City-wide Give Away Day - October 13

I missed this the last time and you can only imagine how bitter I was.

Discover hidden treasures

One person's junk is another person's gold. This tale bodes true at the first fall city-wide Give Away Day on Saturday, October 13, 2007 (Rain Date: Sunday, October 14).

Don't put your unwanted bounty pieces in the garbage. Set them out at the curb on Give Away Day. For you treasure hunters, tour your neighbourhood, community and city to find those hidden gems.

Treasures could include:

• Books, CDs and DVDs.
• Old furniture and small appliances.
• Construction materials - including drywall and hardware such as nails, bolts and screws.
• Kitchen gadgets, dishes, cutlery, pots and pans.
• Unwanted gifts.
• and more

Please consider safety when deciding which items to set out to the curb.
The Consumer Product Safety Bureau of Health Canada advises that used children's items such as baby walkers, yo-yo balls, cribs, car seats, strollers, playpens, bath seats, mattresses, blinds, toys and other child-related items should not be placed out at the curb.

Rules for setting out the treasures

• Place items at the curb.
• Place stickers or signs on items with the word "FREE".
• Ensure any items that you want to keep are away from your set out treasures or tucked away safely in your garage.
• At the end of the day, bring any uncollected gems back to your home.

Treasure hunting etiquette

• Respect other people's property, don't walk on people's lawns and gardens.
• Take only the treasures marked free at the curb.
• Don't discard previously picked-up treasures on another person's lawn.

We wish you best of luck in finding those treasures. It's another way to RETHINK GARBAGE, protecting our most precious treasure - our environment.

Remember:

• Unfound treasures can be donated to charitable organizations.
• A better idea than filling up the landfill is filling up a Web site for prospective buyers for your unwanted gems. Visit usedottawa.com for some ideas for recycling your used items.
• You can get tips from the Junk Brothers on how to transform your trash into treasure.
• You can learn more about freecycling by checking out the Ottawa Freecycle Network - who help reduce the flow of trash into our landfills by connecting people who want to get rid of unwanted "stuff" with people looking for free "stuff".
• Other freecycle-like Web sites include Craigslist and Kijiji.
• Besides Give Away Day, other initiatives to maximize landfill space include the Take it Back! Program and one-day Household Hazardous Waste Depots.

Click here for more information.