Bulk Trash Pickup-A Great Way to Encourage Re-Use and Re-Purposing of Trash
Austin, Texas: Today is our city’s semi-annual bulk trash pickup, and it is a fantastic way of keeping trash out of the landfills.
This past weekend, my neighborhood cleaned out their garages and rolled out broken barbecue grills, patio furniture,washing machines, stoves, furniture, bar bells, lumber,etc., that would be normally heading to the landfill pretty soon–or just gathering dust (or rust).
But a funny thing happens in the early mornings of the weekend–as trucks and vans of all sizes patrol the neighborhood picking up our “trash”–before the city haulers come today.
I watched a pickup truck stop in front of my house and load our grill on top of his trailer — that already had at least six other grills in it and two refrigerators. He also pickup up lumber from my neighbor and an old laser printer that I had left outside, just 90 minutes prior.
One man’s trash is another’s treasure–as the expression goes.
Bulk trash pickups are a wonderful opportunity for the re-purposing, reuse and recycling of large trash items.
Whether the people who picked up my grill use it for themselves, fix it up and resell it, strip it for parts and recycle the rest — it has a value to that person other than ending up in a landfill.
I would encourage every city to have a bulk trash pickup at least twice a year to help rid their communities of unwanted trash and to encourage a second life for unwanted, unused or unneeded items.
The key to reducing one’s carbon footprint is to use what one needs. If you have old exercise equipment, patio furniture, pool items, furniture and more- it is a simple way to part with these items– and the city only has to pick up a small share of the items left out on the curb.
It is a win-win for everyone.
Let’s make every day Earth Day
