Drop And Swap Event Celebrates America Recycles Day In Chatham

            CHATHAM --- Got some holiday decorations that just don’t fit in with the décor anymore?  How about that end table, collecting dust in the basement corner?  Or maybe those used but still usable toys the kids no longer play with?

            This Saturday, you can drop off items such as those at the town’s transfer station recycling area, and perhaps pick up someone else’s treasure while you’re there.

            The “Drop and Swap”, sponsored by the Chatham Recycles Committee, marks America Recycles Day, a nationwide event sponsored by the National Recycling Coalition to raise awareness about recycling. 

            “We’re really hoping to emphasize the reuse portion of the recycling triangle,” Samantha Miller, an AmeriCorps volunteer working on recycling for the town, told selectmen last week. “We’re asking people to bring old treasures and hopefully leave with someone else’s old treasure.”

            The theme of the day is, “It all comes back to us,” said Conservation Agent Kristin Andres.

            “We’re focusing attention on recycling and closing the loop,” she said, adding that about 33 percent of the solid waste generated in the United States annually is recycled.  Chatham’s rate is actually lower. “More can be done,” said Andres.

            Selectmen signed a proclamation declaring Saturday America’s Recycling Day in Chatham.  Folks who come to the event can also sign a pledge to increase individual recycling efforts, said Andres.

            The Drop and Swap will be held at the gift shop, to the left of the recycling area. That’s where people leave off or pick up unwanted items during most of the year, but it closed for the winter last weekend, said Health Agent Judy Giorgio. 

            “We thought it would be fun to have an extra day to have the swap shop open and stress the reuse part of reduce, recycle and reuse,” she said.

            Cloth shopping bags donated by Stop and Shop will be available at the event, along with ChathamRecycles bumper stickers.  Anyone who brings their own mug can get a cupful of hot cider.  Miller said kitchen scrap buckets and composters will be available to purchase as well.

            Reusable items should be in good condition. They can include holiday ornament and decorations, small furniture, dishes, lamps, games, baskets, tools, books, CDs, DVDs and VHS tapes.  Clothing that is not swapped will be donated to the Salvation Army and American Red Cross.  Left over towels and blankets will go to the Animal Rescue League in Brewster.

            Some items won’t be accepted, said Giorgio. They include stuffed furniture, bicycles, lawn mowers, tires, batteries, propane tanks, gas tanks, paint, pesticides, large appliances, air conditioners, dehumidifiers, televisions, computers and scrap wood.  Most of those items can be recycled at the transfer station.

            The event runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., and you don’t have to have a dump sticker to attend.

            “This is an event where everyone is welcome,” said Miller. “It’s not just going to be for Chatham residents.”

            For more information, visit www.chathamrecycles.org.

11/13/08