News Summary

HAMILTON — The birds are chirping, the flowering dogwood trees are blooming and it's time to get your home clean.

You can do it yourself or hire someone to do it for you. But first, you must rid yourself of clutter.

Recycling hazardous waste "protects our water system, streams and aquifer and prevents hazardous materials from reaching our waste water system, or accumulating in landfills where hazardous material has the potential to affect groundwater and find its way into our food and water," said Anne Fiehrer Flaig, county Solid Waste District Coordinator.

Butler County Environmental Services offers some free and environmentally-friendly disposal.

• Free computer, television, cell phone and electronic recycling.

When: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. the first and third Saturday from April to August, and the second and third Saturday in September.

Where: 1714 Fairgrove Ave., Hamilton, next to the Butler County Fairgrounds.

• Free paint, fertilizer, prescription drugs and household hazardous waste recycling.

When: 2 to 7 p.m. Thursdays from June 7 to Sept. 27.

Where: Environmental Enterprises, 10163 Cincinnati-Dayton Road, West Chester Twp.

• Free freezer, refrigerator and freon appliance recycling pick-up program.

When: Mid-April to Sept. 30 on demand.

Where: Home pickup.

For more information about these programs and recycling, call the county Solid Waste District at (513) 887-3653, or go to des.butlercountyohio.org where you can find scrappers for all kinds of junk.

Your trash also could be another person's treasure. Donate to a local charity, like Serve City in Hamilton, or make a little loot with a local consignment shop or garage sale. You also could try the local Freecycle groups on groups.yahoo.com if you're Internet savvy.

There's a Hamilton-Fairfield group, as well as groups in Cincinnati and Dayton, where you can post your free item, and someone may pick it up. You also can sell your items with a classified ad in the JournalNews.

Local metal scrappers, such as Unwanted Appliances, (888)

886-9268, will pick up your out-of-order washing machine for a fee. You also could try calling 1-800-GOT-JUNK, or go to 1800GOTJUNK.com.

Sixty percent of its collections are donated or recycled, according to GOTJUNK's Web site. The cost ranges from a minimum $149 to $538 for a full truck load.

Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2175 or chiggins@coxohio.com.