Get Trashy

Give me your house paint, your rusted box springs, your decrepit computer monitors yearning to breathe free...

So goes the (slightly elaborated) plea of the Buckman Road Recycling & Transfer Station for their Spring 2014 Amnesty Day on Saturday, April 26, where you can drop off your trash for no cost.---

Alongside typical rubbish, the station will reuse and recycle what they can of your electronics and safely dispose of household chemicals. They'll also take eight passenger tires full of green yard waste—anything that grows, sans dirt—for free, as long as you tie it down to your vehicle.

Those who take advantage may save upwards of $16. And maybe the environment. So says Adam Schlachter of Santa Fe Solid Waste Management.

"People just don't understand things like paint and household cleaners really shouldn't go into the trash," he says. "Our hope is that [the Amnesty Day] really gets the word out that we are here and we can take this stuff and our fees are pretty low.

"It really comes down to: We shouldn't litter; we shouldn't keep stuff in our yards because [when it rains], we don't think about it, but anything that's liquid that's in a container is going to get in the groundwater and cause things to happen...Our broader effort with this whole thing is spring cleaning. Take advantage and clean it up!"

Santa Fe Reporter