By Barbara Trapp
Special to the Recorder
With the popularity of Marie Kondo’s show, “Tidying Up,” many along the First Coast are clearing out closets, garages, storage units and kitchens. So much so that for a brief time some local Goodwill stores had to stop taking items at the beginning of the year! Here are some ways to purge (or reuse) your stuff responsibly and help your community.
Reuse
According to Aaron Enos, founder of Sensible Recycling, a local veteran-owned and operated business, “Plastic is cheaper to make than to recycle, and reusing is always better than recycling.” Here are some ways to pass along your items for reuse:
• Hangers:
o Donate along with clothes or search online for “creative uses for ________” to find ways to reuse these things and more.
• Books:
o Offer to schools and local libraries. Older, historical books with maps are helpful to students and others for research.
o Sell to a used book store.
o Sell online.
• Clothing:
o Consign at local shops or sell online.
o Donate like-new women’s office-appropriate clothing to women’s shelters.
o Donate to local charitable organizations such as BEAM or churches who will make sure your clothing will get to those in need.
• Furniture and building supplies
o Habitat for Humanity’s ReStore is a good place to keep in mind.
o Local churches may provide referrals.
• Personal care items:
o Toiletries:
Store in your suitcase for your next trip.
Place in a pretty container for houseguests.
Donate to women’s shelters (full-size), Jacksonville Beach’s Mission House (small size).
o For eyeglasses, keep the Lions Club, LensCrafters, Costco and Walmart in mind.
o Lend An Ear (lendanearoutreach.org) and the Lions Club take hearing aids.
• Boxes and packing materials
o Join a neighborhood app such as NextDoor or Freecycle and post a “curb alert.”
o Offer to your mover or office supply store.
o Ask a friend. Someone you know knows someone who is moving!
• Computers, printers and more
o Staples, Office Depot and numerous local companies (search online for “computer recycling”) are good options.
o Tip: The safest way to remove your data from a device is to remove the hard drive or have someone else do it in your presence. Then you can take a hammer to it or have it professionally shredded, a service Sensible Recycling offers.
• Rechargeable batteries, unbroken CFL bulbs
o Consider Lowes.
• Cell phones
o Your cell phone’s manufacturer or carrier will take them.
o Some local charitable organizations for battered women, seniors or service personnel will take old cell phones. Search online for “donate cell phone.”
o Tip: Be sure to “wipe” (remove all your data) and then “unlock” your phone (includes turning off the “Find My Phone” feature). Not sure how to do this? Contact the manufacturer or your carrier.
• Plastic bags:
o Publix and Winn Dixie, Lowes all take plastic bags.
• Styrofoam food trays, packing materials and egg cartons
o Publix (as of now the only place to recycle Styrofoam!) takes them.
Not sure who takes what? Call your favorite charitable organization and ask for a list of what they regularly need.
Recycle
So, you’ve finished off that last slice of pizza and now need to destroy the evidence: the pizza box. It’s cardboard, so it goes in the recycling bin, right? Wrong. This is one item that can’t be recycled. Here are other items that are ending up in recycling bins and shouldn’t be there:
• Hangers and plastic bags (these get tangled up in the sorting machines)
• Styrofoam (“plastic #6”)
• Garden hoses (it’s not even plastic)
• Plastic wrap and wrappers from bottles
• Small items such as plastic spoons and straws (small things fall through the screens used for sorting)
• Any aerosol can, including for whipped cream
Confused? According to Diane Warren, president of North Florida Recycling, most bottles, cans, jugs and jars are safe to recycle, but contamination can cause otherwise acceptable recyclables to go to the landfill. Here’s how to prep/decontaminate items for recycling:
• Separate combined materials: Remove foil tops from yogurt, containers, plastic wrap from plastic bottles, etc. Labels can remain.
• Empty: Have a little left in that soda can or potato salad container? Empty it out. The same goes for detergent bottles.
• Clean: Rinse out the item (a Styrofoam food tray covered in oil may need a little soap to remove the layer).
• Dry: Rinsed out a can? Let it sit upside-down for a while to air-dry before placing in your recycle bin.
Still not sure what you can recycle? Check your recycling company for guidelines. Sometimes the list of what’s acceptable versus not acceptable items is on the lid of your bin!
Discard
• Outdated/unused prescriptions: Do not flush or discard in the trash! Take to a disposal kiosk at any of these locations:
o Walgreen’s Pharmacy, 6006 Beach Blvd., Jacksonville, Florida 32216
o Walgreen’s Pharmacy, 24 hours a day, 1801 N. Davis St., Jacksonville, Florida 32209
o Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office Police Memorial Building, Forsyth Entrance, 501 E. Bay St., Jacksonville, Florida 32202
o Neptune Beach Police Department, 200 Lemon St., Neptune Beach, Florida 32266
• Household hazardous wastes cannot be disposed of curbside and must be taken to the hazardous waste facility in your area:
o Duval County:
2675 Commonwealth Ave., Jacksonville, FL 32254
o St. Johns County:
Tillman Ridge Transfer Station, 3005 Allen Nease Road, Elkton, Florida 32033
Stratton Road Transfer Station, 250 North Stratton Road, St. Augustine, Florida 32095
• Hazardous items include:
o Aerosol cans
o Pesticides, pool chemicals, acids or other chemicals
o Fuel/fuel tanks
o Fluorescent or compact fluorescent lights, tubes, or bulbs
o Fireworks and flares
o Car parts and scrap metal
o Paint, paint cans and paint thinner
o Fireworks, flares and fire extinguishers
o That empty pizza box? Use it to contain broken glass before placing in the trash bin.
Reduce
To maintain all your work downsizing, don’t forget to reduce. Stop the flow of things in and out of your home and the landfill by:
• Using refillable bottles for your water and reusing the existing ones (they make great ice packs for your cooler).
• Using your own coffee mug at the office.
• Considering reusable straws (that plastic straw ban is coming!).
• Reducing your use of plastic bags by using your own reusable bags. Keep them in the car. Once you’ve unloaded your groceries, put the bags by your door so you don’t forget to put them back.
Your community and earth will appreciate it!
Barbara Trapp is a certified professional organizer®, productivity consultant and life coach serving clients in Northeast Florida. Visit her website at zenyourden.com.
