As we marvel at the new and shiny Christmas gifts we anxiously waited to unwrap, please take a moment and think about what to do with the old stuff.
We live in a disposable age where unwanted and broken items are thrown away. In fact, more and more of today’s items are designed with discarding in mind when broken. The price of these items is lower than their fixable predecessors, making the practice affordable. With the money saved, however, purchasers should easily afford the proper disposal.
For the most part, Rock County residents have been good at recycling plastic, paper, glass, cardboard and tin or aluminum cans. About 800 tons of recyclable materials are collected from our county on a yearly basis, a practice that has been going on for decades.
Newer to the recycling realm is clothing.
Since July 2011 50,404 pounds, or more than 25 tons, of unwanted clothes or other wearable materials have been dropped off at one of four USAgain locations in Luverne.
Recycling of clothing is a free service. The items are simply placed in the white and green metal boxes. Regularly these boxes are emptied and the clothes are taken to a central location where items are sorted for resale, reuse or recycled.
Combined, these two recycling avenues prevent more than 825 tons of stuff from being dumped into the landfill, helping our communities stay healthier places to live.
Now with the new Christmas items in the hands of residents, will we do the right thing and dispose of old items properly? Or will we throw unwanted items into the garbage can or dumpster and simply be done with it?
Please do better than the resident who left a couch, television stand, box springs and mattress at USAgain recycling boxes at the corner of Main Street and Highway 75. Written in bold lettering are the words “Clothing & Shoes” on those metal containers.
Misuse of these containers could result in their removal, eliminating a recycling avenue for all of us.
The containers’ removal could result in more materials hitting the landfill, filling it to capacity at a faster rate. It costs tens of thousands of dollars to construct and properly line a municipal landfill. Let’s keep the ones we have as long as possible.
Please, residents, take the time and effort to repurpose items. A neighbor, friend or an organization may be able to reuse items.
At the very least, pay the $25 for proper disposal at the county’s transfer station so you don’t burden someone else with your garbage.