Sedona Recycles News Archive

Here at Sedona Recycles, we are constantly trying to find ways to take more materials. Our mission is dedicated to reducing waste, and we try to find any way possible to achieve that goal. Almost anything can be reused, repurposed, recycled, or composted; the trick is finding a way to do it and make it work.

Most recyclers, myself included, seem to skip the second of the three Rs, so Sedona Recycles is finding ways to make it more convenient for the public to reuse. In the last month, we have started accepting a few more of these items for reuse and expanding those that we already accept.

Clothes, shoes, and toys

The average American throws away 68 pounds of clothes each year, and many of these could be reused or recycled. If you have visited one of our drop-off sites recently, you may have noticed some new white bins. These bins are for the latest addition to the long list of items we collect: clothing, shoes, toys, and small household items.

All quality levels are acceptable in these bins, so items such as torn jeans, single shoes and socks, dirty shirts, and old toys are all acceptable. Every article placed in the white bins will find a second home, whether it is at a charity, a thrift store, overseas in countries like Afghanistan and Guatemala, or as rags at a hardware store.

Clothing bins are serviced by American Textile Recycling Service of Phoenix, which donates 2¢ to Sedona Recycles for every pound collected in the bins. In just the first two weeks of the program, almost 8,000 pounds were collected, raising $150 for Sedona Recycles. This successful partnership not only provides another great free service to the community, it also reduces a typically ignored waste stream, assists those in need, and supports Sedona Recycles.

Just remember, if it doesn’t fit in the bin, don’t leave it. You can contact Sedona Recycles at 204-1185 if you are ever in doubt about an item, or if it is too large to fit in the bin. We will help you find a way to recycle it.

If your unwanted items are in good, wearable condition, we still recommend that you donate them to an area thrift store first. Most local thrift stores bring the items they cannot sell to our bins, so your donation to a thrift store may act as a donation to Sedona Recycles as well.

Community Swap Meet

Last year, we revived the Community Swap Meet Extravaganza after a 20-year hiatus. The event was a huge success, and sales from our concession stand and vendor fees raised almost $2,000 for expanding recycling services in Sedona. This year, we will be holding the Swap Meet in both May and October, so you’ll have two chances to clear out your closets and garages.

The Swap Meet is a perfect example of reuse in action, as we join together to turn one’s trash into another’s treasure. At the end of the day, all unsold items that vendors don’t want to keep will be donated to Old Town Mission thrift store, so the reuse will continue even after the event is over!

The first Swap Meet of the year will be held on Saturday, May 15, from 9am-3pm at Posse Grounds Park. The Swap Meet is free to the public and is a great way to sell your unwanted items without the hassle of holding your own garage sale. Anyone can reserve a space for a tax-deductible fee of $30, or $25 for Sedona Recycles members. Last year some vendors made over $1,000 in just four hours, so reserve a space now at www.sedonarecycles.org or by calling 204-1185.

Books

While Sedona Recycles has taken books informally for many years, we now have a dedicated bin for accepting books of all kinds. Through a partnership with Golden Word Books and Music, any books brought to Sedona Recycles are sold at Golden Word’s online store and 20% of all used book sales benefit Sedona Recycles. Books in poor condition or that do not sell come back to Sedona Recycles for recycling. It’s a win-win situation that promotes reuse and benefits our nonprofit and a local bookseller.

Reuse, reuse, reuse

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to reuse at Sedona Recycles. Many of the items that are brought to us for recycling are still in great shape and can be reused multiple times. In other cases, items that cannot be recycled locally can be brought to Sedona Recycles for reuse only.

One such item is packing materials. Bubble wrap, packing peanuts, padded envelopes, air filled packing bags, and poster tubes can all be brought to Sedona Recycles for reuse. All of our reuse items are here for the public to use whenever they like, so if you are sending something fragile, or just want to stock up before the holidays, come help yourself to as much as you like.

The newest addition to the reuse area at Sedona Recycles is the Magazine Drop & Swap rack. Just put your unwanted magazines on the rack and head home with some new reading material! Even though we just started this program a few weeks ago, the magazines are already flying off the racks, with a huge turnover every day.

Other items welcome and available for reuse inside the facility are nursery pots of all sizes and egg cartons of all types. And keep your eyes open for another reuse project coming soon! Stay up to date on all of our events and new additions; become a fan of Sedona Recycles on Facebook or drop by the center and find out what’s on the horizon.