Scott Hayes | [email protected]
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
In the world of waste management, not everything is trash.
Often, things are simply unwanted despite being still functional and in reasonable condition. Second-hand stores are born out of the public’s desire to keep in use that which is useful.
“It’s a shame to see so much useful material go to the dump. Stuff like that really bothers me,” said Hinton Councillor JoAnn Race.
Race is leading the charge to give Hinton another opportunity to reduce waste through reusing items. The town’s new Take It Or Leave It initiative is getting ready to take off for a 90-day pilot project.
The civic-minded effort is an extension of the town’s Kick It To The Curb event that is set to celebrate its tenth anniversary on the May 13/14 weekend. For that, residents need to pre-register their addresses. Race will produce and distribute a map of all locations for others to refer to. The councillor said that she hopes to reach 150 locations this year.
“We’ve done it for 10 years, and now we're stepping it up,” she said.
Take It Or Leave It runs on much the same principle, except that it offers people a single location to go to.
From May 1 through July 30, Hintonites can visit the temporary facility located just north of the Rowan Street Recycling Centre. There is a fenced-in compound where those with unwanted household items can leave them and those who wish to find free household items can take them.
Take It Or Leave It isn’t for all of your unwanted household items, Race noted. It’s meant to be for everything that wouldn’t be taken to the Share Shop, NeighbourLink, Then and Now, Full Circle or other local used-goods facilities.
As an example, Race recalled getting French doors, a large living room window and other pieces in order to establish her own English greenhouse.
“My whole greenhouse was from somebody else. All the glass was from somebody else. And then I even got some Virginia Creeper from somebody. It looked like we were in an English Garden.”
Other goods including large furniture, appliances and mattresses will also not be accepted.
Race said she hoped that people see the value in the pilot project so that it gets picked up as a perennial fixture on Hinton’s recycling landscape.
“It's just tragic when I see what ends up in the landfill. Tragic. Nowadays, when we're dealing with the high cost of food, the high cost of utilities, we gotta save money where we can and get back to how we did things years ago. We didn't throw stuff away,” she said.
Donated items can be dropped off with the on-site attendant on Mondays and Wednesdays from noon to 6 p.m. The facility will then be open for browsing on Saturdays and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
