As the end of the school year approaches, city officials are bracing for a massive increase in the amount of trash littering the streets and sidewalks.
Trash littering yards and the streets has absolutely been a problem
said Tom O'Grady, Athens-Hocking Recycling program manager. Students pile everything up on sidewalks and their yards before they leave and it becomes a real mess.
The tendency to throw away loose materials without proper sorting increases as piles of trash increase, O'Grady said.
When students do this it makes it extra difficult for the crew to handle he said. Not only that
but people throw their stuff from second and third story windows. Their trash ends up hanging from wires
which isn't easy to take care of.
The cost of trash disposal increases as piles of trash accumulate, O'Grady said.
Each house has a certain trash limit
he said. If students exceed the limit
a bill will be sent out.
One solution to the trash problem is to donate items that are still in good condition to charity.
Students have the opportunity to donate items that still have value to places like ReUse Industries and APAC Bargain Furniture
O'Grady said.
ReUse Thrift Store, 100 N. Columbus Road, is a branch of non-profit organization called ReUse Industries that sells reusable items.
We recycle all of our goods by giving them back to the community
said Sue Wilson-Baker, operations manager of ReUse Thrift Store. We accept basically anything that's in good
reusable condition.
Sixty percent of the refuse found in landfills is reusable, Wilson-Baker said.
When students donate their belongings
rather than trashing them
