the dump

As promised - a blog about the dump. And these chickens are happy little buggers. They get to live at the dump. So cool!

First, a haiku (inspired by Calli's haiku on gardening)

with limited land
try to conserve and reuse,
lets go to the dump!

true story:
I don't know how many of you know this, but my friend, Stacy, and I do yardwork after working on the lavender farm for a couple of Sarah's neighbors. We usually just spend an hour or so after work on the farm, and then head home. Stacy and I found ourselves driving one of our employers pickup trucks to the dump the other day to discard of the yardwaste that we had been collecting by means of clipping, pulling, and trimming. As we were on our way to the dump, listening to some tunes, Stacy looks at me from the driver's seat and says, "I can't believe we are getting paid to go to our favorite place on the island!" It took a moment to register what she meant, but after I did, I agreed whole-heartedly. It wasn't until a few miles later did we both burst out laughing at the nonsensical situation.

Strange but true - the dump is one of our favorite places on the island. Now with that said, let me explain this crazy statement.

the rationale:
I live on an island, where trash removal is very expensive. It is overly expensive because the trash, after being removed from your home and put in the dump, must eventually be hauled off island to dispose of long-term. Most people do not opt for curbside pickup because of the expense, and instead collect their own trash and take it to the dump, where the cost is determined by the weight of the garbage.

Since the weight determines the cost, most people are adamant about recycling everything possible. Instead of throwing an appliance away it goes to the recycling side of the dump where there is a graveyard of rusted out and broken appliances, tools, furniture, boats, car bodies, toys, bicycles, you name it. The best thing about it, is that all of it is for sale. Therefore, going to the dump is like perusing a ginormous yard sale. And for a couple of bucks you can walk away with a treasure or two.

My favorite part of the Freeland dump is the book mobile. A broken down bus has been converted into a, quite stationary, book mobile. The homemade shelves are chock full of all kinds of books; best sellers, Oprah's book club, picture books, inspirational books, fiction, non-fiction. For 50 cents a book, it is a hard bargain to beat. Some people call the "thrift store" of the dump the "Dumptique". A very fitting name, I believe.

So it isn't a wonder that I found myself exploring the dump after church on my 30th birthday last week. I walked away with three books for $1.50. Sweet. Wouldn't you like to visit my dump?