The “ooo’s” and “ahhh’s” from unwrapping gifts are over. Now it’s time to make room for your new electronics, toys and all those great socks your Aunt gave you. In your excitement to remove the old and put up the new, throwing away your old items may first come to mind. Instead, consider donating them to a local charitable organization. Although an item may have outlived its usefulness for you, it could still be useful to someone else before wasting away in a landfill.
Donate
Give a second life to your clean, gently-used clothing, housewares, toys, furniture and appliances by donating them to local charitable organizations. Items should be in good, usable condition. Check out The Woodlands Donation Guide for a list of local organizations accepting donations. Some organizations are able to pick up items or offer convenient drop-off locations. If you have an item that is not specified in the guide, call first to assure it is accepted.
Recycle
Not all items are suitable for donation. Sometimes clothing and housewares are past the point of repair such as stained rags, threadbare linens, ripped clothing, worn out shoes, etc. These items shouldn’t be donated as they can’t be used by the organization and end up being thrown away. If you have overly worn items such as these and are a resident of The Woodlands with curbside trash service, you may recycle these items through the Simple Recycling Program. Simply put unusable textiles in the designated orange bag and put them beside your carts for collection on your designated service day. ***As of November 20, 2020, Simple Recycling’s curbside service has been cancelled. To read the press release, view here.
For items that can’t be donated, but can be recycled, consult the Recycle More Guide. Here you’ll find all local recycling opportunities for items such as electronics, paints, batteries, appliances, household chemicals, plastic bags and film, Styrofoam and more. Please note that these items can be recycled through these special collections, not the yellow lid curbside carts.
To learn more about recycling, visit the Recycling page on the Township website.