Your Trash May Be Someone Else's Treasure

Please don't throw away good quality items - Donate Them!  This good habit helps us to save money through avoided landfill fees, and helps those in need at the same time. 

Did You Know That...
If every Ridgewood resident kept just fifteen additional pounds of material out of the trash annually by donating it, it would save the town $15,000.00 every year.  And that's just 15 pounds!!!

WAYS TO GET STARTED

1. DONATE TO CHARITY (Please scroll down to the end of the page for additional suggestions)

Second Chance Toys
Your plastic toys will go to children in need rather than into a landfill. 
Fair Lawn Recycling Center (nearest drop-off site) 
20-05 Saddle River Road 
Fair Lawn, NJ 
Click here to see our flyer. 
NOTE: All toy donations must:

• • be completely plastic, clean, and gently used (no board games);
  • have no small or missing pieces (small enough to fit through a toilet paper roll is too small); 
  • come with working batteries (if they are battery operational).

Learn more about Second Chance Toys.  Click here to consult their website. 

Community Thrift Shop
Located at 85 Godwin Avenue in Midland Park, Community Thrift Shop accepts select items, in saleable condition, and donates the proceeds to local charities.  They accept donations on Mondays from 10am - 12pm.  Please click here to see their guidelines.  Click here to see the local charities that your items can benefit.  To reach them by phone, please call (201) 652-7661.

Habitat for Humanity ReStore
The ReStore in Wayne accepts donations of new and gently used furniture, appliances, building supplies (including whole kitchens!) and plumbing supplies. Proceeds from the ReStore are used to support Habitat for Humanity. 

NOTE: Items must be:

• • in good working order; 
  • clean and not excessively worn or out of style;
  • gently used; 
  • appliances must be less than 10 years old.

Contact the ReStore at: (973) 782-6993 or click here to consult their website.

Goodwill Industries International Inc.
Donations are accepted at the Goodwill Retail Store in Elmwood Park, NJ, conveniently located at 30 Broadway, Elmwood Park, NJ 07407.  Donating items that are in working condition, contain all of their pieces and parts, and are free of stains and rips is the best way to ensure that your goods do the most good.  Items that have been recalled, banned or do not meet current safety standards are not accepted.

For more information, rules, and restrictions, contact the Goodwill Retail Store at: (201) 794-4670, or click here to visit their website.

2. BRING CLOTHING & OTHER TEXTILES TO THE RECYCLING CENTER
Many clothing items and household textiles can be reused. Please bag the acceptable items listed below and bring them to the Ridgewood Recycling Center. The clothing is collected by Turnkey Enterprises, LLC, a New Jersey company that states: "Our mission is to team with non-profit organizations to collect used clothing for the purpose of getting clothing to governments /people that can use it."

Acceptable: Any used clothing item and household textile article such as pants, dresses, shirts, sneakers, belts, purses, blankets, sheets, drapes, pillowcases, stuffed animals, and paired shoes.

Not Acceptable: No rags, no fabric scraps, no pillows, no toys, no household goods. (These items are a hardship & expense to dispose of.)


3. DONATE YOUR MATTRESS
Learn how by viewing the Mattress Recycling Guide.  Just click here.
 

4. DONATE BOOKS
Ridgewood Recycling accepts books in good, readable condition that have an ISBN barcode label on the book cover in our book donation box at the recycling center. Hardcover, paperback and textbooks are all welcome!  For donation, we CANNOT accept books that do not have an ISBN barcode on the cover. We also CANNOT accept encyclopedias, magazines or water damaged books.

To recycle books that cannot be donated, please click here for instructions.

5. TALK WITH OTHERS
The reuse community loves to share their ideas. Click here to view a wonderful list of reuse opportunities compiled by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.  Also, talk with others, google “donate in north jersey”, or checkout Facebook Groups, Craigslist, The Freecycle Network, The Salvation Army, Green Drop, Lupus Foundation of America, Vietnam Veterans of America, Housingworks, and Once Upon a Child for more recycling ideas. All within the same day, someone may give your item a new home.