During Dumpster Day, nothing is off the table— okay well maybe a few things. However the possibilities are endless for the things you can bring that are not liquid, tires or building supplies. People can discard old doors, mattresses, furniture, bagged trash and other things that they do not know what to do with.
don’t it always seem to go that you don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone?
It’s OK, no one is painting paradise to put up a parking lot. It’s much better as one local group is encouraging people to clean up trash around the county.
Earth Day is Monday, an annual event encouraging environmental protection.
President of Keep Brown County Beautiful Cathy Paradise encourages people to not dump trash on the sides of the road.
She told the Democrat that one of the reasons people have extra garbage on their property is because they financially do not have the means to deal with trash. One other reason is that people do not know what to do with many items like mattresses and furniture. Brown County does not have a landfill.
The group organizes a dumpster day every year to make garbage removal more accessible.
“We started dumpster day around five years ago. We pay for the dumpsters and put the dumpsters behind the recycling center,” Paradise said. “People can bring trash, mattresses, furniture, bagged trash and they can clean out their garage and bring that.”
The only things prohibited from the dumpster are tires, building materials and hazardous waste. The organization also recycles metal during dumpster day.
Paradise said that the group pays for the dumpsters through donations and grants provided by the Community Foundation. She said they plan how many dumpsters they will need. Last year, for example, they filled almost four dumpsters and each dumpster is approximately $500. The leftover money after donations are added is requested through the Foundation.
Keep Brown County Beautiful accepts monetary donations to support dumpster day. People can drop off their donations for the group to the Recycling Center at 176 Old State Road 46.
Paradise said she is currently working on writing the grant for this year.
The group also does road cleanups throughout the year.
“We mainly do road cleanups in spring and fall because you can’t really do so when the grass and foliage is up,” Paradise said. “Plus you can’t see it. You can run into dangerous things like needles or snakes.”
The group also has community cleanups and group cleanups, partnering with local organizations including the Boy Scouts, Rotary club and Veterans Affairs.
“Why do people (throw trash onto the roads)? I don’t understand when it’s so simple,” Paradise said. “We have a dumpster day because we need it, but there is no reason to throw trash out of their windows.”
For people looking to clean the roadsides for Earth Day, Paradise advises heavy duty gloves, trash bags and grabbers.
“Be safe,” Paradise said. “If you see anything that you don’t think is safe like liquid or needles, don’t pick it up. It’s all about staying safe.”
