TRASH OR TREASURE? CITY BEGINS CLEANUP WEEK

It all depends on your point of view: One man's trash is another man's treasure.

With piles of trash lining the curbs of Cape Girardeau, this is your chance to uncover a treasure.

For a week each spring, the city's Public Works Department will haul away -- for free -- nearly anything you place at the curb.

And residents are taking full advantage. Sunday afternoon, dozens of people took their trash and treasures to the curb for pickup. Some houses had so much to haul away that it could easily take several truckloads to clear the sidewalk. Others only had an extra bag of trash or a few limbs tied together in a bundle.

In addition to their regular amount of trash, Crystal and Aaron Kirleis hauled a table and refrigerator to their curbside for pick up.

"It's just easier to have someone else haul it away," Aaron Kirleis said.

Most of what they put at the curb were larger items "that we thought we needed but never used," he said.

Crystal agreed. The couple often takes clothing and household items to charitable organizations as donations, she said.

Up the street from the Kirleis' were houses where rolls of carpet padding lay next to black trash bags. A couch, lawn chair and refrigerator were also set out as trash.

A large-sized child's plastic swimming pool was filled with broken shelving and sacks of trash at another home.

During spring cleanup week, the city has no limit on the number of trash bags collected, but there are some rules for participating:

* Only residents can participate. No commercial pickups are allowed.

* Residents must have their items taken to the curb by 6 a.m. of their normal collection day. Because the city crews must work to pick up all the waste, the service isn't extended to people who don't participate on their scheduled day.

* Items must not weigh more than 75 pounds per container. A reasonable amount of waste will be collected, like what two men could load in 10 minutes.

* Yard waste must be bagged and kept separate from refuse. Brush and limbs must be bundled, no more than four feet long.

* Appliances can be left at the curb for pickup by a separate vehicle. Doors must be removed.

* No tires, batteries, motor oil or paint will be collected.

Barb Blank appreciates that the city holds a free cleanup week each year. It gives her a chance to clear away some unused items.

She and another woman planned a garage sale for Saturday so that any items not sold would be put out for cleanup week, Blank said.

"They're just some things that accumulate," she said. Plastic water pistols, children's toys and a suitcase were part of their wares.

Several blocks over, Donna Tuttleton finished carrying her items to the curb after clearing out her basement and garage. She too had a garage sale Saturday so that any leftover items wouldn't find their way back inside the house.

But all those things were gone by Sunday afternoon, she said. "It's been picked through," she said. "You know what they say, one man's junk is another's treasure."

Many of Tuttleton's items were foam and chairs that needed reupholstering. Her husband is a pack rat, she admits.

"He's always starting a project that doesn't always get done," she said.

Now that the basement and garage are clear, Tuttleton isn't quite ready to fill the empty spaces. "I don't think I want to fill it up again."

Surveys show that most Americans are pack rats. We like to collect lots of stuff, and frequently we don't use it.

Statistics reported in a recent American Demographics magazine survey showed that 15 percent of adults polled admit to being pack rats; another 64 percent say they are "selected savers" who keep some things but throw out others.

During spring cleanup week, pilfering is part of the tradition. People drive slowly through the streets, scanning for treasures.

Even with the amount of refuse that people haul away before the city crews, more than 600 tons of trash will be collected during the week. During a usual month, crews normally collect 500 tons of waste.

The entire Public Works department works to haul the waste away. Separate trucks are used to collect the regular household trash, yard waste, appliances and large items like furniture.

All the city's fleet of trucks, trailers, backhoes and dump trucks are used to clear away the debris.

For information, contact the Public Works department at 334-9151.