Neighborhood cleanup days 2009 (SCRUB)

Has anyone ever told you, “Clean up after yourself?” or “Get that thing out of here!”? Lately?

Want to get rid of it free? I have just the information you have been waiting for!

SCRUB Days are times and places that you can drop off stuff that you (or your loved one) want to be gone. It could be

• old furniture
• trash containers
• tires (off the rims)
• TVs, computers
• even old appliances like refrigerators, air-conditioners, stoves, microwaves, furnaces, freezers, water heaters, etc.
• check out the list of what you can and can’t drop off

The eagerly awaited SCRUB days calendar has arrived. The City of Des Moines posted it as of April 3, 2009! I’ve been waiting, and I know you’ve been waiting too so here are the days and locations by neighborhood:

April 18, 2009, 7 am until noon

• Drake University parking lot (24th and Forest – Carpenter and Kirkwood Glen neighborhoods)
• Bell Avenue Business Center (1901 Bell Avenue – Southwestern Hills and downtown neighborhoods)

May 16, 2009, 7 am until noon

• Central Presbyterian Church parking lot (39th & Grand – North of Grand, Arbor Peaks, Greenwood Historic, Sherman Hill, and Woodland Heights neighborhoods)
• Capitol View Elementary parking lot (320 E. 16th – Capitol East and East Village neighborhoods)

June 20, 2009, 7 am until noon

• State Fair parking lot (E. 34th and Dean – Laurel Hill and Valley High Manor neighborhoods)
• Hoover High parking lot (4800 Aurora – Meredith and Merle Hay neighborhoods)

July 18, 2009, 7 am until noon

• Southridge Mall parking lot (1111 E. Army Post – Somerset, Magnolia Park, South Park, Watrous South, Hillsboro, Ewing Woods-Evergreen, and Easter Lake neighborhoods)

August 15, 2009, 7 am until noon

• Prospect Park parking lot (Prospect Road north of Hickman – Mondamin Presidential, Chautauqua Park, Drake Park, and King-Irving neighborhoods)

September 19, 2009, 7 am until noon

• Hy-Vee lot, 3221 SE 14th, east of the building (Indianola Hills, McKinley School-Columbus Park, and Pioneer Park).

October 17, 2009, 7 am until noon

• Polk County Office Building at Oliver Plaza (2339 Euclid – Lower Beaver and Beaverdale neighborhoods)
• north parking lots at Roosevelt High School on Chamberlain St. (Waterbury, Ingersoll Park, Linden Heights, Salisbury Oaks, Waveland Woods, Waveland Park, and Westwood neighborhoods).

Where else and when can you get rid of these nonhazardous materials other than the SCRUB day sites?

You have to haul it to a different site, and it is only open and free to you on those Saturdays listed above from 7 am until 1 pm.

• MWA Transfer Station at 4198 Delaware Avenue

What about yard waste?

Some of you may remember the time when you could drop off yard waste. Well, you can still do that free too but not at the SCRUB days sites. You have to haul it to a different site, and it is only open and free to you on those Saturdays listed above from 7 am until 1 pm.

• MWA Compost Center, 1601 Harriett St (near SE 15th and Harriett)

What about toxic and hazardous materials? I have just the right information for you! Check it out.

• MWA Regional Collection Center. Read about this in Around Des Moines.

There were SCRUB days last year too. You might remember the 2008 post.

photo by flickr by epcrossing and bisonbison

Is that my garage or the toxic waste center?

If this looks in any way like your basement or garage, follow me because it is a photo of MWA’s Regional Collection Center.

I would guess that we are all quite similar in what we do and say around the house. For example, I say things like

I’d better save that; it matches my ________ (You fill in the blank.)

I’d better save that; I paid $ _____ for it. (You fill in the blank.)

• I’d better save that; it will be useful for ______ (You know the routine.)

There are a couple of concepts that might be applicable here.

• If it matched once, it doesn’t match anymore. One of the items has faded.
• Just because something once cost money, it doesn’t mean it still has value.
• If I haven’t used it yet, I probably won’t.

It’s been hard for some of us (That would be me.) to adjust to the idea of the “just-in-time” business concept, but buying just the right amount of material at just the right time prevents waste and eliminates the need to store the excess. …. Yeah, but we get suckered in. I’m sure you’ve heard this routine at the store.

The first pint is $200, but today we are having a special. You get another 25 gallons for an additional $200.

So we all go home with just over 25 gallons, pleased that we paid less than $8 a gallon. (Then we have to park the car on the street for a few years.)

Unfortunately some of the materials being stored in a basement or garage are toxic, caustic, corrosive, flammable, or otherwise reactive. DNR has some applicable definitions and a great list. Some of the items are more obvious; others might be overlooked. OSHA regulates many of these materials in the workplace, but not in your garage. It’s up to you. Want some technical definitions of toxic? In a nutshell, a hazardous or toxic substance can kill you or make you ill by one of three routes: if you eat or drink it (duh!); if it stays in contact with the skin; or if you breathe it. The same is true for your children, dog, cat, or tropical fish. Read the label. Caustic, corrosive and reactive materials may include drain cleaners, pool chemicals, and a lot more. Toxic materials that you might overlook include fluorescent lights and the new energy efficient lamps. DNR will even tell you about getting rid of eWaste.

If it is time to reduce your collection of pesticides, herbicides, oil base paints, paint thinners, anti-freeze, oil, gasoline, pool chemicals, etc., or even that mystery container that lost its label, head toward Bondurant on Highway 65 just north of Prairie Meadows. Stop at the Metro Waste Authority’s Regional Collection Center (RCC). That’s exit 142B off of I-80. It’s the green roofed building about 1 mile north of I-80 on the west side of Hwy 65 – 1105 Prairie Drive, Bondurant. They’ll greet you at the door and help you unload. (Note: Their workers wear protective gloves. Hmm.) Check the list; the more dangerous stuff seems to be free to dispose. They will charge a small fee for things that you can dispose of, like latex paint. For example, it cost me $5 to get rid of 8 part gallons of latex paint. They go by weight.

Finally, this could save you some money. They have a Swap Shop where you can pick up usable materials that others have recycled. It’s free.

photos by Jim Lindberg