It’s getting closer to that time of year when curbs will be piled high with empty boxes from large televisions, toys, clothes and more. Many put all their trash out, hoping it will get picked up. But trash services don’t pick up everything that is set out on curbs.
Ray’s Trash Service Inc. sees an increase of about 15 to 20 percent more trash between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day, but much of that is from packaging; wrapping paper adds to the extra trash because it’s not recyclable, Andy Linder, sales manager with Ray’s Trash Service, Inc., said.
Ray’s Trash will be running on a one-day delay for Christmas and New Year’s Day. The company has been in business since 1965. “We’re a local family-owned company that owns and operates many recycle facilities and does not own a landfill,” Linder said. “We offer a lot of services other than trash collection.”
He said some common items the company sees out on curbs, but that they don’t take, include paint, tires, appliances containing Freon, propane and helium tanks, concrete, construction debris, oil, grease, chemicals or any liquids.
“Stuff breaks open and chemicals can combine,” Lenn Detwiler, executive director of the Hendricks County Solid Waste Management District, said. “Annually, there are trash truck fires where chemicals have combined that shouldn’t have.”
Electronics are also a big no. “Many are banned from landfills now and can’t be picked up at the curb and taken to landfills,” Detwiler said. “A lot of people just don’t realize that stuff needs to be recycled.”
There are many local options for recycling electronics, such as Staples, Office Depot and Best Buy.
For those not sure where items should go, the website www.hendrickssolidwaste.com/online-directory is a resource for more information.
The Hendricks County Solid Waste Management District works to educate the community by promoting recycling, reuse, waste reduction and proper waste management in the county.
The district hosts tox-away days throughout the year, which provides a place for the community to properly recycle or dispose of household hazardous waste, tires, electronics and appliances. Fees may apply to some items.
In 2016, more than 366,000 pounds of materials were collected at tox-away days and almost 150,000 pounds of that was hazardous waste. “There’s much more out there that we aren’t getting,” Detwiler said.
To read the full story, visit http://www.flyergroup.com/news/local_news/the-dos-and-don-ts-of-holiday-trash/article_6062fc85-b60d-51fd-b120-d6627590fc9c.html.