WasteNot Project provides helpful resources as spring cleaning begins
Spring is upon us and that means that spring cleaning season is here. It feels good to clean out the shop, garage or spare bedroom. But remember, not everything needs to go straight to the dump. Consider reusing, donating or recycling before just sending your dusty old things off to be buried in the landfill.
Not sure where to take items for recycling, or what can be recycled? Don't worry, the WasteNot Project has the answers. The WasteNot Project just updated its “How to Recycle in the Flathead Valley” brochure. This informational brochure can be found in most public buildings around the valley and online at WasteNotProject.org. The WasteNot Project has also recently updated its Fix It Local and Pharmaceutical Waste Disposal information.
Check out the “Fix It Local” brochures if you have found something you love but is broken. These are great resources with listings to some 100-plus local and online businesses where you can take items to be repaired. Additionally, The “Pharmaceutical Waste in the Flathead” brochure provides information on where to drop off unwanted and left-over medicines at 10 different locations around the valley. These brochures can be found online by visiting WasteNotProject.org.
The WasteNot Project is all about finding and promoting ways to reduce waste and encourage more recycling in the Flathead. If you are interested in learning more or volunteering please email WasteNot@flateadcitizens.org.
Mark your calendar. The Flathead County landfill offers a free household hazardous waste collection every third Saturday. Just fill out the registration form at https://flathead.mt.gov/waste/faq.php. The landfill will send you an appointment time and send you a reminder. This is a great free service for Flathead County residents and a way to safely dispose of items like oil-based paint, thinner, solvents, adhesives, stains, cleaners, furniture stripper, ammonia, pesticides, herbicides, insecticides, poisons, fertilizers, tree sprays, fuel carburetor cleaner, flea powder, lye, turpentine, and more.
The WasteNot Project also provides classroom presentations on recycling and composting in classrooms across the Flathead Valley. Lessons are intended for kindergarten through sixth-graders and focus on teaching students the 3R’s: reuse, reduce, and recycle. If you are an educator and are interested in hosting a lesson, please contact the WasteNot project by emailing WasteNot@flateadcitizens.org. Hands-on field trips to our Compost Garden teaching site begin soon.
The WasteNot Project was founded in 1993 with the goal of reducing the volume and toxicity of material entering our landfill through community education. It is a collaborative effort between Citizens for a Better Flathead, the Flathead County Solid Waste District and the Flathead Valley Community College Service Learning Program.