Where to take your stuff

5/6/2006

• For a list of places to recycle dozens of items, from computers and batteries, to hangers and old hearing aids, call 419-213-2230 for a brochure from Keep Toledo/Lucas County Beautiful.

• In Wood County, request a copy of the Household Recycling Directory, 419-354-9297, or read it at www.wcswmd.org. The Bowling Green Recycling Center on North College Drive off Poe Road has 24-hour drop off for common items as well as books and scrap metal.

• Check the phone book for more than 20 stores under "Resale Shops." Stores don't want dirty, excessively stained, ripped, or broken items. Several places will pick up your donations free. Call to make sure they'll take what you've got.

• The Restore: Operated for the benefit of Maumee Valley Habitat for Humanity, this retail store sells used (and occasionally new) household and remodeling items. Donate or buy usable paint, sinks, toilets, cabinetry, hardware, doors, windows, large appliances, furniture, bricks, cinder blocks, and more. Drop-offs accepted during store hours: 1 to 6 p.m. Wednesday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday and Friday, and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday. Free pickup. It's at 223 North Fearing Blvd. Info: 419-382-1964.

• Toledo-Lucas County Furniture Bank: This small nonprofit helps needy people set up households. Accepts all gently-used household items except clothing, large appliances, books, and toys. Drop-offs accepted from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Friday at 812 Warehouse Rd., Unit B, off Angola Road, and east of Reynolds Road. Free pick up. Info: 419-381-8120.

• St. Vincent de Paul Society Store: Probably the least expensive resale store, it accepts cell phone batteries, furniture, beds, mattresses and springs, baby items, toys, household goods, working appliances, musical instruments, shoes (paired), and clean clothing/textiles (they recycle 350,000 pounds a year). No suitcases, textbooks, or encyclopedias. Open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. Free pickup. 1001 Washington St. Info: 419-243-2243.

• Salvation Army: Its three area thrift stores accept clothing, good-condition mattresses and springs, baby items, household goods, suitcases, books. No large appliances. Free pickup: 419-241-8231.

• Goodwill Industries of Northwest Ohio: Accepts clothing, toys, household items, furniture. No mattresses, textbooks, encyclopedias, computers, large appliances, baby furniture, or car seats. 535 Cherry St. and other locations. Information: 419-259-4635.

• ISOH/Impact (formerly International Services of Hope/Impact): Warehouses items for medical teams and disasters, such as medical supplies and equipment, tools, tarps, food, adult diapers, and more for local, national, and international use. Soon to break ground on a new, 11,500-square-foot warehouse. Donations: 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Mon. through Fri. or by appointment at 905 Farnsworth Rd., Waterville. For a list of needed items, check isohimpact.org or call Stan Greene at 419-878-8548.

• toledofreecycle.org: At this lively nonprofit exchange, you can list things you want to get rid of and request things you wish to obtain.

• Missions International of America, a Christian nonprofit, operated by Dr. Jay Nielsen, who has sent four shipping containers of goods to Haiti including antique pedal-sewing machines, good shoes, stackable chairs, wide-tired bikes, wedding and formal attire, lumber, and construction materials. To help him establish a medical clinic in Haiti, he needs six network-ready laptops (CD and USB capable). For a list of additional items, call 419-897-0545 or check http://www.missionsinternationalofamerica.com.

• Scrap4Art, expected to open on Adams Street in downtown Toledo this summer. Teachers and artists will be able to purchase inexpensively a variety of odds and ends for science and art projects, such as industrial remnants, paper, corks, bottle caps, fabric, buttons, craft supplies, dowel rods, tiles, lumber, and PVC scraps. Organized by a Toledo mom and patterned after similar nonprofit operations around the country. For a list items the store will accept, call Evy Jarrett at 419-720-2978.

• Perhaps the most comprehensive and user-friendly recycling center in the region is operated by the nonprofit Recycle Ann Arbor. Its Drop Off Station accepts the standard items plus Styrofoam, paired shoes, books, and clean, dry textiles in bags.

Open to the general public, it has modest fees for some items such as tires ($3 each), computers and other appliances ($5), CDs (3 for 25 cents), audio and video tapes (3 for 50 cents). It's at 2950 East Ellsworth Rd., Ann Arbor, 734-971-7400. It also operates a popular second-hand store, the Reuse Center, in a 20,000-square-foot warehouse at 2420 South Industrial Highway, which sells donated furniture, household goods, and building supplies. Both are open Mon. through Sat., 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Info at 734-662-6288 and www.recycleannarbor.org.

Where to recycle in other areas:

• Monroe County: 734-240-7909 (www.co.monroe.mi.us). The next collection for household hazardous waste will be June 7 at the Ida Township Hall, 3016 Lewis Ave., from 3 to 7 p.m.

Also, the Restore recycles computers and televisions free for county residents. It also accepts donations for and sells household goods, working appliances, and remodeling materials, such as sinks, counter tops, and linoleum. Open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday at 840 LaPlaisance Rd. in downtown Monroe.

• Fulton County: 419-337-9247 Drop-off bins are located throughout the county, and the recycling center, with 24-hour drop off (accepts clean clothing), is on County Rd. 14 between County Roads J and K, near the airport. Computers and televisions are accepted only during business hours.

• Ottawa-Sandusky-Seneca Joint Solid Waste District: 1-888-850-7224, ask for Jim Darr, recycling specialist (www.recycleoss.org). In addition to drop off containers throughout the counties, items (including tennis-type shoes and thermometers) can be recycled at the processing center in Green Springs, 1518 East County Rd. 113.

Call for information or check the Web site about the next collection of hazardous household waste and other items on Sept. 9, from 9 a.m. to noon, in three locations.