Declutter and donate to reduce holiday waste

With the holiday season here, BRING encourages residents to clear out their old, reusable items to make room for the new. This year, Lane County residents can donate directly at the Glenwood Transfer Station, where BRING recently opened a donation site in partnership with Lane County Waste Management and St. Vincent de Paul of Lane County. This site offers residents a convenient one-stop solution for donating, recycling, and disposing of household and building materials, promoting reuse while reducing landfill waste.

With increased holiday activities, waste generation can increase by as much as 25 percent between Thanksgiving and New Year's. BRING and Waste Wise Lane County-a part of Lane County Waste Management-encourage the community to consider sustainable practices like reuse, especially during high-waste times of the year. BRING's new collection site allows residents to easily donate gently used building materials, garden supplies, furniture, tools, and more, helping these items find new life and reducing their environmental impact.

"We are excited to expand our services to the Glenwood Transfer Station," said Sonya Carlson, BRING's executive director. "With this new location, we aim to make it convenient for people to donate reusable building materials that might otherwise end up in the landfill. Items like bricks, windows, doors, fencing, lumber, sinks, and tiles can all be repurposed into new projects, helping both our environment and community."

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that construction and demolition (C&D) debris accounts for more than twice the amount of municipal solid waste, with 600 million tons of C&D debris generated annually in the United States. BRING's efforts at the Glenwood site and its main location are part of a larger initiative to help Lane County achieve its goal of recovering 63 percent of its waste stream through reuse, recycling, and composting.

Since the Glenwood donation site opened in August, BRING has already diverted 32,579 pounds of reusable materials from the landfill. By donating at this auxiliary location, community members can contribute to BRING's Planet Improvement Center, which provides affordable, environmentally-friendly options for local DIYers, contractors, and residents looking to repurpose quality materials.

Residents planning renovations or holiday declutter projects are encouraged to gather reusable materials for donation and save a trip by combining it with their visit to the transfer station. For a full list of accepted items or to learn more about the waste reduction initiative, visit www.bringrecycling.org.

About BRING:

BRING is a Eugene-based home and garden thrift store committed to recovering construction waste and building materials from the waste stream, providing environmental education to Lane County communities, and highlighting the importance of reuse. Today, we focus on the urgent issues of consumption, climate change, and community resiliency. Through these initiatives we fulfill our mission to provide vision, leadership and tools for living well on the planet we share. BRING has consistently been voted one of the "100 Best Green Workplaces in Oregon."

About Waste Wise Lane County

Waste Wise Lane County- a part of the Lane County Waste Management Division-empowers residents, schools, and businesses with education, tools, and resources that can be used to reduce waste, conserve resources, and live more sustainably. For more information, visit lanecountyor.gov/wastewise.