article in the SUNN
Here's a copy of an article that got published in the Master Recycler's newsletter and re-printed in the SUNN about Richmond's clean-up.
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Great Returns at the Richmond Neighborhood Clean-up
By Cindi Carrell
What's the best way to get great junk under the ruse of recycling and helping your community? Be part of a neighborhood clean-up. Four Master Recyclers (Myself, Sarah Moore, Aimee Cartier and Jay Hutchison) were part of the Richmond Neighborhood Spring Clean-up May 6th.
This event the Richmond Neighborhood was coordinated for the fourth year in a row by my neighbor Charlene Degener. I helped last year by running the free sale. I saw what went into the dumpsters last year and knew my Master Recycling skills would be put to good use recovering more out of the waste stream.
Along with the bulky-waste, the clean-up regularly collects old tires, books and building materials for reuse and recycling. Also we got a lot of good junk. At last year's clean-up I got my upstairs air conditioner, a great asset in the last month of my pregnancy, and some fine vintage deck chairs I fancied up for a gift to friends. Encouraging people to pass along stuff they are ready to dispose of is just one way we push REUSE.
This year I am at home with my son Jackson and I volunteered to do the free sale again and get even more materials out of the waste stream. I got a great response to my efforts both from the association and local resource services. I'd like to share some of the things we added to this year's clean-up, which served 140 households.
Metal Collection: We collected 2.775 tons of scrap ferrous metal. Schnitzer Steel loaned us the drop box, dropping it off Friday and picking it up midday Saturday. This year we had a 26 cubic yard drop box, and learned that next year we need two boxes. I'd also like to figure out a way that the neighborhood association could earn some money from selling the scrap.
Electronics and nonferrous metals: Quantum Resource Recovery collected 1.08 tons of electronics and nonferrous metals. We collected answering machines, computers and monitors. The volume was less than expected, but the recyclers were not disappointed. They want us to do more publicity next year to boost the quantities.
Appliances: A neighborhood business, Division Maytag, agreed to accept old appliances, including air conditioners and old refrigerators, all of which were parted out or sold as scrap metal by a third party. We really worked on this issue, knowing that there were a lot of appliances with compressors out there. Division Maytag took charge of handling the freon, a hazardous waste, and made a nice effort to close the loop.
Bicycles: The Community Cycling Center collected 10 bikes for reuse in their children's bike, and Yellow Bike programs.
If you want to know more about organizing a neighborhood clean-up, join us this fall when we will be organizing a Hazardous Waste Clean-up.
Cindi Carrell is a Master Recycler from the spring 1995 class. She lives in SE Portland with her husband Jeff and son Jackson. She can be reached at ccarrell@teleport.com
