By Ilene Moyher
Orange Recycling Committee
Ilene Moyher
Orange residents once again have a convenient opportunity to responsibly dispose of items that don’t belong in regular recycling or the trash. The Orange Recycling Committee will hold its popular “Paper Shredding & More” event on Saturday, Oct. 24 from 9 a.m. to noon at High Plains Community Center.
This free, rain-or-shine event is for Orange residents and offers several ways to recycle, reuse and properly dispose of household items.
Secure paper shredding is for documents containing personal, financial or medical information, including tax papers, bills, receipts and statements. This service is for residential use and is not intended for businesses or medical offices. Residents should bring papers in boxes or bags, and volunteers will retrieve them from vehicles. To help keep the line moving, remove papers from binders and take out any paper clips, binder clips and wire spines before arriving. There’s no need to remove staples or elastic bands.
Do not bring already-shredded paper, newspapers or magazines, notebooks, junk mail, or other non-confidential papers. These materials can go into your regular recycling bin. Those wanting to watch their documents get shredded or keep their boxes should let a volunteer know and be prepared to wait a few minutes.
The on-site shredding is provided by Affordable Solutions of Orange and funded by the Orange Rotary Club. Residents may show their appreciation by donating to the Orange Rotary Scholarship Fund.
Mattresses and box springs of any size will be accepted for recycling through the Mattress Recycling Council’s Bye Bye Mattress program. For help getting items to the event, the Orange Lions Club offers home pickup for $15 per mattress or boxspring (considered a charitable donation). Contact Ken Lenz at 203-795-3906 for details.
Do not bring futons, sofa beds or waterbed mattresses, mattresses with bed bugs, wet, damaged or excessively soiled mattresses, mattress pads, toppers or sleeping bags.
Clothing and household items drop-off at the pavilion is where residents can give unwanted items a second life. The Orange Community Women will collect gently used clothing, shoes, accessories, household goods, toys, books and more. Items will be sold to Savers thrift store, with proceeds supporting OCW’s charitable work.
Bring clothes, shoes, accessories, household linens and stuffed animals in bags. Bring dishes, toys, small appliances, sporting goods, home décor, DVDs, CDs, VHS tapes and knick-knacks in boxes. Box books separately.
In addition, the Buy Nothing Orange group will host a free swap meet from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., where residents may bring useful items to give away and perhaps find something to take home. Items remaining at the end will be donated to the OCW collection. Do not bring very large items to either the OCW dropoff or the swap meet.
Electronics recycling will include collection of old cell phones, tablets, computers, laptops, monitors, cables, wires, routers, televisions, VCRs and CD/DVD players. Residents may bring these items to the front parking lot, near the shredding truck. This service will be handled by Take 2 Electronics, the same company collecting e-waste at the Orange Transfer Station. This will keep hazardous materials found in electronic devices out of the waste stream.
Over the years, this twice-yearly event has kept more than 200,000 pounds of paper, hundreds of mattresses and box springs, many electronic devices and countless household items out of the waste stream. For more information, visit orangerecycles.com or follow the Orange Recycling Committee on Facebook at @ORCinCT.
Ilene Moyher is a member of the Orange Recycling Committee.