| News you can use and reuse | Vol. 15, No. 1, Winter 2006 |
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| • Recycling Dropsites & Preparation • What to do With Everything Else • About Used News/Services Provided by BRING BRINGing in the New Year Planet Improvement Center Construction Moves Forward Meet BRING’s Board PIC Donors Capital Campaign Update Superhero Rethinks Reuse and Recycling K-12 Waste Reduction Grant Winners Master Recyclers UO Recycling Program Wins EPA Award Oregon Green School Summit to be held in Eugene! Good Earth Home & Garden Show Trashbuster Awards Find A Bin Less is Best Holiday Fair PLASTICS: Expanding Opps for Recycling Compost & Worm Bin Workshops BRING Warehouse Info BRINGing in the New Year We have a lot to be proud of and thankful for at BRING. As we head into 2006, we want to pause and reflect. Here are some of our New Year’s resolutions. 1. GAIN WEIGHT. 1,367,215 pounds of material were kept out of the landfill by our Reuse Warehouse and Deconstruction Crews in 2005. It’s not enough. We resolve to put on many more pounds this year! 2. BE A KNOW-IT-ALL. Over 9,000 people had recycling and waste reduction questions answered by us last year. We will continue to stay up on the latest information about recycling and waste reduction in our community. 3. GET OUT MORE. Last year, more than 15,000 kids and adults learned about waste reduction and conservation through BRING’s education program. Not only will we keep this up, we’ll work to create new ways to reach people all over Lane County. 4. BECOME MORE MATURE. BRING is coming of age. Soon it will be time to leave the nest. Our new site will allow a bigger, better BRING. There will be more space, more education, and more comfortable conditions. We won’t forget our roots, and we couldn’t lose our slightly off-beat character even if we wanted to! 5. BE A SOCIAL BUTTERFLY. Board and staff have done a good job making new alliances, reaching fresh audiences, and getting BRING out into the community with our first-ever capital campaign. We’ve raised 90% of the funds to build the first phase of our new site. We resolve to charm more generous souls to help us finish fundraising with as much fun as possible. 6. BE SELF-SUFFICIENT. We’re proud that BRING’s programs generate most operating costs. We resolve to continue self-reliance and find ways to expand and improve. 7. HAVE MORE BABIES. Local electronics recycling is a BRING baby that became a mainstay thanks to the Computer Reuse & Recycling Center and Lane County Electronics Recycling who took this effort and ran with it. These two programs have kept thousands of pounds of lead and other toxic materials out of the landfill. BRING will continue to be fertile ground for more innovations that grow up, become independent, and make us proud. What about you, dear reader? If we may be so bold, here are some New Year’s resolutions for you to consider. 1. Get a few cloth shopping bags and keep them really handy so you’ll use them. 2. Turn the water off while brushing teeth, washing dishes, or doing things that don’t need a constant flow. 3. Replace burnt out incandescent lights with compact fluorescent bulbs. 4. Use a dishcloth or sponge instead of paper towels. 5. Let the stores where you shop know you want products that use less packaging, are produced locally, or are, in other ways, kinder to the environment. 6. Shop in the bulk food section (bring used plastic bags from home for extra credit). 7. Bike, walk, or take the bus at least once a week instead of driving. 8. Put on a sweater instead of cranking up the thermostat. Planet Improvement Center Construction Moves Forward
As often happens when you redevelop an old site, some unanticipated problems surfaced. We’d hoped to use the existing parking lot as is, but had to completely rebuild it. Customers who have long struggled with the inadequate parking at our current site will really appreciate the beautiful new one. Bike parking will also be provided. Our state of the art, on-site storm water treatment system with a bio-swale, retention pond and collection trench is under construction. Thanks to a grant from the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board it will soon be seeded with plants to clean dirty run-off water before it seeps into the nearby Willamette River. Used materials are getting a second lease on life as our new office takes shape. Windows from the old Auto Crafters building, demolished to make way for the new Federal Courthouse, provide natural light. A florist shop once operating at 29th & Willamette yielded a nice set of commercial doors. Sturdy 2”X12” beams that will support the “green roof” once held up the floor of a Springfield planing mill. And the handsome steel siding on our exterior walls once covered the roof of a steakhouse turned nightclub—the notorious “Babe’s Cabaret”! Over the next few months you’ll see more landscaping. Also a receiving area, customer service area and covered retail space will be built. Thanks to all of you who’ve helped us with cash and in-kind donations, time and advice. You’ve made all this possible! Meet BRING’s Board Like all non-profit organizations, BRING is governed by volunteer directors who meet monthly to set policy, provide fiscal oversight, and make sure we carry out our mission. What kinds of people volunteer to serve on a non-profit board? All kinds! Engineer, “energy conservation nut”, development director, computer consultant, marimba player, health educator, outdoor enthusiast, veterinarian, simple living practitioner, Master Recycler, community development manager, banjo player, human resource director, event coordinator, public artist, construction business manager, Beaver fan, real estate broker, traveler & host for foreign students, writer, “slow food” advocate, graduate student, fly fisherman, graphic designer, horror movie buff, investment consultant, EWEB communications coordinator, kid’s basketball coach—and that’s only some of the things our 15 board members do when they’re not working on BRING’s behalf. A strong, dynamic board really makes a difference to an organization and BRING is fortunate to attract skilled, hard-working board members. Besides attending a monthly meeting, most board members serve on one or more advisory committees, where much of the work they do takes place. Board members help out in dozens of other ways: planning, advising, fundraising, staffing booths at fairs, stuffing envelopes, coordinating special events and promoting our work in the community. The vision, planning, and fundraising for our new home, the Planet Improvement Center, has been made possible because of the hard work and dedication of board members past and present. Here’s what our board members have to say about why they volunteer: “BRING helps people do the right thing. It doesn’t preach. I’m attracted to BRING’s positive thinking approach to help bring about a more sustainable world”. “I like the opportunity to contribute my energy and expertise to an established environmental organization that has a visible impact on progress towards sustainability.” “BRING is valued. I am amazed and often delighted to hear how a person discovered just what they needed at BRING. Helping contribute to BRING’s successful future is a neat opportunity”. “BRING is a catalyst for helping people understand that our resources are our planet; they give us our life. I am honored to be part of the movement toward a sustainable future”. “BRING is an incredibly fun group to work with. I have always told people in the agencies I’ve worked in that unless volunteering is fun, they shouldn’t do it. Who ever thought that a finance committee could combine important work and lots of fun? At BRING it does!” Board members give a lot of time to help make our community a better place. Thank you!
Anonymous (15) Thank You! Recycled arts & crafters: Rosella McGriffin, Nancy Zimmerman, Christine Cassagnau, Susan Briggs, Alexandra Gerrard, and Sarah Grimm for donated crafts. Local artists for full or partial donation of sales at the Fall Home Show and Less is Best Holiday Fair: Ruby Colette, Ruby Larson, Carol Garringer, Sarah Grimm, Jon Vincent, Melissa Emerson, Susan Ogawa, Gwen Farnsworth, Waste Knot Woodworks, Bert & Tim Boyden, Kristen Mikosz, Skeeter Duke, Marilyn Kent, Nancy Zimmerman, Michelle Chaves, and Jan Zoll. THANK YOU: Berg Productions for donating Home Show & Good Earth Show booth space; Rapid Refill for printer ink; Living Tree for recycled paper; Charlie Fleishman for being our webmaster; Hallis, CPA for financial advice and Nora Hagerty for designing and producing this newsletter. Thanks To All Our Generous Donors For Helping Us “Bring In The Future!” (Click here for Donor List) Capital Campaign Update We have had a very good year. Since this time last year, we have raised an additional $650,000 for the Planet Improvement Center, our new headquarters in Glenwood. In May, we successfully matched a challenge gift worth $250,000. This summer, we were awarded another major challenge grant of $150,000 from the Murdock Charitable Trust, which we are working to match right now. In 2005, we received $100,000 from Lane County Economic Development Funds, $10,000 from EWEB, $10,000 from the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board, $5,000 from the Rex Foundation and $5,000 from the Woodard Family Foundation in Cottage Grove. Local businesses contributed more than $140,000, and individuals donated $240,000. Our donor list jumped from 226 to 564. Thank you! Today, we have 90% of Phase 1 funds committed, and construction is underway. Completion of Phase 1 will allow us to set up shop at the new site, with all the essential buildings and infrastructure in place. We hope to be open for business in time for our busy summer season. Now we must raise an additional $121,000 to make the Murdock match, which will allow us to complete Phase 1 on schedule. With your support, we can do it. Here’s how you can help: • Make a cash donation. Use the enclosed envelope, and mark your donation “capital campaign.” • Pledge a gift over 2-3 years. Pledged funds count toward the Murdock match. • Make a secure credit card donation online at www.bringrecycling.org. Designate “capital campaign.” • Make a gift of stock. Call BRING for assistance 746-3023). • Make a regular monthly donation. You can make automatic payments from your credit card. Call for details. • Help us meet other people who might join you in supporting this project. • Host a house party. You invite the guests, we make the pitch. Many Thanks… Superhero Rethinks Reuse and Recycling Ethan Hughes isn’t Superman or Spiderman, but he does save lives. He has saved thousands of lives from the monotony of an existence without hope for global sustainability. With his cape flapping in the wind, this Cottage Grove resident and his fellow “superheroes” often peddle their bicycles from city to city searching for people in need. The superheroes will offer help in any way they can to anybody who needs it. “We may be shoveling llama poop one day and building a fire escape for a Grange hall the next day,” says Hughes. Helping people is the primary goal of the superhero bike rides that Hughes has been organizing since 2000. But teaching people about the benefits of resource management and sustainability is another goal of these rides. Hughes became a superhero long before that first bicycle ride in 2000. Drawing inspiration from the comic books he loved, a young Hughes would put on a cape and recruit people to help him pick up trash on the beach of his native Gloucester, Mass. His early success dressed as a superhero led Hughes to create the Hero Alliance, which has helped strangers with ordinary and extraordinary tasks across the United States and abroad. Hughes sees a need to rethink American strategies toward sustaining the Earth, which currently focus on repairing damage rather than proactively reducing our impact on the planet. Rather than focusing our energy on recycling, Hughes believes that reducing the production of unnecessary goods, while still trying to stimulate local economies, is the best course of action for sustainability. “When people see total strangers in their town who are cleaning up bike paths and painting churches…they are inspired,” says Hughes.This renews local interest in the beauty of one’s town, Hughes believes, and reminds people that their decisions do matter, whether it’s cleaning up their town or supporting the local economy. Educating people about the need to rethink and reuse is something that Ethan Hughes and BRING Recycling have in common. Hughes is inspired by the education program that BRING offers, and he sees BRING’s deconstruction program as a step in the right direction toward sustainability. “One of my neighbors just found a pair of solar-powered water heaters at BRING’s salvage yard,” says Hughes. “Those are hard to find brand new, so I’m very impressed by the diversity of reusable goods that can be found at BRING’s warehouse.” Hughes and the superheroes have worked with BRING in the past. Twelve caped cyclists showed up at BRING to help with the largest collection of TVs and computers that has occurred in recent history. The superheroes collected thousands of these electrical parts for recycling. “Recycling can make a difference in the process of working toward global sustainability,” says Hughes. Although he compares recycling to a “band-aid” for the real problem of overproducing goods and overdependence on oil, Hughes believes that as long as organizations like BRING exist and people can still be inspired by human kindness, there is a bright future ahead of us. Creating and participating in the rides has renewed Hughes’ faith in the human spirit. “Activists tend to be pessimistic about the future,” says Hughes, recognizing the need to focus on the good deeds done in the world rather than constantly attempting to measure our losses and grief. “If we take care of each other, and try to feed off of each other’s positive energy, good things will happen.” The superheroes continue to make good things happen. Their most recent ride was in Mississippi, where they helped with hurricane relief efforts. There, as elsewhere, the superheroes were doing what they do best: helping people, and making a difference by giving people hope. If interested in learning more about the Hero Alliance and up-coming rides, call the Superhero Hotline at (541) 942-3118. —Greg Elder, a senior in the UO’s School of Journalism & Communication [Editor’s Note: UO Journalism students in Lance Robertson’s class wrote articles on waste reduction and recycling topics that will be published in this and future Used News.]
The Master Recycler Program consists of a free nine-week course of evening classes (plus three Saturday morning field trips) in exchange for 30 hours of volunteer service to the community. Trained Master Recyclers can choose to help existing outreach efforts to teach and facilitate waste reduction, reuse and recycling or they may conduct independent projects of their own. Why not join the Master Recyclers? University of Oregon Campus Recycling Program Wins EPA Award for Waste Reduction Congratulations to the University of Oregon Campus Recycling Program for winning a competitive College/University Partner of the Year Award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The Award was given in recognition of the Program’s outstanding job of educating by example on the importance of waste reduction. During the 2003–2004 school year, 48 percent of the University’s waste was diverted through recycling. For more information about the University of Oregon’s Campus Recycling Program, contact Karyn Kaplan, Environmental Resource and Recycling Program Manager, at 541-346-1545 or knowaste@uoregon.edu. The program’s website is www.uoregon.edu/recycle. For more information about the EPA’s WasteWise program visit www.epa.gov/wastewise or contact the WasteWise Helpline at (800) EPA-WISE (372-9473). K-12 Waste Reduction Grant Winners Announced Once again, schools across Lane County are reducing, reusing and recycling their way to less trash. The City of Eugene Solid Waste and Recycling Program and Lane County Waste Management Division have teamed up to offer $400 waste reduction grants to Lane County schools. The following schools were awarded up to $400 for their waste reduction programs: Adams/Hillside Elementary, Parker/Eastside Elementary, O’Hara Catholic School, Corridor Elementary (pictured below), Cesar Chavez and Family School, River Road Elementary, Territorial Elementary, Pleasant Hill Middle School, Lincoln Middle School and Creslane Elementary. Grant funds will be used to promote innovative waste reduction programs such as zero-waste lunch kits, backyard composting of cafeteria food waste, expanded paper recycling systems, recycling containers, art classes that make use of recycled materials, permanent lunchroom trays, and costumes for educational recycling skits. Look for information in the spring issue of BRING’s Used News to learn about the next round of grants for the ‘06-‘07 school year, or call Anne Donahue at the City of Eugene Solid Waste and Recycling Program, 682-5542, or Pete Chism with Lane County Waste Management, 682-4339.
Oregon Green School Summit to be held in Eugene! 
The Statewide Oregon Green Schools Summit will be held at Willamette High School on March 17th. One teacher and four students from designated Oregon Green Schools can attend this all-day free conference. The Summit is free, but only schools registered as Oregon Green Schools may attend. If you are a school within the city of Eugene, contact Anne Donahue City of Eugene Solid Waste and Recycling Program at 682-5542. Other Lane County schools should contact Pete Chism, Lane County Waste Management Division at 682-4339.
Good Earth Home & Garden Show The first-ever “Good Earth Home & Garden Show” is coming to the Lane County Fairgrounds Events Center. This event will spotlight products, services, and new ideas for promoting healthy living, a healthy environment, and a more sustainable future. Local businesses and non-profits, including BRING, will be there. Come visit us and be inspired and entertained! Saturday, January 28th, 10am – 8pm • Sunday, January 29th, 10am – 6pm Mark your calendars! The Lane County Home & Garden Show will be on March 9-12th, 2006. Free and fun, as always! Trashbuster Awards In June 1992, the Lane County Resource Recovery Advisory Committee and the Lane County Board of Commissioners established the Trashbuster Award. “The recipients of the Trashbuster Award show how simple choices in day-to-day activity achieve sustainability in protecting the environment, human health and, in many cases, contributing to the local economy,” said Pete Chism, county waste reduction specialist. “Trashbusters are leaders in our community and Lane County applauds their efforts.” This year’s winners are: Local Government: Cindy Wise (OSU Lane County Extension Service Compost Specialist Program) Non-Profit: Computer Reuse and Recycling Center Individual: Elvira Muniz Business: Solarc Architecture and Engineering Product Manufacturer: SierraPine Ltd., Springfield Division Find A Bin Coming soon to a school near you! Posters with contemporary images from RE3, a group in North Carolina, are hitting the walls of Lane County schools. If interested in getting your hands on one, please contact Jo at 746-3023 or jor@bringrecycling.org. Less is Best Holiday Fair
PLASTICS: Expanding Opportunities for Recycling
Please note! Items must be relatively clean Weyerhaeuser accepts: Not accepted: Questions? Call Lorena Young at Weyerhaeuser, 744-4119. Compost Demonstration Workshops Hands-on workshops cover the basics of how composting works, what materials to use, different techniques and choosing the right bin type for you. Workshops are led by certified OSU/Lane County Extension Service Compost Specialists. No registration necessary.
Grassroots Garden: 1465 Coburg Rd., River House: 301 N. Adams  Worm Bin Composting: Spring & Fall Schedule Learn how to compost with worms! Materials needed for your own worm bin provided. Classes are offered through the City of Eugene and OSU/Lane County Extension Service. Classes are held at the OSU Lane County Extension Service Auditorium, 950 W 13th, Eugene Feb 18, 2006 10 am–12 noon Contact Cindy at 747-1419 to pre-register or for more information. You can also visit www.eugenerecycles.org. Compost Specialist Training • Learn to compost and make a difference in your community! • Saturday, April 8 & 15, 2006, OSU/Lane County Extension Service, 950 W 13th Eugene, OR • For more information or to register, contact Compost Coordinator, Cindy Wise, 747-1419, or go to “Horticulture” link on http://extension.oregonstate.edu/lane/.
BRING Recycling Warehouse Reusable Building Materials at Bargain Prices Donating your unwanted but usable building materials is tax deductible to the extend the law allows. Shopping for second hand building materials at BRING’s resale yard reduces waste and saves you money.
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The Planet Improvement Center is taking shape! During the summer and fall our future Glenwood home was a hive of activity, as we undertook the single most expensive, challenging redevelopment task: site infrastructure. Power poles were moved. Electric, gas, and phone conduits were installed. A whole new water system, with fire hydrants and giant back-flow devices, was put into place. Pipes were laid to connect us to the sewers that will eventually serve Glenwood.
Now in its 6th year, the Lane County Master Recycler Program is going strong. Over two hundred citizens have become Master Recyclers and are helping friends, neighbors and co-workers to reduce, reuse and recycle.
Weyerhaeuser Recycling now accepts many types of plastics for recycling. Drop off materials in the parking lot recyclingarea of the Weyerhaeuser facility in Glenwood (see below). Large volume generators should call 744-4100. Weyerhaeuser may pay for quantity loads of some items. 
