Al Laslavic, store manager at St. Vincent DePaul store in the Greater Butler Mart, says donate items you don't need but would consider buying at their store.

With fall arriving, it's time to clean out the house before the cold sets in.

By county ordinance, curbside recycling is available everywhere in Butler County. Residents simple need to call their waste hauler to find out their system and get signed up.

However, a thorough cleanup sometimes requires extra disposal arrangements or techniques beyond setting your unwanted belongings out by the curb.

Luckily for Butler County residents, the county's Recycling and Waste Management department maintains a guide to local disposal services for hard-to-ditch items.

Sheryl Kelly, the department's environmental specialist, recycling and farmland coordinator said she makes sure to keep the list up-to-date. If this article doesn't answer your question, call her at 724-284-5305.

“Give me a call,” Kelly said. “If I don't have it in the guide, I'll help you find a place.”

Televisions

TVs and similar electronics are some of the hardest to properly dispose of in Butler County. Anything classified under state law as a “covered device” can't be disposed of in a landfill, and many haulers in the area simply won't take them.

Covered devices include things like TVs, computers and printers. If it has a computer processor in it, there's a good chance it classifies.

In Butler County, Kelly believes there's only one service to properly dispose of such equipment: Environmental Coordination Services and Recycling, or ECSR.

ECSR has a Butler County recycling center in Evans City at 129 Ash Stop Road. Kelly recommends calling them about covered devices at 724-432-3278.

ECSR is also the county's contractor for household hazardous waste services.Substances such as automotive fluids, pool chemicals, driveway sealant should all go to ECSR, Kelly said.Typically, residents call the company and set up a time to drop off their substances. The county receives state funding for the program, which covers half of the cost of whatever is disposed.Paint can be dropped of at ECSR, but Kelly said a more cost-effective method is to simply dry it out. Once dried fully solid, paint is able to be disposed of curbside with other waste.Most places that sell paint also sell paint hardener, which can be used to harden larger quantities of paint for disposal.As for motor oil, Kelly recommended checking with your local auto mechanic. Many will take the fluid and either use it for heating systems or simply recycle it with their own oil.

Residents looking to rid themselves of a mattress should either call their hauler and arrange for disposal that way, or take the furniture directly to a landfill.Kelly said some home cleanup services in the area also will take care of unwanted mattresses, but haulers deal with them regularly as well.

The easiest way to get rid of tires is to simply have your auto shop keep the old ones for recycling when you buy new tires.But if you have some lying around, Kelly explained, places that sell tires are still the best disposal methods to try. Kelly recommended calling ahead to ask, as most shops have a limited number they can take at a time.

While some medical supplies can't be reused, some items like wheelchairs or walkers can make great donations.Butler County's Area Agency on Aging directs those looking to donate to Valencia Presbyterian Church. The church maintains a medical lending closet program that loans equipment to people at no cost.The church's office staff reported that they're fairly full on walkers, but are usually taking items like wheelchairs and functional electric scooters.To find out whether they have room for your equipment, call 724-625-2002.

As for usual household items and clothing, local charity shops like St. Vincent de Paul and the Salvation Army are always looking.Al Laslavic, the manager of Butler's St. Vincent de Paul store, said the best rule of thumb when donating something is to ask yourself whether you would consider buying it off a rack in their store.“Any household items in good, resell-able condition we always want,” Laslavic said.They can't take televisions, large electronics or anything medical related.The summer months tend to be the busiest donation months for St. Vincent, he said, so the fall months can be a convenient time to beat the lines and donate.