This is a big month for releasing! I’m playing the #MinsGame with a number of you this month. If you’re like me and you value the environment it’s important to keep as many discards as possible out of the landfill. Today I want to share a few of my favorite tools for more environmentally friendly disposal of your cast-offs.
1) One of my favorite tools for helping my local clients find an ideal release site is the Cuyahoga County Solid Waste District’s website. Their website is a wealth of information on the what, where and how of recycling / disposing just about anything you can think of. Some items, like those in the photo above are easy to donate/recycle. But what about the tough stuff? One of my favorite sections is the What Do I Do With …? Page which lists potentially tough to dispose of items, such as books, computers, hazardous waste, and usable building materials and explains what to do with them.
2) Another favorite local resource is called Pass-It-On which provides an extensive list of local charities actively looking for the types of items you are anxious to find a good home for. This resource started out as a booklet years ago, but has transitioned into an easy to navigate searchable online database. I could go on and on about the great information available at this site, but instead of increasing the word count of this post, I urge you to check it out. I know you’ll be impressed with what you find!
3) For those of you who live outside of the metro Cleveland area, Real Simple Magazine created an awesome A to Z recycling guide titled How to Recycle Anything a number of years ago that is still available on their website. You might also want to check out the Earth911’s recycling guide and their related app – iRecycle for iPhone which helps you find the right drop off location nearest you for what you’re trying to release.
4) When you’ve donated and recycled all you can on your own, but still have more to release, especially big items, consider calling a local hauling company who specializes in recycling what they haul away, such as Junk Away here in the Cleveland area. Junk Away owner, Paula Lewis has shared with me that their company’s goal is to recycle as much of what they haul as they possibly can. Contact them at 1-855-855-JUNK.
Thanks for allowing me to share! I’d love to hear some of your favorite ways to keep discards out of the landfill!
Thanks for all the information on recycling sites. I’m considering donating all of my cookbooks to the next Book Sale at our library. I can access all of that information on the internet. Just to keep you up-to-date – I am now at 207 items for February.
Awesome! You are ahead of the game at 207 items! A library book sale is a great idea for book disposal. I know you’re on the board of your local library so have the inside scoop. For others considering this as a means of disposal, please be sure to call your local library first to find out what types of books they accept and when they accept them.
Well done, Andrea! Here’s the list from my website for additional recycle/donation places to share with your readers: http://aclearpath.net/recycle_donate.html
Regina, Well done on your list! It’s a fantastic list of resources and demonstrates your dedication to keeping stuff out of landfills! I so appreciate you sharing it with my readers.
Thanks for the tips, Andrea. I was way behind, but this weekend dug into a new area and am now current at 125 items. Next up is the emotional tug of all my BOOKS. Ugh! However, this tips list gives me several options for recycling my loved ones!
Jim, I’m so glad you appreciated the tips and that you now have more options for releasing books. We’re big readers and I understand how much of a challenge letting go of books can be. Awesome to hear you’re current with the #MinsGame! I dug into an office drawer this morning I thought was in good shape and found 16 items in very little time at all, primarily old games software that my kids used when they were about 10 – they’re 20 now! Not quite sure how these items were missed in previous thinnings, but it’s proof that if… Read more »