I'm not exactly sure why, but Ned Clean-Up Day is one of my favorite days of the year. Typically the first Saturday after Memorial Day.

In 2013, Ned Clean-Up Day diverted 22,750 pounds of material away from the landfill. (see details at the bottom of this article)

Here's how it works:

What will be accepted:

• Furniture, scrap material, books, textiles
• Steel for recycling
• Reusable building materials (ReSource will be on hand).
• Electronics/computer equipment recycling (Eco-Cycle rates apply)
• Trees and slash accepted at Nederland Sort Yard (see below)
• Pine needles (accepted at the Nederland Sort Yard)
• NEW: Household Hazardous Wastes (paints, stains, motor oil, antifreeze, aerosol cleaning products, batteries, etc.). Please see www.bouldercountyrecycles.org for a complete list of accepted and not-accepted items.  Pre-Registration REQUIRED! Click here to register or call (720) 564-2725 or email here. [Note: Household hazardous wastes can be recycled for free anytime at the Boulder County Hazardous Materials Management Facility - 1901 63rd Street, Boulder (720) 564-2251]

What will NOT be accepted:

• Tires
• Construction/Demolition material
• Household garbage and recycling (which can be taken to the Nederland Transfer Station at 286 Ridge Road (303) 258-7878.
• Appliances will be accepted free of charge this day only at the Nederland Transfer Station
• Trees and slash are accepted at the Nederland Sort Yard across the street from the transfer station at 291 Ridge Road

The 2013 Ned Clean-Up Day diverted 22,750 pounds of material away from the landfill.

We collected 17,000 lbs of scrap metal, 2,000 lbs of slash, and 2,000 lbs of e-waste (old computer equipment), and 960 lbs of household hazardous materials. Plus, 600 lbs of material that was re-used within Ned, and the ReSource yard took another 200 lbs of building material for re-use. According to statistics gathered by the University of Utah's School of Architecture and Planning, this blend of material diversion and recycling, would save 23,000 kWh of electricity, or 2,750 gallons of oil, or about 400 million BTU's of energy. Also, from the University of Utah:

In a lifetime, the average American will personally throw away 600 times his or her body weight, which for an average adult would leave a legacy of 90,000 pounds of trash at the end of their lifetime.

Of the garbage Americans throw out, half could be recycled, which is enough to fill a football stadium from top to bottom everyday.

Of these recyclables, Americans throw away enough aluminum to rebuild the entire commercial air fleet every three months, enough steel to reconstruct Manhattan, and enough wood to heat 5 million homes for 200 years.

I hope the average Nedhead isn't in the same category as the average American, but maybe that's why I feel so good about Ned Clean-Up Day.