Reuse and recycle the holiday heap

Now that the flurry of giving and receiving has waned and you're left with the mess it's time to take stock and see what can be reused or at least recycled.

From packing peanuts to the tree there's life after the holidays for the left-overs.

Customers of Capital Sanitation can put their tree at the curb on the next regularly scheduled pick-up day starting Friday through Jan. 5.

Drop-off sites are also available at:

n Carson City Sanitary Landfill

n The south side of the Carson City Corporate yard

nNorth Town Shopping Center/Bully's Sports Bar

n J.C. Penney's parking lot

Douglas County residents can also leave their tree at the curb on their pick-up day Jan. 5-9, but trees here need to but cut to 6-foot lengths. Neighbors who do not have trash pick up may place their trees with neighbors who do.

Trees will also be collected at:

Lampe, Johnson Lane, Topaz Ranch Estates, Ranchos Aspen, Zephyr Cove and Kahle Community parks and at the Douglas County Fairgrounds.

Remove all tinsel, bases, nails, and decorations from trees prior to recycling.

Curb-side recycling will continue to pick up the plastic, glass, tin, newspaper and aluminum.

Take cardboard to the landfill. It doesn't get picked up at the curb, but it will be recycled at the landfill. Take your neighbor's too.

The landfill will also take the old washer and dryer, microwave and other appliances. The desert is not a dumping ground for these items. It costs a whopping $5.75 to recycle 1,000 pounds worth of appliances if you live in Carson City. If you're from out of town it costs $8.63.

"If you get a new washer and dryer, take the old one up there and recycle it absolutely," said Capital Sanitation manager Bill Field.

Greeting cards can also be recycled. St. Jude's Ranch for Children in Boulder City takes the used fronts and reattaches them to new card stock. The cards are then resold to raise money for the home for abused children.

Cards are being collected at City Hall, 202 N. Carson St., the Carson City Building Department, 2621 Northgate Lane Ste. 6, and at the Carson City Library, 900 N. Roop St., beginning Saturday through Jan. 13. For information watch for the next edition of One Man's Trash in Monday's Nevada Appeal.

Online visit at: www.stjudesranch.org. Mail cards to: St. Jude's Ranch for Children, 100 St. Jude St., Boulder City, NV 89005. To purchase cards visit online or call 1-800-492-3562.

The Box Store, 1012 N. Plaza St. is listed by the loose fill packaging Web site as the only location to recycle anywhere near Carson City. Call them at 885-9373.