Don’t Dump and Run! Donate to Thrift Stores and Help a Local Nonprofit
The countdown towards the end of the semester has begun. Some students will graduate and move on, while others make plans to head back home. But what happens to all their unwanted furniture, dishes and books?
A lot of it is left on street corners or sidewalks in hopes of someone else picking it up. But when nobody else wants the stuff, it stays on the sidewalks rotting away. The City of Arcata is required to keep streets and sidewalks clean and safe so City crews must often stop other work to pick up the unwanted mattresses, sofas and clothes for transport to the landfill.
Not only do free boxes and dumped furniture make a mess in our damp climate, dumping is a violation of the California Penal Code and Arcata’s Municipal Code. The problem has been getting worse every year, but it doesn’t have to. If each of us takes responsibility for our things, we can reuse and recycle more household items and create less garbage. Here are a few tips to keep in mind when moving out.
Give away or sell unwanted household goods on Craigslist. Mattresses are a particularly hot Craigslist item and nice ones are snapped up right away. Use the City’s “Don’t Dump and Run” brochure, available at City Hall or www.cityofarcata.org, to find thrift stores and recycling centers. Some of them will even pick up your sofas and refrigerators, and everything sold in local thrift stores benefits a worthy nonprofit.
If you are an HSU student, you can take your unwanted clothes, bedding, dishes, unopened food, books, small appliances and electronics to campus! Humboldt State University hosts its Donation Dash every year and off-campus students are welcome to bring their stuff to the College Creek donation station in the parking lot across from the Marketplace. The donation station will be open Wednesday and Thursday, May 10 and 11, from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m.; on Friday, May 12 from 9 a.m. to midnight; and on Saturday, May 13 from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Make sure to bring your HSU ID as this on-campus opportunity to donate to local charities is open only to HSU students.
If no one wants your stuff and you are already paying for garbage service, call Recology Arcata at (707) 822-0304 to schedule a bulky trash pickup. Find out more at www.recology.com/recology-arcata/bulky-items.
Landlords can get free “Don’t Dump and Run” brochures in bulk by contacting the Arcata Environmental Services Department at (707) 822-8184 or eservices@cityofarcata.org.
Let’s keep useful household items out of the landfill and City work crews maintaining our infrastructure instead of picking up road hazard-creating trash. That’s a win for everyone.