11 Cares helps community dispose of hard-to-recycle items

There was a huge turnout at North Park Saturday for the Pennsylvania Resources Council Hard to Recycle event. People dropped off a little bit of everything — from old computers to tires and even VHS tapes.

“The nostalgia is real today,” said Christine Zaremski-Young of Edgar Snyder & Associates. “I’m not sure if we caught it, but there was just a TV that passed us with a built-in VHS tape player. Total nostalgia. That was the item to have back when I was in college.”

It was a walk down memory lane for dozens of volunteers who were pitching in to help the community “pitch” what can’t be thrown away in the trash.

Sarah Alessio Shea has been a part of the Pennsylvania Resources Council for over 20 years. Their mission is pretty straightforward.

“It’s just trying to find a convenient and responsible and affordable option for folks to get rid of these materials,” Shea said.

Eight hundred and fifty people from Southwestern Pennsylvania pre-registered for Saturday’s event held at North Park.

“Events like this help the community out,” said Elena Oyster of 84 Lumber Company. “We’re getting rid of items that normally end up in a landfill or on the side of the road, maybe.”

Car after car, volunteers — including some familiar WPXI faces — helped unload everything from old computers to Christmas lights.

“Some of the stuff that people find in the back of the closet or the attic or they’re cleaning out to move,” said Matt Neistein of Duquesne Light. “So yeah, there should be some interesting things going on — the big console TVs, things like that.”

“These boxes that you see here fill up so quickly,” said Erin Forrester of Clearview Federal Credit Union, “and it’s so great that they’re going to be taken care of and disposed of responsibly as opposed to a landfill or again that hillside.”

PRC’s efforts have produced incredible results over the past decade and a half, with over 23,000 residents able to recycle 2 million pounds of electronics, 8,800 tires and 2,400 freon-containing appliances.

“As a health plan that goes beyond doctors and medicine, taking care of the environment has an influence on their health, so responsible recycling is key,” said Judy Sapos of Highmark Wholecare.

If you missed Saturday’s event, don’t worry. There are several others taking place this summer. You can find out about those by heading to https://prc.org/workshops-collection-events/collection-events/.

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