Dear Bonnie,
In this column I’ve gotten to play a queen, a therapist, and now a priest (well, we better say “eco-priest” to avoid lightening strikes). I now absolve thee of thy recycling guilt. I understand the urge to purge when spring comes around and sometimes there’s so much junk that the idea of dumping it all in the trash can becomes a great temptation. The trash whispers to you, “Just put everything in heeeere, I’ll make it go awaaaaay.” But you know there is no place called “away” and each time you trash something, you’re trashing a resource. So what you need in a situation like this is to arm yourself with the good book, Eco-Cycle’s “Guide to Hard-to-Recycle Materials,” edition four, just off the presses. This guide tells you where to take everything from antifreeze to yard waste. It has recycling information for over 80 unusual items, including carpet padding, candle wax, eye glasses, plastic nursery pots, propane canisters and much more. The guide is available at the Longmont and Boulder drop-off centers and coming soon to literature displays around the county. For those who prefer a paper-free version, the guide is also online at www.ecocycle.org.
Looking in the guide for your specific items, I see that a couple bike stores in the area accept blown-out bike tubes, such as Dooby’s Bicycle Shop, which accepts mountain bike inner tubes, old tires and chains. Full Cycle also accepts popped tubes as long as they are not sealed with “slime.” Full Cycle mails the tubes to Pedro’s who makes them into under-the-seat bike bags. Many other bike stores listed in the guide will accept used bikes in need of minor repairs which are then given away for donations to various organizations.
If your window frame is in good condition, it can be taken to ReSource in Boulder which accepts and sells construction and demolition materials in good shape. ReSource is on 63 rd Street, just north of the recycling center. Call the Center for ReSource Conservation at 303-441-3278 first to see if the construction item you have is suitable for their program. ReSource isn’t just a good place to drop-off your used construction materials, it’s also the first place to shop if you’re doing any kind of remodeling, construction, or renovation.
Household batteries, as well as other hazardous items like paints, solvents, and automotive products may be taken to the Boulder County Household Hazardous Waste facility. (You must be a Boulder or Broomfield County resident or an Erie resident to use this facility.) Drop-off hours are 8:00-3:30 on Wednesdays and 8:00 a.m. to noon on Fridays and Saturdays. The county uses a site for drop-off at the Western Disposal Transfer station at 5880 Butte Mill Road (approximately 1/4 mile east of the junction of Pearl and 55th Streets).
The box spring, the lawnmower and the grill (whether it has the name of a heavyweight boxing champ on it or not) can all be accepted as scrap metal at the recycling center on 63rd St., north of Arapahoe, or at the Longmont drop-off center at 111 S. Martin Street. Please drain the mower of gasoline or any other fluids before putting it in the bin.
This is just a sampling of the many guilt-free recycling opportunities available to keep you on the straight and narrow path…or rather the recycling loop. Now go in peace, my child.
