Junk Owners, Recyclers Convened at Saturday Event

UPPER POTTSGROVE PA – One-by-one, wooden pallets (above) filled with dozens of digital and other devices – everything from obsolete printers to unwanted computer towers, flat screen televisions, and more – were rolled up ramps Saturday into waiting trucks and hauled away from Upper Pottsgrove Township.

A lengthy but continuously moving line of vehicles brought those items, and heavier equipment like old refrigerators and stoves (below), to the parking lot at Hillside Aquatic Club on West Moyer Road. Once there, at a cost of $10 per car or truck (and higher prices for specific items), area residents efficiently disposed of a variety of wired and metal junk they no longer wanted.

The recycling effort is an annual fund-raiser that benefits the GreenAllies non-profit organization and supports its maintenance of Althouse Arboretum on Gilbertsville Road.

It attracted a huge crowd, and was met by a crowd almost as large: an army of volunteers, many of them local high school students (above). They were on hand to unload stuffed trunks (at top), SUV cargo areas, back seats, and pick-up truck beds, while drivers stayed behind their steering wheels. A two-lane processing area allowed workers to handle several vehicles at once.

In their midst were Green Allies’ Executive Director Ken Hamilton and staff members, smiling, taking cash, making change, distributing promotional flyers, and generally keeping things moving. Upper Pottsgrove police and fire police provided traffic supervision.

The operation began at 9 a.m., with some drivers arriving early to ensure their spaces at the front of the line, and ended at 1 p.m. No report was yet available later Saturday on exactly how much tonnage had been collected, and how the effort fared financially.

Photos by The Post