It may not seem like it now, but spring is just around the corner at Ole Miss—60 degree Saturdays, budding trees, birds chirping—the whole deal. A lot of people associate this season with an annual deep cleaning spree, and with good reason. What better way to start anew than rid your home and office of unnecessary clutter, right? It’s just good feng shui.
Cleaning isn’t quite one of my strong points (my husband will be the first to tell you, poor guy), but I do enjoy keeping my belongings to a minimum and I have big plans to clean out my closet one of these days soon. So, whether you’re planning to spend one of these beautiful spring days cleaning out your office, garage, dorm room or home, keep in mind that there are a bunch of unlikely items that belong in the recycling bin and not the trash. Here’s a quick list:
1.) Your old iPod and cell phones (you know, the one without the touchscreen – how are you supposed to even operate that thing anyway?) – It’s estimated that one billion used cell phones are crammed in drawers across the U.S., because people don’t know what to do with them. Get rid of old cells, MP3 players and other personal electronics (see a full list here) in e-waste bins across campus and feel good doing it—they’ll be refurbished, donated or dismantled appropriately, far from the landfill. (Bins are located in buildings like Martindale.)
2.) Bicycles – Did you know we have a new bike repair shop on campus? I didn’t. It’s kind of awesome. You can drop off old bicycles and they’ll be rebuilt (if possible) or used for parts. Then, they’ll put to use in the university’s bike rental program. E-mail bike@olemiss.edu for more information.
3.) Your Bio lab textbook (or any thin, softback textbook for that matter) – Drop everything from softback textbooks and magazines (both need to be less than ½ inch thick with glue binding) to old Daily Mississippians into the bins labeled “paper” on campus. Seriously, you can get rid of office paper, phone books, paper bags and even manila folders in that bin.
4.) Digital cameras – Just off the top of my head, I can think of two digital cameras that are laying around my house. Those things are expensive, but it doesn’t change the fact that the photo quality is no longer acceptable, or that I haven’t touched them in the last four years, much less seen the battery chargers. Toss old digital cameras in e-waste bins and be done with them.
5.) Junk mail – Remember the all-encompassing paper bin? Clean out your junk mail drawer (even those with plastic windows) and fight the good fight. The Energy Information Agency estimates that recycling one ton of paper can save 17 trees. That’s like half of the Grove.
Faculty and staff – If it’s a university owned device, make sure to drop it off at Procurement Services. They’ll take care of the recycling. For a full list of items that can be recycled on campus, go here.