Submitted by Thurston County
If you have usable building materials and household goods, donating them for a good cause just got easier. A South Sound Habitat for Humanity drop-off station is now open at the county’s Waste and Recovery Center.
“The idea was to create one-stop service for reuse, recycling and trash at our transfer station,” said Loni Hanka, Education and Outreach Specialist with Thurston County Solid Waste. “Contractors and residents can drop off recyclable or reusable items before they go through the tollhouse, so that saves them money while conserving resources.”
The recycling facility at the WARC houses Habitat for Humanity and Goodwill donation stations, plus facilities for recycling plastic, glass, paper, cardboard and Styrofoam. Thurston County Solid Waste funded the start-up costs for the new Habitat for Humanity station through a grant from the Washington State Department of Ecology.
The Habitat for Humanity donation station accepts the same items as the South Sound Habitat for Humanity store locations in Olympia and Yelm. This includes working appliances, cabinets, doors, flooring, furniture, light fixtures, hardware, lumber, plumbing, roofing, and non-aluminum windows. Donating these usable materials gives you a tax deduction and allows you to skip the cost of disposal. Habitat resells the items at their store locations and uses the proceeds to build housing for low-income families.
Construction and demolition debris is a big portion of the waste stream. Fortunately, much of it is reusable or recyclable, and keeping it out of the trash can save you money. Many construction and household items and materials can be reused or recycled instead of trashing them. Thurston County Solid Waste maintains a database at www.WhereDoITakeMy.org that contains locations to take many types of reusable and recyclable materials.
For more information, visit www.ThurstonSolidWaste.org/GreenBuilding or contact Loni Hanka at HankaL@co.thurston.wa.us or (360) 867-2282.
For more information about other materials that are accepted at the county’s Waste and Recovery Center, visit www.ThurstonSolidWaste.org and click on the “Waste and Recovery Center” icon.
