For those who used their enforced time at home in the past year to clear out overstuffed closets—only to find their favored donation or collection sites closed—the June 16 reopening of the Transfer Station’s Take It or Leave It area will come as welcome news. Finally, the unwanted items we weeded out using our very own techniques, or perhaps with the Kondo or Swedish Death Cleaning methods, will find new homes. Or will they? People leaving uncurated collections of objects contribute to piles of junk for DPW staff to haul away at the end of a Wednesday or Saturday, leading to speculation that some people just want to save the cost of proper disposal in a Harvard trash bag. Even if the history of useless stuff accumulating at the TIOLI is attributable to some people’s generous interpretation of the “one man’s trash” maxim, the result is the same: too much trash, not enough treasure.
The Take It or Leave It is what we make it, and it should be an oasis of cool stuff amid the trash, scrap piles, and recycling bins at our Transfer Station, not a dumping ground and a headache for DPW employees. Assistant Town Administrator Marie Sobalvarro advises leavers to “start slow,” so that items can “have a chance to shine in Harvard’s great, free reuse bazaar.” It’s good advice, so please: Think before you leave.
