that is not water soluble;

(5)A backpack, duffle bag, satchel, cooler or other item carried with the intent to conceal weapons or other prohibited items;

(6)A glass or breakable container capable of being filled with a flammable or dangerous substance carried with the intent to inflict serious injury to a person or damage to property;

(7)A sharp or bladed objects such as a box cutter, utility knife, ice pick, axe, or any other object defined in section 15-14;

(8)A hammer or crow bar;

(9)Pepper spray, mace or any other irritant carried with the intent to delay, obstruct or resist the lawful orders of a law enforcement officer;

(10)Body armor, shield, helmet, protective pads, or gas masks carried or worn with the intent to delay, obstruct or resist the lawful orders of a law enforcement officer;

(11)A mask or scarf worn with the intent to hide one’s identity while committing a crime;

(12)A police scanner;

(13)Rocks, bottles, objects, bricks or pieces thereof that are of sufficient weight or design as to cause serious injury to a person if thrown at or struck upon another;

(14)A device used to shoot, hurl or project a missile of any description capable of inflicting serious injury to a person;

(15)A “sock” or “pocket” containing material of sufficient weight as to cause serious injury to a person if thrown at or struck upon another;

(16)Fireworks, smoke bombs, sparklers, and stink-bombs;

(17)An animal unless specifically allowed under the terms of a permit issued in section 19-313 or is a service animal used to assist a person with a disability.

(d)The following factors shall be a defense to prosecution for a violation of subsection (c):

(1)The defendant was engaged in, or on the way to or from, an activity in which the or she legitimately used the device or object;

(2)The defendant possessed that object for that legitimate use; and

(3)The defendant did not use or attempt to use the object as a weapon or to injure another person or damage property.

(Ord. No. 4814(b), § 1, 1-23-2012)