Where I grew up in western Pennsylvania, taking out the trash was nothing more than a chore. All my neighbors handled it the same way: They left the trash out on the curb every Wednesday morning, knowing that it would be gone by dusk, after a trash hauler had picked it up. The only time I’d see any evidence of the refuse again would be on my way to school whenever I glanced at the landfill. “Your diapers are in there,” my mom would joke as we passed by, and I began to ponder the effects of what I threw away on the ever-growing hill of garbage.
When I visited the Lebanon Solid Waste and Recycling facility in West Lebanon last week, solid waste manager Marc Morgan explained the rate of decomposition of trash as he drove around the landfill. Morgan and his crew occasionally need to dig trenches in the landfill to install methane control systems, and will come across garbage that has remained dormant for more than a decade, with few signs of decomposition.
“I’ll find books and magazines that are 10, 15 years old that are still readable,” Morgan said. With a background in environmental studies and recycling, Morgan is careful to regulate what goes in the landfill, and how to recycle as much as possible. This, he says, often starts in the local transfer stations.
Deciphering exactly what a transfer station does was part of my learning curve when I moved to the Upper Valley. Accustomed to the weekly pickup, I would let trash accumulate for a month before realizing I’d have to deal with the trash bags that were piling up on my porch. I finally discovered how to dispose of trash and recycling at the transfer station. I soon learned that these waste disposal areas also served as community meeting places and yard sales, offering not just an opportunity for creative recycling, but also serving as an antidote to winter isolation. As I talked to people in various Upper Valley communities, I learned that each transfer station has its own approach to aiding Morgan’s mission of recycling as much as possible.
The Norwich transfer station resembles a small village, with neat, matching huts dotting the property, each used to recycle a different item. The most notable of the tiny buildings is dedicated entirely to books.
Books dropped off by residents are sorted several times a week and placed on shelves by a volunteer, which allows the free books to be found more easily
Though there are well-organized bins for every recyclable from clothes to egg cartons at the Royalton/Bethel Transfer Station, the most popular spot in the oversized garage is the free table, where residents swap their unwanted items for others’ stuff.
At the Canaan Transfer Station, residents can dispose their trash for free and save time by dumping all their recycling in the zero-sort containers.
Although weekly trash pickup may be easier, I’ve found that my weekly trips to the transfer station provide satisfaction from having control over where my unwanted items go and being able to score a new treasure every now and again.
Sarah Priestap can be reached at spriestap@vnews.com or 603-727-3230.