Giveaway Day and KARC open house take place this Saturday

With addressing climate change top of mind for many, diverting items from landfill is an important step in waste reduction.

This weekend, the City of Kingston’s Waste Reduction Week will allow Kingstonians two ways to participate and learn about diverting items from landfill, both taking place on Saturday, Oct. 26, 2019.

This Saturday is Giveaway Day, a time when area residents can put items they no longer want out by the curb to allow others who might want the items to pick them up.

“Use Giveaway Days to divert useful items from landfill. Garbage in landfill creates climate-changing greenhouse gas emissions and leachate,” said Heather Roberts, Director of Solid Waste for the City of Kingston. “Items that have life left in them, or that can be re-purposed do not belong there.”

Guidelines for Giveaway Day

Only set out items that you know someone else might want. The City offers the following guidelines for appropriate items:

• Books
• CDs
• DVDs
• Furniture
• Small appliances
• Electronics
• Construction materials (including drywall, lumber, and hardware)
• Kitchen gadgets
• Cutlery
• Pots and pans
• Unwanted gifts

At the same time, there are items that are not appropriate to put out on Giveaway Day. The Consumer Product Safety Bureau of Health Canada advises that the following items should not be given away (nor picked up):

• Baby walkers
• Cribs
• Car seats
• Strollers
• Playpens
• Bath seats
• Mattresses
• Blinds
• Toys

The following are the guidelines from the City of Kingston on how to put items out for pick-up, and how to pick items up on Giveaway Day.

How to put items out:

• Place items at the curb in front of your home.
• Place stickers or signs on the items with the word ‘FREE.’
•  Ensure any items that you do not want taken are kept away from items placed at the curb.
• At the end of the day, bring any uncollected items back in to your home. The City will not collect unwanted items left at the curb. Consider donating them to a local charity.

How to pick items up:

• Respect other people’s property: don’t walk on people’s lawns or gardens.
• Take only the items marked ‘Free’ and placed at the curb.
• Don’t leave previously picked up items on the curb at other people’s property.

The City encourages those participating in Giveaway Day to post photos of Giveaway Day items on Twitter with the hashtag #WasteNotYGK.

Recycling Centre open house

Saturday will also be an open house at the Kingston Area Recycling Centre (KARC) at 196 Lappan’s Lane. The event will run from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and allow the public a chance to see what happens to recyclables after they’ve been picked up from the curb, and learn more about the City’s waste diversion programs.

For more information on waste diversion from the City, click here.