David had a rough night with Annie, so he went back to bed that morning and didn't wake up in time to come with us, which was fine. It just meant I packed up both kids and drove out to a county recycling center by myself on a Saturday morning, which I am choosing to call an adventure.
Getting There
Compost Central is Mecklenburg County's disposal and recycling center, and the county's event page lists it at 140 Valleydale Road in Charlotte. It was really well signed, and there were actual people directing parking, which I appreciated because there were way more cars than I expected. I'm still not sure how all these people found out about it. Besides the Sprout, obviously, but I didn't think it was advertised that well.
What's There
Everything with wheels, plus boats. Trash trucks, police cars, motorcycles, construction trucks, a tractor you can climb on, and the county says the equipment comes from Solid Waste, Storm Water, the Sheriff's Office, Charlotte Fire, CMPD, and a bunch of local businesses.
The space is huge. Even with all those cars it never felt crowded, because there's plenty of room to spread out.
They also had free snacks, free water, and free sodas, food trucks on site, and people walking around to answer questions. I think there was a goodie bag too, but I never found it, so if you did, tell me where. There's a shaded garage dock area with tables set up, which is where I sat to feed Annie a bottle, and I was very grateful for it because it was hot. It's been hot all fall in Charlotte, and I was sweating by the time we even got there.
Our Experience
A lot of the kids had cute truck-themed outfits. We did not, but that's okay.
Annie went in the stroller and I let Jamie walk, and I should have brought the wagon instead, but I was not thinking clearly and it was fine, honestly. Jamie isn't a runner, so he stays glued to my side, and in a crowd he gets a little overwhelmed and sticks even closer.
When we first got there there were hardly any lines. They did start forming as the day went on, so we had to wait to climb inside a truck and wait again to sit on top of the tractor. Most people were courteous about taking their picture, letting their kid turn the wheel, and moving on for the next kid. Not everybody was quick about it (ahem), which was a little annoying, but nobody was awful.
Then someone in one of the trucks leaned on the horn. It was so loud. Jamie burst into tears, gave me the biggest hug, and wanted me to carry him, which is adorable and also very hard to do while pushing a stroller.
Annie, bless her,cried more or less the whole time, which is her right, since she did not ask to go to a recycling center. I just kept pushing the stroller and she kept having feelings about it.
We stayed for an hour or two, and Jamie warmed up toward the end. He sat inside trucks, touched all of them, stood inside the digger shovels, and sat on a tractor, and he mostly just wanted to look at everything.
Two parents in line behind me were comparing this to the Touch-a-Truck in Matthews. They said this one was way better because of the space and the number of trucks, and that the Matthews one was at a park, so everything was packed close together and felt claustrophobic.
The Part I Have to Be Honest About
The bathroom. Everything else on that property was well marked, and the bathroom was not, so I'm not sure the one I used was the official one. It was connected to a locker room. I was desperate, and I saw plenty of other parents going in, so I went. There was no changing table, so I changed Annie on a bench in the locker room. It was fine, but it wasn't great.
What I'd Tell My Best Friend Before She Goes
- Bring the wagon. A stroller alone doesn't cut it when your toddler needs to be carried halfway through.
- Go early. We had almost no lines at first, and the truck and tractor lines were the whole reason the later part of the day was slower.
- Bring a portable changing pad, since there's no changing table.
- If your kid startles easily, tell them before they climb into a truck that the horn works.
- The shaded garage dock area is where you sit if you need to feed a baby.
We're going back next year. I'm bringing the wagon.
The Details
- Where: Compost Central, 140 Valleydale Road, Charlotte, NC 28214
- When: It's annual, 9:00am to 2:00pm, rain or shine. The county's page lists the next one as Saturday, September 25, 2027.
- Cost: Free
- Food: Food trucks on site, plus free snacks, water, and sodas
- Hosted by: Mecklenburg County Solid Waste and Recycling
- More info: wipeoutwaste.mecknc.gov/touchatruck
