If the day after Thanksgiving is the busiest shopping day of the year, then the day after Christmas is surely the busiest garbage day of the year.

At least it is in Hall County.

By noon Friday, Hall County residents had dropped off about 95 tons of garbage at the county’s 13 compactor sites, Hall County Solid Waste Manager Cary Lawler said.

Some residents could not wait until trash compactor sites opened this morning, posing problems for workers at six sites who had to wade through piles of trash outside the gates before they could open the gates, said Brent Wine, operations supervisor of Hall County’s solid waste department.

The piles of trash were a nuisance to employees, but also could cause problems for the public, Lawler said.

"It’s unsanitary and unsafe, really, and that does pose a problem to the public," Lawler said.

The county’s compactor sites were closed Thursday. It was the first time in two years that the sites were not open Christmas Day, Lawler said.

The heap of garbage collected by noon Friday was already 25 tons more than the county collects on an average day.

Lawler said he expected the amount of trash to double as residents ridded themselves of unwanted gift boxes and wrapping paper throughout the day after Christmas.

Lawler said Flowery Branch and the Tadmore compactor sites were two of the busiest Friday, and that he expected the county to collect nearly 180 tons of garbage by the time the compactor sites closed at the end of the day.