Your local dry cleaner is taking steps to conserve resources that you might not be aware of, and you can participate in one of them.
Both Wardrobe Cleaners and Jamie's Cleaners have begun providing an easy way to recycle all those wire hangers that pile up in your closet.
You can pick up a free cardboard caddy to store the hangers in, then bring them to the cleaners when it's full. The caddy will hold at least 50 hangers, depending on the style of the hanger.
Staff at the cleaners then sort through the hangers and take out any which aren't usable, such as a pants hanger with all the adhesive gone or the paper tube at the bottom broken.
The plain wire hangers recycle easiest, but the paper-covered hangers and even the pants hangers can usually be reused.
Supply and demand
"Until recently, it was becoming impossible for us to buy hangers made in America," said Al Morris, owner of Wardrobe Cleaners and Jamie's Cleaners. "Most of your hangers are made in China, and even if we can get American-made hangers, they're usually a lot more expensive."
The crew keeps a special pile of hangers which are a little too worn or bent, which are often happily taken by people doing garage sales or the various clothing distribution agencies like New Hope.
"We've even had people come in and ask for hangers to use for roasting marshmallows," said one of the employees.
Whatever helps
Morris continues to look for other ways to conserve resources. About six months ago, his cleaning operations started using "green" plastic bags. While the usual plastic bag can stick around in the landfill for up to 1,000 years, the new ones bio-degrade in about 12 months.
In addition, Morris has made improvements to his cleaning plant to keep the steam energy insulated as well as possible.
"I kind of figure these things are good for the planet and they also make good business sense, so we try to do whatever we can," Morris said.
Reach Don Steele at (620) 408-9910 or e-mail him at
don.steele@dodgeglobe.com.
