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Washington Evening Journal
111 North Marion Avenue
Washington, IA 52353
319-653-2191
Where Did All the Old Trash Bins Go?
ON THE UPSIDE
Southeast Iowa Union offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced.
This past July the city of Fairfield implemented a new contract with Waste Management (WM) which required all its customers to use standardized robotic-arm compatible trash bins. WM issued the regulation bins to all its customers in June, and as of July 1, would no longer service any other type of bin. There was concern that there would be a glut of the now-obsolete trash bins -perhaps as many as 4,000- getting dumped at the landfill. What to do?
True to its name, Fairfield’s Resilient Action Committee acted. Its Zero Waste subcommittee found WareCo Recycling LLC in Ottumwa, who agreed to accept the old bins and grind them up for recycled plastic stock. The Committee worked with WareCo to hire a semi-trailer to transport the bins, developed a collection plan, and secured a drop-off location courtesy of MIU. They partnered with the DeepGreenMachine, a local maker space, to offer a repurposing workshop for those who wished to upcycle old bins on their own and offered some reuse recommendations. Next, they applied for and received a Climate Community Action Award from the National Sierra Club to cover the cost of the semi, the advertising, and other related expenses. With all of that in place, they set aside three Saturdays in July to accept donations of obsolete bins and scheduled shifts of volunteers to oversee the drop-offs.
Over the course of those Saturdays, a steady stream of citizens came by the drop-off site. People were enthusiastic. “This is a great project,” many participants said. To the group’s surprise, several visitors just wanted to take away bins in good condition for various uses unrelated to trash. In fact, around 25 quality bins that others had dropped off were adopted and taken to new homes or donated to the Habitat ReStore and promptly resold. There remained 309 bins to send to WareCo; a decent haul. But, what about the other 3,000 plus?
Bill, the supervisor of the SEMCO landfill, was asked, “Have you seen an uptick in the number of plastic trash bins coming through the SEMCO landfill this summer?” He had not. That was good news! So apparently, many residents were either keeping their old bins for dry storage of tools, compost, pet food, etc., or missed the collection project altogether. In total, nearly 350 bins were diverted from the landfill. The rest may still be in alternative use.
If you missed the recycling project and are tired of having your old bins take up space in your yard or garage, it’s not too late. Habitat ReStore will be happy to accept any donations of bins that are in decent shape.
