For Immediate Release

The Plains, Ohio — Do you have an old mattress/box spring, rechargeable batteries, or obsolete electronic devices lying around waiting to be recycled? Now is your chance. Rural Action will hold a recycling dropoff Saturday, Sept. 26 from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. in conjunction with an open house for the new thrift store and makerspace in Athens.

The dropoff will focus on difficult to recycle items, but “regular” recycling (see the list below) also will be accepted. Residents also can drop off 30-gallon bags of trash, which will cost $3/each.

“This is the first in a series of recycling events we’re holding,” says Ed Newman, Director of Rural Action’s Zero Waste program. “We have identified local sources for each type of item we’re accepting, so this will be as zero waste as we can make it. Nothing is being sent to China. It all will be recycled with entrepreneurs in our region.”

Here are recyclables that will be accepted during the event and where they will be processed:

  • Textiles: Neighbors helping Neighbors in Ashland, KY.
  • Rechargeable Batteries: RePower in Amesville.
  • Mattresses and Box Springs: Martin Mattress Recycling in Nelsonville.
  • E-Waste: Athens-Hocking Recycling Centers, then to Accurate IT in Columbus, an R2-certified company that responsibly and legally manages all materials and does it here in the United States.
  • Scrap Metal: AHRC, then to McKee Recycling in Waterloo Township.
  • Medical Supplies and Equipment (NO DRUGS): Zero Waste stores it at AHRC then ships to Medwish International in Cleveland.
  • 30 Gallon Bags of Trash ($3/bag): AHRC, then to the Athens-Hocking Landfill.

The event, sponsored by Rural Action, the USDA, and Coalfield Development, will be at 751 West Union St. in Athens, and residents will be able to drive up to drop off their recyclables in a social-distanced way. Volunteers will remove items from vehicles.

The new thrift store and makerspace will be holding an open house at the same time, same location, so plan on stopping by to check those businesses out.

For more information, please contact Ed Newman at ed@ruralaction.org.

Rural Action is a regional community development organization with a 32-county footprint working with members and community leaders on a range of quality of life, environmental, and economic projects across rural Appalachian Ohio. Its mission is to build a more just economy by developing the region’s assets in environmentally, socially, and economically sustainable ways. Learn more about Rural Action at www.ruralaction.org

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CONTACT
Ed Newman
Director, Zero Waste
ed@ruralaction.org
740-677-4000