Despite the cold, blustery weather, Saturday’s “Junk in the Trunk or on a Truck” was one of the most successful since the event was launched in October 2013.
Margarete Tober of Gulfport Neighbors, sponsors of Junk in the Trunk in conjunction with the city of Gulfport, said 7.2 tons of landfill-bound junk were collected along with seven pallets of electronics.
The January 23 event, the eighth held since the program’s inception, “started off slow but picked up nicely once the sun peeked through,” Tober said. “7.2 tons may be the second or third most we have collected.”
At Junk in the Truck, held at the 49th Street Neighborhood Center, residents are invited to bring to debris to dispose of free of charge, as well as things they no longer want so they can be used by others, including furniture, appliances, tires, clothing and electronics.
Tober guessed 70 to 75% of the items brought to Junk in the Trunk is recycled. “The remaining goods are minimal,” she said.
Items not taken go in the trash, she said, adding that although the group has tried to get thrift stores to take them, “it hasn’t worked out.”