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January 21, 2008
Due To Extreme Fuel Prices, I Am No Longer Able To Provide This Service
There have been a number of occasions where bloggers have made comments about the lack of places to recycle in the Portland area. Volunteer Recycling on Morningside Drive takes metals ( and they pay you for them), but I am not aware of any place locally that takes anything other than metal, and Volunteer's hours aren't convenient for everyone, so . . . Starting February 1st, I will start providing a FREE recycling pick-up service to Portland area residents. Yes, FREE! (My payment comes from selling the items in bulk to recycling companies) It is hard, dirty work, with a payoff that has more to do with wanting to "do my part" than it does with money, but I will make enough that I can do it without charging the people who are simply wanting to keep their junk out of the landfills . . . and still make a small profit. I HOPE at some point in the not too distant future that I will be able to provide a "drop-off" location as well, but for now I can only schedule pick-ups.
For more information about what I am offering to pick up, just click on the “continue reading” link below. If you have something that isn't on the list, feel free to call me and I'll see what I can do.
Unless noted, condition doesn’t matter.
ANYTHING METAL:
Aluminum cans
Tin cans (vegetable, coffee, etc.)
Used aluminum foil and baking pans (please rinse off food)
Pots, pans and bake ware , odd and end lids (no glass)
Lawn furniture, umbrellas
metal furniture: Tables, chairs, bake racks, shelving (including white coated metal)
Tool boxes and tools (rusted, broken, dented, crushed - all OK)
Poles, old mops and brooms, swiffers, etc.
Exercise equipment
air conditioners and heaters (including central H/A units)
METAL roofing and siding
wrecked or junk cars (or their parts)
ANYTHING THAT RUNS ON ELECTRICITY- (working ir not)
Christmas lights, extension cords, surge protectors
Small appliances (toasters, vacuum cleaners, microwaves, can openers, etc)
Large appliances (TV, refrigerators, stoves, washers, dryers, etc.)
Computers and accessories
Phones, answering machines, fax machines
Heaters, air conditioners, humidifiers
LAWN AND GARDEN
Lawn mowers
Weed eaters
Seed spreaders
Wagons and wheelbarrows
PAPER: (MUST BE DRY)
Cardboard
Newspaper
Magazines
Books (paperback or hardback)
TEXTILES: (MUST BE DRY)
Clothing (usable, stains, tears, missing buttons - all OK, but please leave out stained underwear)
Shoes (can be very used, even ugly, but must be usable and in pairs)
Purses (faded and worn ok , but needs to be usable)
Hats, scarves, gloves
Stuffed animals
Remnant fabric, ribbons, etc.
curtains, tablecloths,fabric napkins, placemats, table runners
socks (mismatches okay)
Sorry, no carpet of any kind
PLASTIC
Plastic bottles (only drink bottles for now: water, cola, juice, etc.)
Milk jugs- (PLEASE rinse out - sour milk is NASTY)
Clothes hangers
Toys (if they are still in suitable condition for a child to play with it)
BATTERIES-
Car batteries
Boat batteries
Lawn and garden batteries
CELL PHONES (these will be donated to help domestic violence victims)
MISC. HOUSEHOLD-
Unwanted misc. household items and/or leftover yard sale items that you do not want to pack back into the house.
FURNITURE (unless it is metal, Must be DRY, have ALL parts, be in relatively good condition and free of strong odors)
Posted by Michelle Hanners at January 21, 2008 08:16 AM
Comments
I called the number listed above for cardboard pick-up in Portland TN and the call will not go thru. I am willing to pay for pick-up to recycle the cardboard. Does anyone have a source that might be able to help me?
Thanks,
Connie
Posted by: connie at September 18, 2008 09:50 AM
Free set of encylopedias. Excellent condition. We just don't use them anymore since we have the internet.
Posted by: meanwhited at September 7, 2008 08:35 PM
I was wondering where I can find the boxes/containers to sort my stuff?
I would like to have a pick up
Please let me know if you are still doing this.
I may even be able to get my neighbors to join in.
Posted by: Michelle at April 30, 2008 11:08 PM
Well I'm not condoning doing nothing to help the environment. However most of these groups out there that are "helping" the environment really aren't helping as much as you'd like to think. Basically I just posted what I did to get some people to wake up and think a little before they start separating their plastics, metal, glass, and other assorted recyclables while having 15 different recycling cans outside at once.
Posted by: Chuck at February 1, 2008 12:23 AM
Chuck, I understand what you are saying and I do not think we have a current landfill crisis either, but . . . to discourage recycling is, in my opinion, environmentally irresponsible.
With that said . . .
Yes, there are environmental impacts related to recycling . . . both good and bad. I am not arguing THAT point. However, for the "most part", recycling has far more advantages than disadvantages. Recycling is not "coined" as a way to eliminate problems, but rather about reducing problems . . . REDUCE waste, REDUCE harmful effects, and REDUCE the rate at which we are using up valuable resources.
Yes, re-manufacturing a recyclable can be expensive, especially when products that could be recycled end up in a landfill instead of on the market for companies to buy back. It is just like anything else, the cost has a direct relation to supply and demand. If there is a shortage of post consumer product, the price goes up, which in turn makes it less cost effective.
This is especially true concerning the materials used for the manufacture of products we use on a daily basis. Many of the products we use are produced with finite resources. Will we run out in our lifetime? Probably not, but there WILL come a time, and recycling is just as much about future generations, truthfully more so, as it is for ours.
I am not going to judge you if you choose to refrain from recycling. However, please, if you are going to try to influence others to follow suit, please provide current information from reliable sources. A lot of progress has been made over the years and a 10-year-old article about recycling is as outdated as an article about DNA from the 80's or Windows 95.
Posted by: Michelle Hanners at January 29, 2008 03:05 PM
I did want to mention one thing that I forgot to mention about recycling. There is one major form of recycling that does in fact truly help. Recycling aluminum is very good for the environment and the economy. Aluminum can be expensive and companies are able to recycle it much cheaper than they can just make or buy new aluminum. So yes that does mean recycling your coke cans and such items is helping so if you are doing so then continue it because it helps.
Posted by: Chuck at January 28, 2008 02:45 PM
Portland C.A.R.E.S. is another option. You can donate your USABLE clothes and household goods by taking them to their store during their regular business hours: 9am - 4:30pm Monday-Friday and 9-1:00 on Saturday. (and it's TAX DEDUCTIBLE if you get a receipt)
Just don't DUMP after hours. It is illegal and you will get a ticket for littering if they catch you. I believe it's $100.00 for first offense and goes up for subsequent offenses.
Posted by: Michelle Hanners at January 27, 2008 02:20 PM
You can also get rid of your "stuff" by joining your local Freecycle Group on Yahoo Groups. You might even pick up something you have been looking for.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PortlandTNfreecycle
Posted by: DebraP at January 27, 2008 12:04 PM
Chuck, you're right. I will go further to say that I believe the govt. lies to us about almost everything.
Mischelle, that sounds like a great thing you're going to do ! I have been using the Gallatin Resource Authority -- they take anything except hazardous materials, but you have to pay to use them, but it's been all we've had up to now.
I hope your venture is successful...we really need a service like this here in Portland.
Good Luck !!
Posted by: DeeAnna at January 27, 2008 10:51 AM
I'm sorry to say this but we've been lied to by our government and schools all these years. Recycling does not help the environment as we think. If you truly do the research you will see that it was created from a landfill scare years ago and since then the cost of recycling outways the cost of landfills. The process of recycling creates more pollution in our environment than things such as landfills. The facts are there, just look them up, heres a good brief one to get you start.
http://www.mises.org/freemarket_detail.aspx?control=212&sortorder=articledate
Posted by: Chuck at January 27, 2008 12:55 AM