Next weekend, we at Keep Liberty Beautiful will hold our quarterly Recycle It! Fair.

The event is 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday at the Liberty County Health Department, 1113 E. Oglethorpe Highway. Our Recycle It! Fair — which also is sponsored by Goodwill Industries and Coastal Auto and Recycling — will collect electronics and household hazardous waste items, as well as household goods.

Here is what we will accept:

• E-waste — computers, printers, monitors, and any computer accessories; stereo equipment and televisions; cell phones and accessories. All hard drives will be wiped clean for your security by our local Goodwill Industries.

• Household paint — Cans must be sealed well and not rusted. If your cans are not in good condition, add cat litter or sand to the paint, let it dry up, and dispose of the items in your regular garbage.

• Compact fluorescent lamps and fluorescent light bulbs — Check out the website on CFLs for Energy Star (www.energystar.gov) for more information on these energy-efficient lights.

• Used motor oil, antifreeze car batteries — Remember to recycle motor oil and antifreeze as soon as possible. Never pour these items down the drain or into a storm drain, or just dump them. They cause severe water-pollution problems.

• Household batteries

• Printer ink and toner cartridges

• Telephone books and large sale catalogs

• Hardback books, paperbacks and textbooks

• Household goods and clothes in clean, decent condition

• Shoes for Midway Middle Schools collection.

Many of these items release toxins over time and do not need to end up in a landfill. The items’ usefulness can be extended through re-use or recycling to create additional products.

We also are promoting the new National Planting Day. Sponsored by Keep America Beautiful, National Planting Day celebrates the value and power of using native species for local landscapes. Keep Liberty Beautiful, in conjunction with KAB, encourages everyone to learn more about their native plants and to consider planting native species of trees, flowers and plants in their own yards.

Keep Liberty Beautiful will host two Native Plant Giveaway Days: 9 a.m.-noon, or while supplies last, Friday at Farmers Natural Foods; and 9 a.m.-1 p.m., or while supplies last, Saturday at the Liberty County Health Department. Supplies will be limited and it will be first come first serve. We also have additional information about native species. Thanks to our local community partners, Farmers Natural Foods and the Liberty County 4-Hers. They are working with us to provide these events to encourage using native plants to landscape our community.

If you love birds and butterflies in your yard, you will want to consider using native plants. Natives are critical to attracting specialized pollinators and insects, which provide food for birds and, ultimately, many more animals up the food chain. Natives also provide habitat for wildlife, and are hardy, low maintenance and require less water than other ornamentals. So if you want a yard or garden that is much easier to maintain, natives should be your go-to plants!

This week, please plan on recycling all those shoes and other household items that are better off not ending up in a local landfill, and go native with native plants!

For information on upcoming events, contact KLB at 610-3968 or klcb@coastalnow.net.