Well, Chuck It has done some looking around and you’ll be happy to know that not only are there good purchasing practices to be made during this time, there are also numerous programs and resources in Ann Arbor for keeping your school supplies well within the realm of sustainability, recycling, reusing, and overall ecology.

Making Sustainable Purchases For School Supplies

1. Eco-Friendly School Items

Avoiding plastic, buying secondhand, DEcomposition books (yes, those are a thing!), there are a lot of sustainable alternatives out there now! Also, instead of conventional petroleum-based plastic, keep an eye out for products made from plants or other eco-friendly materials such as pens, pencils, and notebooks.

2. Reuse and Recycle At School

Recycling in school is also a big help. Washtenaw County has ongoing recycling programs in a number of its schools while Ann Arbor Public Schools have their own Environmental Sustainability Task Force, coordinating programs that you can take part in during the school year.

3. Donating School Supplies

In addition, donating to a charity, program, or someone in need is also a great way to keep waste at a minimum while contributing to a humane and efficient ecosystem!

Drop-Offs for New and Reusable School Supplies

Got extra school supplies or clothing? Whether you have an excess quantity, your child has outgrown them, or perhaps you just want to contribute, items like pencils, pens, notepads, staplers, and more can be dropped off at various locations within the A2 Reuse Network, featured in the above map.

Be sure to check with each location first to see what is accepted and individual business hours. Clothing and other large items are also welcome, whether it’s a folder, binder, calculator, or backpack. Washtenaw WISD and the Ozone House, and SCRAP Creative Reuse are also great places that accept gently used school supplies of many kinds.

Properly Disposing of Unusable School Items

Maybe you have some items that are just no longer usable. Torn backpacks, some kid’s clothes that have really seen better days, or electronics like that laptop or tablet that just has no more mileage left in it. Check out our very own, Interactive Junk Drop-Off Location Map! No matter the material, electronics or not, we have the proper drop-off location on there for you.

Scroll down to the section labeled “Ann Arbor Drop-Off Locations for Recyclables or Junk,” open the menu from the top left, and find the drop-off location for your specific item.

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With a few small considerations, we could help boost that number significantly and help our recycling facilities tackle what’s become an industry-wide problem.

Unaccepted items such as bags, hoses, and wires find their way into recycling facilities’ machinery, belts, and joints, jamming them up, causing major damage, and creating an unsafe environment for workers who have to remove the items by hand.

Greasy or unclean containers attract rodents or pests, creating unsanitary working conditions and contaminating the remaining load of recyclables.

What Can be Recycled in Ann Arbor?

You might not realize what is NOT accepted by Ann Arbor Recycling. It can also be surprising to note that one incorrect item can spoil an entire load of recycling, causing it to be rejected and shipped to the landfill.

For instance, you probably know that you can’t put light bulbs or motor oil in your Ann Arbor recycling cart, but did you know shredded paper or biodegradable plastics must be handled differently?

Items Accepted by Ann Arbor Recycling Curb Service

• Mixed paper – newspaper, junk mail, magazines, catalogs, cardboard, cereal-type boxes
• Metal cans
• Glass jars and bottles

Must be clean. Remove tops from glass items.

• Plastic Tubs
• Plastic containers
• Plastic Bottles
• Empty aerosol cans
• Aseptic and Tetrapak cartons

Must be clean. Keep screw-on caps, throw away flat plastic lids.

Items NOT ACCEPTED by Ann Arbor Recycling Curb Service

• Regular garbage
• Shredded paper
• Plastic bags
• Plastic lids
• Styrofoam*
• Film
• Biodegradable plastics (marked “PLA” or “BPI”)
• #3 plastics or PVC
• Light bulbs
• Batteries
• Electronics
• Toxic materials, hazardous chemicals, motor oil, automotive fluids
• Medical waste or syringes
• Hardcover books
• Ceramics or Pyrex
• Mirrors or window panes
• Textiles*
• Paper cups
• Compost, yard waste, or plate scraps

*These items are accepted at Recycle Ann Arbor’s drop-off station.

Ann Arbor Drop-Off Locations for Recyclables or Junk

Plastic bags, styrofoam, batteries, fluorescent light tubes, electronics… Ann Arbor has resources and locations to get rid of just about anything. Please note that some fees may apply.

Recycling, Compost, and Electronics Drop-Offs

Drop-Offs for Other Items and Hazardous Materials

Not seeing what you need here? Find out how to properly handle your unwanted items with Ann Arbor’s interactive A-Z Recycling Guide and search tool, categorized by item.

For more information on hazardous waste disposal, Chuck It Junk Removal has put together a free downloadable household hazardous waste disposal locations guide or you can visit the Washtenaw County Home Toxic Center website.

Looking to get rid of junk in the Ann Arbor area? We make it easy!

Contact Chuck It Junk Removal today!

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1. Crowds Can Get Rowdy
2. A Golf Stadium?
3. Zero Waste!

Banana Costumes and Beer

Normally golf crowds respect the concentration it takes for a golfer to hit a golf ball, silence is crucial when attending a golf match. Not so at the Waste Management Phoenix Open – this tournament has become known as the only tournament where the golf fans are more like baseball fans. “Rowdy” begins to describe them; outrageous, loud, expressive are fitting descriptions. At this tournament, you may have an entire section of fans wearing banana costumes!

The 16th hole at the Waste Management Phoenix Open is legendary. Ever since Tiger Woods hit his hole in 1 there in 1997 (The crowd went, well “bananas”, throwing beer cans onto the course and celebrating like a home run. )

Golf Stadiums? Yes, a Golf Stadium

The golf tournament has grown over the decades and so did the stands around the 16th hole. Now with Waste Management as the tournament sponsor, there is a stadium that can house 20,000 people around one golf hole on the course. The people in the stands are there all day, eating, and drinking, and drinking alot!

The Waste Management Phoenix Invitational is Zero Waste!

This is huge! The golf tournament is not trying to be, not thinking about, not planning for zero waste but Waste Management has pulled off a completely zero waste golf tournament, and one of the biggest rowdiest of golf tournaments at that.

Large crowds have HUGE environmental impacts. The trash created, water consumed, energy consumption for lights and food vendors needed to feed the crowds, and other wastes from hundreds of thousands of people create a great strain on the environment.

Most organizations who host large crowds are so pressed and stretched in dealing with the large crowd that sustainability and environmental impact are often afterthoughts if considered at all. Simply cleaning up the area is such a big chore for most large event organizers that they can not fathom being Zero Waste.

Waste Management (WM) leading the way in “Zero Waste” events.

That a golf tournament of this size can be zero waste is an unbelievable achievement and presents so many possible potential roadmaps for other organizations to follow in the future.

How Did Waste Management Do It?

It is not a copout to say that it would be impossible to describe how Waste Management pulled of a Zero Waste event of this size as their effort and approach has been comprehensive and built over time.

The links below provide by Waste Management explain their comprehensive approach, how they handled the numerous waste and energy creation issues that large gatherings present. Please visit the terrific resources they made to easily see what they did, and what their results were. Many easy to use infographics make it quick intake.

https://www.wm.com/us/en/inside-wm/phoenix-open

https://wmphoenixopen.com/sustainability/

https://www.wm.com/us/en/inside-wm/phoenix-open/sustainability-report

Anchored in Recycling

The Waste Management feat of achieving zero waste at the Phoenix Invitational implements successfully recycling to anchor zero waste.

62% of the waste generated was recycled.

Successful recycling is not easy as it involves people recycling correctly and for the recyclers to make it as easy as they can for people to do so. It also involves coordination with all of the vendors who use plates, cups, cans, etc to use recyclable or compostable materials.

Compost.

Paper plates, wet cardboard, food waste create the best soil in the world if composted. At the same time, food waste in our landfills creates dangerous gasses; food waste is best out of the landfill and in the compost pile where it becomes soil to grow food for people and animals.

Donations

Materials built for the tournament that were taken down were donated. When the builder knows they are going to take down and donate they will do so that keeps the materials intact while demolishing. This ensures the materials are in good condition or whole when donating to reuse centers.

Re-use

Anything that can be reused, like signage will be stored and reused. This reduces next year’s energy consumption and costs. Forward-thinking can save money!

Comprehensive Analysis

The major win for Waste Management is the comprehensive analysis they have worked through to understand what energy goes into a gathering of this size. They break down energy use from travel for volunteers, travel for the players, officials, and calculate the carbon emissions their event causes. Waste Management then offsets that carbon use by investing in wind power and donating to environmental initiatives.

What Waste Management has done here is 3 fold:

1. Proven that large events can be Zero Waste.
2. Provided a road map for other organizations to follow to make their own large gatherings Zero Waste.
3. Demonstrated that we can live in a modern society with golf tournaments, concerts, etc, and be closely aligned to the environment we exist in, even becoming zero waste.

In conclusion, we greatly commend Waste Management for its work and commitment to a sustainable future. We hope other organizations such as:

• Concerts
• Marathons
• Political rallies
• Theater
• Fire Fighting Camps
• Professional sports
• Stadiums and Coliseums
• Race tracks and others

take what Waste Management has set forth and make their own events ZERO WASTE.

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We are a junk removal company that is customer-service focused.

About Us: Professional, full service, licensed and insured junk removal company. We do all of the lifting, loading, and hauling away of unwanted items from our customers’ homes and businesses. We remove almost anything – From Appliances & Furniture to Construction Debris, Yard Waste, & Hot Tubs. Our jobs range from single items to multiple truckloads. We are professional, energetic, and hard working. We work hard but have fun doing it!

Job Description: You will be part of a two person team in a Chuck It truck, that removes and hauls away unwanted items from customers’ homes or businesses. Your ability to lift heavy items (i.e. appliances, couches, etc.) in a safe and controlled manner is a required part of the job, but not all of our jobs are heavy lifting.

Due to COVID-19 you will have limited interaction with our customers and will be required to follow the following protocol.

• Before and after leaving a customer’s home you will be required to clean your hands with disinfectant wipes or hand sanitizer
• You will not be shaking customer’s hands
• You will maintain a further than normal distance (6’ or more) from customers while reviewing and/or performing jobs
• You will wear gloves on all jobs

This is not a typical M-F 8-5 job. Our start times may vary from day to day but most often is between 7AM – 8:30AM. Our end times may also vary from day to day. We also work some Saturdays but those are typically half days. Due to COVID-19 we cannot guarantee a 40 hour work week, however, we are booking jobs.

Candidate Requirements

• Valid Driver’s License and good driving record with a Chauffeur License (or ability to get one)
• Valid DOT Medical Card(or ability to pass physical to obtain one)
• Reliable transportation to and from the Chuck It home base
• Ability and stamina to lift heavy items (required)
• Reliable with a good attitude and a professional demeanor
• Willingness to “go the extra mile” to deliver exceptional service
• Able to visualize items packed efficiently into the truck
• Flexible schedule (M-Sat availability required)
• Capable of interacting with customers to create a positive impression
• Organized

We operate out of the Hartland area near M59 & US23 in Livingston County.

Base pay is $12-$14/hr, with tips and bonuses you can average an additional $2.50-$5.00+ per hour!

Job Type: Full-time

Salary: $12.00 to $14.00 /hour

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Home Spring Cleaning Projects Are a Go

Spring is gradually beginning to usher in the new weather. We even had a few days where we could open windows, weather permitting us to take carpets outside for dusting, and taking clutter to the curb. But this spring cleaning was like no other spring cleaning in the past:

1. Organization: With the amount of time we’ve had inside this spring cleaning delved deeper into how we can organize our homes. Many in Ann Arbor finally got to that basement organization project, the garage cleanout, maybe even the attic!

2. Deeper Clean: All weekend indoors can give your spring cleaning thorough results! The level of attention to detail this spring cleaning saw was unlike any spring cleans in previous years found before. Tops of shelves were wiped down, high surfaces dusted, maybe even a few paint touch-ups! We hope your home is sparkling clean with this unprecedented downtime!

3. Sanitized: Spring cleaning this year went the extra mile when Dad swathed all the doorknobs and drawer handles with baby wipes and doused the entire house, sinks, and bathrooms with 91% isopropyl alcohol. Hopefully, those windows were still open at that point.

4. No Distractions. This year’s spring clean found the whole family working together since the teens had no excuses to get away from the house. Without plans to go to a movie or friend’s house, or being invited over for lunch and dinner somewhere else there was simply no escape. The entire family spent Saturday, March 21 SPRING CLEANING!

Chuck It Supports Spring Cleaning in Ann Arbor

When it’s time to clean out the garage, basement, or attic you run into a lot of things that need to get tossed. The perfect, easy accommodation for this is to have Chuck It Junk Removal deliver a driveway-friendly dumpster to conveniently haul it all away. Simply toss your junk in. Fill it up, and we take it away.

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Angie’s List Award for Junk Removal Services

“Service pros that receive our Angie’s List Super Service Award represent the best in our network, who are consistently making great customer service their mission,” said Angie’s List Founder Angie Hicks. “These pros have provided exceptional service to our members and absolutely deserve recognition for the exemplary customer service they exhibited in the past year.”

Angie’s List Super Service Award 2018

Angie’s List Super Service Award 2018 winners have met strict eligibility requirements, which include maintaining an “A” rating in overall grade, recent grade and review period grade. The SSA winners must be in good standing with Angie’s List and undergo additional screening.

Service company ratings are updated continually on Angie’s List as new, verified consumer reviews are submitted. Companies are graded on an A through F scale in multiple fields ranging from price to professionalism to punctuality.

For over two decades Angie’s List has been a trusted name for connecting consumers to top-rated service professionals. Angie’s List provides unique tools and support designed to improve the local service experience for both consumers and service professionals.

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Chuck It Junk Removal’s Tenth Year Anniversary

Whether renting a dumpster or employing our full-service junk removal, our clients call us for a range of junk removal needs. From moving, construction debris, and estate cleanouts to small demo jobs or rotating rental properties, the majority of what our clients are getting rid of is just old or outdated belongings.

That’s not to say that all of it is unusable! As an ever sustainably-oriented junk removal company, we seize every opportunity to donate or recycle items, diverting unwanted items from the landfill. Just take a look at some of our stats!

What Can Junk Removal Accomplish in Ten Years?

Each of the last 6 years we have recycled over 50 Tons of materials. That’s over 300 tons of materials recycled and kept out of landfills!

The following are Chuck It Junk Removal stats from just 2018:

• Chuck It is also honored to have received the Angie’s List Super Service Award yet again!
• Over 700 Customers Helped
• Hundreds Of Items Donated
• 50+ Tons Of Materials Recycled
• 31% Repeat Customers
• 11% Of Our Customers Were Referred

Reasons Our Clients Are Getting Rid Of Things:

• 51% – Old Stuff
• 22% – Moving
• 16% – Construction Debris
• 5% – Estate Cleanouts
• 4% – Hot Tub Removal & Other Small Demo Jobs
• 2% – Rental Property

How Much Junk Are They Getting Rid Of?

• 16% – Minimum Load/Charge
• 30% – 1/8 – 1/4 Load
• 21% – 1/3 – 1/2 Load
• 10% – 5/8 – 3/4 Load
• 10% – 5/6 – Full Load
• 6% – Multiple Truck Loads
• 7% – Small Demo (Hot Tubs, Sheds, etc.) & Other

The post Chuck Junk Removal Celebrating Ten Years In Business appeared first on Chuck It Junk Removal.

In fact, their purpose is to improve the state of waste and recycling forever!

Robotics: The Future Of Sorting Waste and Recycling

Not at all sinister, these robots are here for the purpose of lower operating costs, reduction in manual labor, increased recycling efficiency, and a more sustainable future. A vast improvement on what Skynet had in mind, I’d say!

ZenRobotics

The ZenRobotics Headquarters in Helsinki is quite futuristic looking. I mean, if you look at the inside, it’s like you stepped into 2001: A Space Oddysey (2nd movie reference, I know… It’s sci fi – Dig it)! And, considering their goals, it’s prime indication of where their vision is focused.

While it might unnerve some to go to a company’s website to find a menu section, “Solution > Robots,” it seems ZenRobotics is only up to doing good. Their ZenRobotics HP (Heavy Picker) is regarded as the strongest waste sorting robot on the market, known to sort through 1,400 items an hour, efficiently and intelligently separating reusable stone, wood, and metal from other rubbish, including items over 60 pounds.

The HP was announced in Spring of 2018 to play the central role at a new, fully automated sorting center in Geneva set to fully operational in early 2019.

Machinex

“SamurAI, the Self-Aware Robot – The Evolution in…” Ok, ok, we know that sounds terrifying. To be fair, we’re paraphrasing. It’s SamurAI the Self-Aware SORTING Robot. And its tagline is “The Evolution In Sorting.”

SamurAI’s artificial intelligence technology is supposedly there to “identify materials for an accurate, positive product recovery.” It also reportedly evolves to optimize and better recognize the materials it is programmed to sort.

This state-of-the-art waste and recycling robot is marketed to employ a range of applications but obviously, recycling is its main purpose… Right? …RIGHT? Clocking in at 70 sorted items per minute, it’s about twice as fast as the obsolete human. Look at it go!

Sadako

“Our mission is the use of AI technology to disrupt…” (wait for it) “the waste and recycling industry, so next generations can inherit a cleaner and more sustainable environment.” *Sigh…

Sadako‘s AI infused computer vision system joined forces with BHS – Bulk Handling Systems to develop the Autonomous QC (Autonomous Quality Control). The AI technology acts as the eyes and brain to sort very complex objects in the waste and recycling stream and can be taught new items to look after. According to Sadako, if the human eye can recognize an item, so can the Autonomous QC.

Sustainable Waste Management

All kidding aside, we think this is pretty great! It’s exciting to see the latest technologies being applied to the sectors of waste and recycling. As we all know, Chuck It Junk removal is a big fan of diverting literal tons of reusable materials from landfills.

We go the extra mile ourselves to sort the salvagable from the rubbish, reducing what goes into landfills, reusing what is possible, and recycling as much of the junk as possible that we haul away.

If you’re looking for an ecologically-minded junk removal service, contact Chuck It!

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Ann Arbor 4th of July Parades

Already attended the Fireworks at Whitmore Lake but still want more? While Ann Arbor doesn’t really have its own 4th of July fireworks display, there are several 4th of July events around Ann Arbor you can partake in.

Ann Arbor Jaycees Fourth of July Parade

At 10:00 am in Downtown Ann Arbor, The Jaycees Fourth of July Parade begins at the intersection of State Street and William Street, traveling north on State to Liberty, to Main Street, then back to William Street. TheRide bus service will not be available so remember to plan for driving, bicycling, or walking.

Ypsilanti Independence Day Parade

At 11:00 am in Ypsilanti, the 89th Annual Ypsilanti Independence Day Parade is Michigan’s Longest Running Independence Day Parade. The parade starts at Oakwood and Cross Streets and ends at Rice Street in Ypsilanti’s Historic Depot Town.

Whitmore Lake Independence Day Parade

10:00 am in Whitmore Lake, this year’s parade theme is “America’s Super Heroes.” Starting on Main Street at Barker Rd & proceeds down to the Public Safety Building.
Get to the Community Center after the parade for root beer floats at noon, followed by a banana split eating contest at 3. Stick around until dusk to see the beautiful Boat Parade of Lights at Mac’s Marina at 9:30 pm.

4th of July Fireworks in Ann Arbor

Still determined to find that fabled Ann Arbor fireworks display? If your patriotic perseverance to see fireworks on the 4th of July has rendered you tireless and purposeful, there is one display around the Ann Arbor area that we have found:

The Fireworks at Crabtree Field, in Saline

Located between Liberty School and Saline Middle School at 10:00 pm, you can make the drive out to Saline for the ever-elusive 4th of July fireworks display in Ann Arbor – it’s also FREE!
It’s recommended to arrive an hour early and to bring a lawn chair and a flashlight. You can do it!

Other 4th of July Events in Ann Arbor?

With so many awesome events going on such as Firecracker 5K, Ray’s Red Hots Hot Dog Eating Contest and other goings on, we’re sure there are many great things tucked away throughout the neighborhoods of Ann Arbor.

What events did we miss?

What 4th of July events will you be attending in Ann Arbor?

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Ann Arbor’s Driverless, Sustainable Commute

M-City, a developer of driverless technology, has partnered with U-M to release the driverless vehicles this week as part of a project that has been over 1 year in the making.

Developed by the French company, Navya, the driverless shuttles are actually guided by GPS and laser beams! Believe it or not, it’s an application previously implemented in other countries by the company before deployment on the U-M campus.

Mcity Driverless Shuttle Route

The route which will be launched in phases currently includes a 1 – mile loop around U.M.’s north campus with plans to extend to the Robert H. Lurie Engineering Center in the coming months.

Two of the free, 11-passenger shuttles will run every 5 – 10 minutes around the current loop at a top speed of 12 miles per hour before moving on to increased speeds on the route’s later expansions.

Tracking UM’s Autonomous Public Transit

As part of the research, cameras and microphones have been installed on board to record how passengers and pedestrians respond to the driverless vehicles on the road.

The shuttles run Monday through Friday, 9am-3pm at U-M’s North Campus Research Complex (NCRC) on Plymouth Road. Track the shuttles live, here!

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