Moving, redecorating or spring cleaning? Consider donating items instead of throwing them away

Kirk Symmonds of the HRM solid waste department says many things can be reused by someone else

Ryan Bellefontaine

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“One person’s trash is another person’s treasure” is a favourite saying of Kirk Symmonds at HRM’s solid waste department.

Symmonds loves to talk trash, but he also loves to encourage Haligonians who are moving, redecorating or spring cleaning to consider donating items instead of throwing them away.

“I think furniture is a great place to start. In some cases, people may be disposing of their furniture because it no longer suits their style, but that doesn’t mean it might not suit somebody else’s style,” Symmonds said.

He has personal anecdotes to show how well it can work out for both parties involved.

“I had a very, very old couch… I managed to find somebody to take it because they had a camp. This was a whole living room set that would have gone to the curb if I had not sought out somebody to take it,” Symmonds said.

It’s not just furniture which people should be seeking second-hand takers.

“I used to love sweater vests, but my partner did not care for my sweater vests. When we got together, I had to donate them. And now there are some handsome folks out there wearing my sweater vests,” Symmonds said.

Sometimes damaged items are deemed useless by consumers, but Symmonds assures refurbishment is not always out of the question and it is far better for the environment.

“A neighbour found some drums that were being tossed out. He’s quite aware that I’m a music person. With a little bit of effort, we’ve turned these drums that were destined for landfill into a really nice drum kit that we use on a regular basis in my house,” he said.

And if items aren’t suitable for reuse, Haligonians can check municipal resources to find out how to properly sort them for curbside pickup.

“Go to our Halifax recycles app. There are details on how to dispose of items, and we give instructions on how to deal with them,” he said.

Symmonds wants to remind Haligonians to keep plastic bags and packaging out of green bins, even those that market themselves as being biodegradable or compostable.

“In HRM, we do not accept compostable plastic in our waste stream for a number of reasons. It can be a real impediment to our operations. Ultimately, what starts off as a convenience for the consumer can become a nightmare for processing,” he said.

Many single-use drink cups and soup bowls are also lined with plastic, and therefore are not usable to collect food scraps for the green bin.

And for anyone tired of tossing paper flyers in the blue bin, Symmonds says you can always opt-out of having them delivered.

“If the distributor does not follow those rules, they can be issued tickets, and we have issued tickets in association with that bylaw,” Symmonds said.

It takes only a sticky note on your mailbox to potentially save trees.

“You can also make a phone call and be put on that list. And should you continue to get flyers that you don’t want, you can contact us, and we will have our enforcement officers look into it,” Symmonds said.