BOYKINS—Kitty Lassiter can’t remember when she started recycling and makes sure to promote it every opportunity possible.

“I don’t throw anything away that can’t be recycled,” the Boykins woman said.

She takes advantage of a two- to three-year-old curbside-recycling program that provides free 95-gallon, wheeled plastic containers to residents in Boykins, Courtland, Scottswood and Cypress Manor, said Hart Council, director of public works for Southampton County.

A.V.E.S. of Smithfield picks up items every second Friday at no cost to residents, Council said.

Lassiter is among 103 participants in the program in Boykins, which saved the county $8,000 in landfill fees during the first year, said Mayor Spier Edwards, who also serves on the Southampton County Litter Control Council.

John Jenkins, litter control coordinator for the county, said the recycling program is much simpler than it used to be.

“You can put everything in the bin,” Jenkins said. “It does not have to be separated, just dumped into the bin. Every other week, just haul it to the curb. It’s just about as user-friendly as it gets.”

The county ordered 500 bins to try out the program.

“We’ve given out all but 20,” he said. “People are really participating in it and talking about it.”

Items that can be recycled include newspapers, loose leaf paper, magazines, junk mail, envelopes, aluminum cans, bottles and jars, plastic bottles and tubs, steel and tin cans, cardboard, cereal boxes and other food packaging boxes and paper towel cardboard rolls.

Anyone from the four participating communities interested in getting a recycling bin can reach Council at 653-2886 to get involved.

In related matters, the county Litter Control Council continues to make strides in hopes of curbing roadside trash, Edwards said.

On Monday, four signs asking folks not to litter were put up along various roadways, including General Thomas Highway between Newsoms and Boykins.

The county’s Board of Supervisors in April approved an ordinance that calls for litterbugs to spend up to 12 months in jail and pay fines ranging from $250 to $2,500. They also can be given community service. A previous ordinance did not require possible jail time or fines.

Sheriff’s Deputy John Griggs, who investigates littering and illegal dumping in the county, said the new ordinance has not been used because no one has been caught since its implementation.

Supervisors also last year purchased trail cameras typically used for photographing wild game in hopes of catching those dumping garbage illegally. Cameras are hidden in areas where illegal dumping is common. Movement triggers a sensor in the camera, which snaps a picture. Photos are then turned over to Griggs.

Anyone with a complaint related to litter should call the sheriff’s office at 653-2100.