Above: For those who may be looking to get rid of items that new gifts are replacing this season, I’m sharing the best options. (images cropped from Fresh Start Furniture Bank website and Project Just Because Facebook page)
This isn’t just the time of year for giving. It also a time of getting. And that can lead to the desire for ridding your home of items you no longer need.
A local organization that helps people in need — including providing gently used furniture — reached out to share their information. I’m passing that along with a reminder and update of other ways you can donate gently used items (or recycle items that are basically trash).
Donating Gently Used Items or Recycling for a Cause
Most of these are locations in Southborough. The exception is the first one below. I’m sharing that nearby option, since we don’t have anything like it in town.
Fresh Start Furniture Bank
The organization’s Hudson location asked me to share its promotional video. In it, they explain how they act like a food bank to help people in need, except their items are provided to help furnish homes. Groups they support include veterans, the “working poor”, and immigrants.
Their warehouse accepts couches, chairs, tables, desks, beds, and even some mattresses! They also accept Kitchen items & appliances, and other electrical items. For large furniture, the drop off has specified hours when volunteers can help offload the items. Alternatively, if you make a donation to cover the costs, they can also schedule a pickup from your home/office.
You can watch their video explanation here. And you can find details on what and how you can donate here.
Collection Drives (with a bonus for you)
Southborough business Rio Medical is continuing to offer a donation campaign, collecting used goods for a host of local organizations — including Fresh Start. (But they won’t be able to take furniture at that location.)
In exchange for a donation to one of their drives, you are entered in a monthly drawing to win a free facial. The other drives are for Project Just Because (which sometimes accepts gently used clothing) Got Sneakers (recycling old sneakers), MetroWest Princess Boutique (shoes, jewelry and purses that are prom-worthy), Dignity Matters (bras for homeless women), and their more recent addition Eddie’s Ranch Rescue (for pets). More information about the Rio Medical drive can be found here.
Clothing & Textile Bins
In the parking lot for each public school in Southborough and Northborough, you can find their collection bins for textiles (clothing, linens, and more). Each school’s parent organization is paid by the pound for the donations. In Southborough, funds go to the school’s SOS (Southborough Organization for Schools) and for Algonquin to the APTO (Algonquin Parent Teacher Organization). The vendor sells items good enough condition to be re-used to resellers. Ones that aren’t are sent to recycling. (Read more here.)
Southborough’s Transfer Station also has a Goodwill donation bin, where clothing items in good enough condition for resale can be donated to the non-profit. (Read more here).
Pilgrim Church also has a Clothing Shed with items sold through a reseller for fundraising (unless items are pulled to use for community members in need). You can read about here.
Another option to consider down the road is St Mark’s Bargain Box, the thrift store run by volunteers for St Mark’s Episcopal Church. The store supports the church and its good works. But, the collecting and sales are closed for the season. (In the spring, you can check for news on their website here and Facebook page here.)
Miscellaneous Goods
The sheds located behind the recycling section of the Southborough Transfer Station is a popular place for getting rid of items you no longer want. Any resident with a Transfer Station permit can drop off or pick up items during regular hours.
It’s a good option for trash that you don’t think qualifies for any of the above listed drives — but is still good enough to qualify as someone else’s treasure.
If they do qualify for non-profit collections above, those are better options. (Swap Shop items may be snapped up by families who don’t actually need them. Or they could end up in the trash hopper when DPW staff cleans out sheds to make room for new items.)
Still, it’s much better than trashing reusable items directly — unless they are truly junk/trash. In that case, please do everyone a favor and dump them in the trash or recycling! And speaking of. . .
Other Recycling & Trash
Here is a reminder (with some updates) of what trash can and can’t be recycled.
Given the time of year, I’m highlighting items that you may have heaps of in less than a week but can’t be recycled in our state. Wrapping Paper is trash. So, are many types of greeting cards and gift bags. Cards and paper gift bags can’t be put in recycling if they include metallic inks, glitter, foil, or wires. (Gift bags that can be recycled must have strings removed before you add them to the paper bin.)
Recycle at stores
Many stores have bins for recycling the types of items they sell or give out, like:
- Plastic shopping bags (most supermarkets and large discount stores)
- Small tech devices/batteries
- Ink cartridges
You can use the following links to see what items are recyclable at Staples, Target, and Best Buy.
Below are the general rules of thumb. But, when in question, you can find the state’s more detailed, interactive database on what is/isn’t recyclable in Massachusetts here.
Recycle through Transfer Station
I assume if you have your trash and recycling picked up, your vendor has provided their own list of rules. Below are the state rules that the Southborough Transfer Station goes by. Note that all of these items should be wiped/scraped clean of food residue first.
- Uncrushed Redeemable cans and bottles — these are redeemed by community groups in town (like scouts and charities) who sign up to sort the items in the cage. (Please, for their sake, completely empty cans and bottles before dumping them.)
- Unredeemable cans and bottles (either crushed or brands not redeemable in MA) — these are recycled in bins based on the materials
- Hard plastics such as bottles and jugs
- Glass bottles/jars
- Plastic clamshell containers
- Metal cans & containers
- Cardboard & paper bags (including pizza boxes even with grease stains)
- Paper & newspaper (but, as I detailed above, not gift wrap and not all gift bags or greeting cards)
Do Not Recycle
- Wrapping paper
- Greeting cards and gift bags that have metallic inks, foil, wire, or glitter
- Soft plastics such as plastic bags and wraps. (Some stores have bins to accept used shopping bags for recycling.)
- Milk/juice/soup cartons (Some areas in Western Mass recycle these, but not the rest of the state)
- Plastic meat trays or one time food use trays
- Drinking glasses/vases (if nice/in good condition, consider the swap shop)
- Window glass and broken glass
- Odd-shaped plastic such as toys, laundry baskets, or patio furniture
- Styrofoam
