Day 52

The kids and I are working on a little upcycling project.  If you haven’t heard of upcycling, that’s because it’s a made up word.   But, I didn’t make it up and people are starting to use it like it’s an ACTUAL word.  So before you know it,  it will be in the Oxford English Dictionary.

This fabricated  word has an entry in Wikipedia (imagine that).  Here is that definition:

Upcycling is the process of converting waste materials or useless products into new materials or products of better quality or a higher environmental value.

Etymology aside, we needed some paint for our project, a small amount, in either pink or purple. (And really, what isn’t of better quality or higher environmental value with a little magenta paint?)   A friend had told me about the county Hazardous Materials disposal site and that they kept a couple shelves of items that people had dropped off available for those that needed them for free.

At this facility, you can drop off any unused chemicals, electronics and batteries for proper disposal.  As an aside, apparently Americans use and throw away billions of batteries each year (that from our friends at the EPA) and it’s really bad for ole’ mother earth.  If you want to find a recycling center for batteries in your area you can search by zip code here.  If you don’t have a center in your area, for a fee (which will be paid back to you in karma)  you can order a shippable container from Big Green Box  that you can fill with batteries and send in for proper disposal.

Anyway, back to the disposal site, typically when one hires a moving company, they won’t allow you to pack flammable or hazardous materials. Because apparently those driving the truck are a little skittish about hauling items that can explode, burn or otherwise turn their 18-wheeler into an incendiary device.   Which is OK by me, I don’t want to risk my stuff getting burnt.   So, this facility will take in all of those cleaning products, tiki torch fuel and deck stain that can’t be moved. Then, if it is an item that could potentially be used, rather than dispose of it, they offer it to others.

I like it, and now I have pink AND purple paint.

A cheer for FREE hazardous materials!

Photo taken by my 6-year old when she was "holding" my phone

Our haul: A few cans of paint, sterno and Goof-off