Now that all the holiday gifts are opened, what’s left behind are discarded cardboard boxes cluttering garages and closets or piling up in the basement.
West Hartford is giving its residents a way to get rid of the mess without waiting for the next recycling pickup.
For three days, they get to drop off a carload of crushed Barbie boxes, Amazon shipping cartons and the like at the town’s recycling center — all for free. They can get rid of outdated electronics, old mattresses, used clothes and even strings of broken Christmas lights at the same time.