Take it or Leave it
Mary works the Saturday morning shift
Inow have a new appreciation for employees of the landfill's popular trading post, the Take It or Leave It, known as the "TILI," (say Tilly), flagship of the Madaket Mall. Having always been a customer and never a worker there, I chose spending part of Saturday morning as an attendant for my new life experience.

Let me say right off the bat that Carol Driscoll, the DPW employee who oversees the site five days a week, is one heck of a dedicated person. She has her hands full in more ways than one, trying to keep track of what is being dropped off in accordance with landfill rules of what is and is not permissable, maintaining order within the building, separating trash that is recyclable, trying to protect public health by weeding out pots and pans that may be unsafe for use and, in general, being just plain friendly and informative to the TILI patrons.

Things heat up at the post about mid-morning, especially on the weekends. By 10:30 a.m. Saturday the place was getting crowded and car after car pulled up, either carrying shoppers to this island version of Filene's Basement or with folks with stuff to discard. But some people are tricky and bring items that are disallowed in their attempt to skirt the landfill disposal fee. For example, while Driscoll was talking with a patron, someone slithered through an unlocked fence gate and left an air conditioner on the side of the building. Signs are posted outside the building clearly specifying what can and cannot be left at the TILI, as well as an additional handwritten message on the door stating, "If it doesn't work, we don't want it."

Later, someone tried to leave a three-drawer dresser with just one drawer and an unidentifiable wooden thing. Driscoll politely and patiently explained that those items were not usable and that residents can discard them in the recycling area at no charge. If she had not caught that drop-off, she would have been responsible for getting the items to recycling or obtaining DPW help to do so. The gentleman who brought those things was very cooperative when turned away, but Driscoll said she has been sworn at and had her job threatened by others who did not take kindly to being told the rules.

While I was there, a woman brought in a very nice rocking chair that disappeared in less than five minutes. Someone else brought a foosball game with only one player figure missing. A couple began a little tournament as soon as they saw it, but 15 minutes later Dwayne Dougan claimed the game as his latest family treasure and, with Driscoll's aid, tied it to the back of his car and happily drove away. Unfortunately, Driscoll has witnessed a few unsavory donations, such as dirty socks and underwear, and once, what she discreetly described as a female personal stimulation device, rolling her eyes as she recalled finding it amongst the clothes pile.

I doubt I was much help to Driscoll during my time there; I did try to learn more about what can and cannot be left and tidied up a bit, bringing in items from outside that fit into the household category, picking up toys dropped on the floor and attempting to match pairs of shoes that had been tossed about on that table. While doing that I noticed that in spite of a sign limiting loitering time to 30 minutes per person, there were visitors who filled huge bags with goods, left to place them in their car and then returned for a second (or third) search.

People took and left things at a brisk pace Saturday morning at the landfill's Take It or Leave It, including a foosball game only missing one player that went home with Dwayne Dougan about 15 minutes after it was dropped off. Top right: This sign had to be put up after dirty socks and underwear were found in the clothing pile on more than one occasion. Bottom: There is something for everybody, it seems. A few people filled giant bags with various goods, then put them in their car and came back for more.

Though my feet were getting cold, my eyes were watering and I could leave anytime after the TILI closed at 11:30 (the weekend closing time), Driscoll still had to deal with potential customers who thought the place was open till the landfill shut at noon, and she had to clean up from the morning. All clothes not taken by patrons are bagged up each day and stored in a big container for eventual transport to mainland agencies such as The Salvation Army or Goodwill Industries. And gosh darn it, when Driscoll and I took a last look around the inside of the building she discovered that another sneak attacked had slipped by us both.

"Oh - look at the pillows!" she said, immediately grabbing a bag to put them in for discard in the recycling bulky bin. Bedding and upholstered items are not permitted for health reasons. That is a nice way of saying they could be infested with bugs.

"We're closed," Driscoll said, shutting the outside door to the TILI as another scavenger and her husband pulled up to the fence.

"You know," said the woman, about to hunt for

stuff she likely did not need, "it's a good thing." I