Under the terms of a recent agreement, AKS will provide one truck at the center, located on Marigold Road next to Briscoe Park, to be used as a drop-off point for clothing and other “hard goods” donated by residents from 8 to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
AKS, which works with other municipal recycling programs such as Sandy Springs and Keep North Fulton Beautiful, guarantees $1,200 per month for one year for placing its trucks in the center’s parking lot plus 11 cents per pound on items collected.
The revenue will be a minimum of $900 per month more than the center was getting from Goodwill under a similar program, said Public Works Director Gaye Johnson.
“Most people know American Kidney Services for many years as the charity that calls once every couple of months and asks if they have any used clothing or household goods they no longer want,” said Ed Zito, AKS vice president and director. “If so, one of our trucks will come by and do a free pickup. The challenge we are encountering in the last few years is the fact that so many people are dropping their home phone lines and just keeping their cell numbers. As a result, our list for free pickups is getting smaller every month, because we don’t have their cell numbers. This caused us to seek new ways to collect used clothing so we can continue to raise millions of dollars to help kidney patients with their financial needs.”
Zito said the environmental aspect of the program should not to be underestimated. AKS recycles 120,000 pounds of clothes a week, 10,000 pounds of shoes, 5,000 pounds of metals.
“Citizens benefit by having a place to recycle their used clothes and household goods, knowing they are going to a highly rated charity,” Zito said. “This keeps tons of items out of the landfills. It generates revenue for Snellville. And, most importantly, this is helping save lives and help kidney patients with the financial needs caused by this devastating disease.”
For more information on AKS visit http://www.akfpickup.com.
