The town’s Green Technology and Recycling Committee met last night, and top on their agenda was the Swap Shop. I wasn’t able to attend the meetings, but thankfully the Metrowest Daily News was there. You can read their full article here, but here’s the gist of it:
The Green Technology and Recycling Committee sided with residents last night, saying it’s important to keep the transfer station swap shop open — and possibly enlarge it.
Committee members voted unanimously to ask Department of Public Works Director Karen Galligan to meet with them sometime in the next few weeks to discuss her decision regarding the shop, which is set to close Jan. 7.
Chairman Carl Guyer said it is unfortunate the committee was not told of the decision before it was made, but did not harp on the topic.
Related stories:
- Breaking news: Swap Shop closure has been delayed until January 7 (16 comments)
- More than 700 sign petition to save the Swap Shop (9 comments)
- Selectman encourages ‘rational discussion’ over Swap Shop (36 comments)
- Breaking news: Southborough’s Swap Shop to close for good on December 1 (117 comments)
That is such great news!
I’m late commenting on the Swap Shop debate, so most of what I’m about to say has probably been already said. I’ll try to be brief.
People taking Swap Shop stuff to sell elsewhere — I see the Swap Shop as a way of taking what one person no longer needs and putting it in the hands of someone who can use it. It doesn’t matter to me if a resident goes in the Swap Shop and picks up something for this or her personal use, for a relative or friend’s use, or to sell to someone who can use it (eBay, garage sale, whatever). The point is, it’s being reused. If someone makes money off it, I don’t care.
The shop being overwhelmed with junk — Educate. Maybe someone could write a weekly article and post it on the Southborough blog, the DPW web page, and as a flyer for the library and Swap Shop wall. Remember, everyone’s idea of “good shape” is different. If you’re well-off and often have new things, something with a ding or a rip might not seem worthwhile. If you’re living on a low income or enjoy refurbishing things, dings and rips don’t matter. If you’re looking for something for camping or a vacation cottage, dings and rips aren’t that much of a problem. But it the Swap Shop wants things of higher quality, then we need to define our requirements. Each article or flyer could tackle a different category: books (how old? are old textbooks okay? what condition?), games (do all the pieces have to be there? must the box be in good condition? what’s good conditions? should you tape box corners before you drop it off?), and so on. Educate the public on what should go in the Swap Shop and what should go in the compactor.
Second thought on the Swap Shop being overwhelmed — When it first opened, I thought it was way too small. How much has our population grown since then? Maybe the problem isn’t too much stuff, but too little space.
Third thought on the “too much stuff” problem — As mentioned in the article, get volunteers to enforce the rules (I prefer “advise on drop-offs”). Maybe different volunteer groups could take turns doing it. They could wear a pin or badge that identifies their organization and use the opportunity to get the word out about their group.
Let’s not give up on the Swap Shop. If nothing else, it shows us how much stuff we accumulate and how we need to be more restrained in our consumerism.