Guest Author - Dale Yelich


Yeah, sometimes even the best maintenance or do it yourself work done on any project is going to result in the item not being usable any more. That means it is going to end up in the trash. However, there are definitely some things in the house that should not end up in the trash at all, they should be recycled, and some of these you may not ever have thought of before.
Now, when we talk about recyclables here, we aren’t talking about the old standard backyard mulch pile. I mean, a mulch pile will break down anything from grass clippings to old leaves, kitchen waste and even dog doo. However, when you recycle most maintenance stuff, you need to separate it and get it to the right place.
Now, things like old used motor oil can be taken to virtually any automotive garage and dumped there. But anything that has an electric motor inside is a completely different animal. Here we are talking old drills or appliances like garbage disposals, beaters and blenders, dehumidifiers and old air conditioners.
Those items with the electric motors inside can be taken to scrap yards where all the copper windings can be removed. As for the old appliances, many appliance stores will accept them at little or no cost, and also, check with your neighborhood scrap yard as well. In the outlying areas at the town garbage depositories, there are often a couple times per year when scrap dealers will actually accept old appliances, sewing machines, fans and anything else with an electric motor. They’ll even take tires too!
Now, as far as computers go, that’s something else that doesn’t need to end up in a landfill. There are many, what are called, heavy metals in the making of a computer, and these can actually dissolve and leach out into the soil, contaminating the surrounding ground around it. Not a good idea to be needlessly throwing them in your regular garbage.
There are several places that take old computers, and the one that comes to mind is a place out in Holmen called Scientific Recycling Incorporated. These guys will make sure all the nasties inside of a computer stay out of the landfills.
However, if your computer is just an older model but is still in working condition, several charitable organizations in the area will also take them too. This way, underprivileged kids that may not have a chance to get a new computer, at least can have something to learn and work on until they can. Call your local church for a list of places that will take them.
As Bill Cosby, the great comedian once said, “Every closed eye is not sleeping, and every open eye is not seeing.” So, if an item can no longer be maintained or repaired, act responsibly and get it to the right place, and not in the regular trash.