The Zero Waste Day event held at the SHS Parking Lot on Saturday was a huge success. One hundred and nineteen donors stopped by and handed over 10,073 pounds of household goods, clothing, and textiles to Goodwill Industries. Another way to look at it is – Swampscott residents diverted over 5 tons of ‘stuff’ from the waste stream that will now be reused or recycled!
“The number that really sticks out for Swampscott is the average weight per donation which was around 85 pounds,” said Bill LaBelle, Director of Operations for Morgan Memorial Goodwill Industries. “We usually average 41 pounds per donor, but your event more than doubled that.”
In addition, the Swampscott Recycling Task Force collected mercury-containing devices, batteries and provided a free swap for over 250 books and 100 CDs.
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Organizers say that it’s nice to hold an event that doesn’t generate any trash and has a positive impact on the environment. They hope to repeat the event in the late summer or fall.
For those who brought hard-to-recycle items along and asked how to get rid of them, here are a few suggestions. Old and newer TVs can be brought back to Best Buy. Auto Zone on the Lynnway takes automotive batteries ($5 coupon provided). Staples now takes electronics, whether purchased there or not. Packing peanuts are accepted at MailBoxes in Vinnin Square, and Styrofoam will be collected at the Swampscott/Marblehead Household Hazardous Waste Day on June 2, 9 to noon, Tower Way, Marblehead.
