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WWRA: Rummaging through the past can lead to a better future

File photo.
File photo.

(Chelsea Update would like to thank Laura Scriven and the Western Washtenaw Recycling Authority for the information in this story.)

Recycling usually scheduled to be picked up on Thursdays, won’t be picked up on Friday this week since this Thursday is the July 4 holiday.

Yesterday, I spent the whole day in the past, trying to make my future better.

I cleaned, sorted, organized, donated, and recycled the remains of a lifetime (or two). Under my family’s home is a crawlspace. Historically, when things weren’t needed, they went in there in case they were needed in the future.

I found things that my grandparents had put down there in the 40s and 50s. It was such an exciting and interesting adventure. There were lots of little treasures that I am adding to my household. There were things that really made me wonder about the sanity of some family members. There were things that can be loved and cherished by other people. There was garbage. And there were lots of things to be recycled.

Adding to this week’s recycling will be an old fireplace screen, a stainless sink, a sheet of metal, metal TV trays, and plenty of newspaper and magazines.

The hardest things for me to part with were the books. I come from a long line of readers. My grandparents hoarded books. As did I before my e-reader (don’t worry, I still have a few cases of “special” books). The books were all neatly packed up and placed in the crawlspace as summer reading for guests and homeowners who wanted to reread some favorites. My grandparents weren’t the only one who loved those books. Generations of mice also called the books home.

I thought I would recycle them since they could no longer be read. The more I thought about it, though, the more unsure I became that WWRA took books.

I should know that as the education coordinator for WWRA, but I didn’t. So I called. Yep, we do take them. We love them. We rip the covers off and add them to the cardboard recycling then we are able to put the books in the paper recycling.

We do ask that you please remove all the mice (and their acorn furniture), though.

It was a long, sweaty, dirty day, but I found some treasures to pass on, some recycling for WWRA, and some treasures to take home.

So, if you decide to do any summer cleaning and have questions about what can be recycled, don’t hesitate to call the WWRA office or contact me at [email protected].

 

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