October 17, 2009

A big thank you to all the volunteers, Concord Public Works (CPW) staff and others who helped out at another successful DropOff and SwapOff Day. After all our worrying about the weather, it turned out to be a beautiful day. We actually set a record for attendance at the DropOff, with 981 paying vehicles coming through checkout! As usual, we have no way to count how many people came through the SwapOff area, but we know it was busy.
All in all, everything went remarkably well. Despite the high turnout, we managed to keep the traffic flowing. Our first ever collection of Unwanted Medications and Sharps was a big hit. Once again we had musical entertainment at the SwapOff. And Bill Turville and friends were back to create another delightful sculpture out of materials salvaged from the Oversize Waste bins.

Congratulations and thank you to everyone for your ongoing support and participation in this unique event. There were more than 140 volunteers helping out at the DropOff and SwapOff. Without you, this event would never be possible.

Summary of the Items Collected at the DropOff

  • 1 30 yard roll-off container of upholstered furniture
  • 1 30 yd roll-off container of carpet
  • 1 53 foot truckload of electronics
  • 1 5-gallon bucket of lead acid batteries
  • 1 5-gallon bucket of mercury thermostats and thermometers
  • 1 5-gallon bucket of rechargeable batteries
  • 1 8-gallon container of controlled substances
  • 1 box of 8 foot fluorescent bulbs
  • 1 box of cassettes
  • 1 box of CDs
  • 1 box of crayons
  • 1 box of floppy disks
  • 1 truck load of household goods
  • 1/2 bucket of assorted batteries
  • 1/3 5-gallon bucket of ballasts
  • 1/3 bucket of lithium batteries
  • 1/4 truckload of books
  • 10 55-gallon bags of plastic flower pots
  • 10 helium tanks
  • 125 bikes
  • 13 propane tanks
  • 185 bags of Styrofoam
  • 2 boxes of ink jet printer cartridges
  • 29 bags of sneakers for Nike
  • 3 1/2 tons of paper were shredded during the course of the event
  • 3 boxes of laser jet printer cartridges
  • 3 carloads of plastic bags
  • 3/4 truck load of children's items
  • 3/4 truckload of reusable building materials
  • 32 microwaves
  • 33 Mattresses
  • 4 boxes of Sharps
  • 4 containers of rags
  • 40 cell phones
  • 5 30 yard roll-off containers of scrap metal
  • 5 bags of towels
  • 5 boxes of non-perishable foods
  • 5 containers of 4 foot fluorescent bulbs
  • 51 dehumidifiers
  • 61 air conditioners
  • 8 bags of sneakers for Goodwill
  • 8 boxes of compact and small fluorescent bulbs
  • 8 refrigerators
  • 9 boxes of unwanted prescription medicine and over the counter (OTC) medication
  • 9 boxes of VHS tapes

We also collected 5 30-yard roll offs of wood and construction debris that will be recycled into low level reuse and 5 30-yard roll offs of oversized waste for disposal.

Thanks again to all of you. Everyone did a wonderful job.