Residents exchange trash for 'treasure'

Durham cleanup turns swap shop

DURHAM -- Truckloads of glorious junk started streaming in about an hour past sunrise -- dusty coffeepots, wobbly bookshelves and a food tray decorated with a cartoon mummy.

By 10 a.m., more than 90 people had rolled into Durham's waste disposal and recycling center on East Club Boulevard, casting off winter baggage.

Saturday was the 13th annual spring cleanup for Durham, which can bring in as much as 200 tons of waste.

It also marked the fifth year for the cleanup's "swap shop," which turns the visitors parking lot into a flea market of unwanted oddities.

Drop some off, pick some up. Within minutes, all but the dregs get scooped up.

"Refrigerators, washing machines, golf clubs, old computer desks, fax machines," said Mitchell Archer, who works for Durham's Neighborhood Improvement Services department. "It's just like going through a treasure chest."

Here, treasure gets a broad definition.

Melvin Palmer waited by the junk pile, leaning against the tailgate of his 1970s-era Ford truck, which is coated with four different colors of touch-up paint.

In a few hours, Palmer had acquired a desk and a fax machine.

"Good stuff," he said, white hair poking from under his ball cap.

Then Frances Anton arrived in her minivan and unloaded a bike rack and a pair of computer keyboards.

"Inspiration to do some spring cleanup," Anton said, driving off.

Before her van faded from view, Palmer had grabbed up all three of her items, loaded them into the pickup and returned to his post on the tailgate.

He scoffed at the coffeepots. And the mummy tray. And a backpack with "The Earth Does Not Belong to Us," stitched across the front.

The Earth may not belong to Palmer, but a truckload of junk does, and that suits him fine. If he waits long enough, maybe someone will drop off a new truck.