Your old stuff: What do you do with it?
It’s simple to throw out or recycle old food or paper products.
Some things, however, just are not that easy to get rid of.
Sheryl Kelly, director of The Butler County Department of Recycling and Waste Management, said the list of things that can and cannot be thrown away conventionally changes regularly. She suggested anyone with question call her.
“I can help guide them to a place that will take unusual things,” Kelly said.
Many things, such as electronics and corrosive household cleaners, are illegal to throw out with regular trash.
Kelly said items like these can be disposed of at the county’s hazardous waste collection. The collection began in 2010 and is run by Environmental Coordination Services and Recycling of Crawford County. Anyone interested in getting rid of things at one of the collections can call 866-815-0016.
Items containing freon, such a refrigerators or air conditioners, will not be accepted in the collection until next year. Until then, Kelly said people trying to throw these items out should call their waste hauler to see if they will take them. She also said that some local repair shops may take these items for their parts.
In addition, some items can be thrown out other ways.
Kelly said paint that is completely solid is considered to be nonhazardous and can be thrown out with trash. Some stores sell hardener just for the purpose of making paint solid so it can be thrown out.
She said most places that sell tires will take them back. However, being the bulky, heaving objects that they are, stores will not accept too many tires at once. Kelly said some places could do it for free, and some could charge a fee.
Bulky pieces of furniture, Kelly said, often are accepted by places like Goodwill and the Salvation Army. If that does not work, she said people should call their waste hauler.
Things like old motors and stoves can be taken to scrap metal dealers. Some garages will take motor oil for free.
Used hypodermic needles can be placed in a rigid container that can be sealed, such as a coffee can, pop bottle or liquid laundry detergent container. The container should be sealed and thrown away in the regular trash. Kelly said needles cannot be recycled. She also said that some doctors offices may take needles back.
Prescription drugs can be dropped off at various police stations around the county, which is part of a program that county District Attorney Rich Goldinger started in April. Kelly said people should not flush medications, as they could harm water supplies.
Of course, instead of going through your trash yourself and stressing about what to do with the tough items, you could get someone else to do it.
All About Reclaimed, located at 109 N. Main St. in Butler, looks at ways to repurpose old things that people want to get rid of.
For a fee, owner Jeff Double will go through large amounts of old items and classify them as donate-able, recyclable or disposable.
“There are very few things that I cannot recycle into something new,” Double said. “Very few things end up in the trash.”
As an example, he said he went through a woman’s house once and discovered about 150 hardback Reader’s Digest books. He was able to turn them into end tables and shelves. The woman also had several old cookie tins and old metal containers. Double organized them by metal type and recycled them at a scrap yard.
Old furniture that still could be usable is stabilized and refurbished for sale in the store.
For old electronics, Double works with a person who is able to break these items down and recycle them.
Double said that a popular trend for weddings is “rustic elegance,” which he said some of the old furniture in his store matches. He said he can rent that furniture for receptions.
