| News you can use and reuse | Vol. 16, No. 1, Winter 2007 |
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| • About Used News/Services Provided by BRING IN THIS ISSUE We’re Almost Home! Major Grants Awarded Green Beginnings Thank Yous Ted’s Winter Squash Soup BRING Blog Capital Campaign Donor List Fun Events Raise Funds for the Planet Improvement Center Volunteer Spotlight Junk Mail Opt Out Good Earth Home & Garden Show Oregon Green School Summit Kudos The Environmentalist Inside: Transition in American Morality EcoTips CRRC’s on the move! Block Foam Round Up! Staying Green While Moving Master Recycler Program Winter Warehouse Hours Lane Energy Round Up Public Forums Less is Best Craft Fair • See our NEW & IMPROVED Reuse and Recycling in Lane County list (Updated 1/2/07) We’re Almost Home! Thanks to a December grant of $50,000 from Lane County Economic Development Funds and the support of hundreds of donors and volunteers, Phase 1 of the Planet Improvement Center is almost complete. With just $25,000 to go, we hope to move to our new home by spring. Once Phase 1 funds are in place, we can complete all the work necessary to move basic operations to the new site, while we continue to plan and raise funds for Phase 2 (stay tuned). Here’s what’s left to complete: shelving in our covered sales pavilion; an ADA-accessible boardwalk; parking lot lighting; and interior finish work in our office/public meeting space. Then we’ll haul all our materials, equipment and office to the site. Moving to the new center does not complete the project, but it does allow us to begin working from a new, more comfortable retail environment, with covered sales and a beautiful indoor space for community education and displays. We can’t wait! Help us finish up this winter by making a gift or pledge, using the enclosed envelope. Be sure to designate capital campaign. Thank you!
Major Grants Awarded The Planet Improvement Center was blessed with two major grants in November. The Spirit Mountain Community Fund, the philanthropic arm of the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde, awarded us $50,000 in support of our work helping people become self-sufficient, while protecting the natural environment. Edwards Mother Earth Foundation, a Seattle foundation with an interest in promoting sustainable construction practices, also awarded us $50,000. Green Beginnings It’s a new year and a perfect time for a fresh, green start. Whether you make New Year’s resolutions or not, consider resolving to do some of the ideas on the check list below in the days ahead. Get the family involved, maybe even cut the list out and stick it to the fridge, and add some ideas of your own that will help green your life and the world around you. • Decide not to buy something because of excessive packaging or shabby quality. • Take it a step further by writing the manufacturer and letting them know how they could earn your purchase in the future. • Buy something used that you normally would buy new (clothing, furniture, a car, toys, tools)—you may be surprised at the quality and savings you can get. • Improve the recycling situation at home or work by educating those around you about good and bad recycling (make a poster to hang above the bin, do a short demonstration, teach by example)–don’t be afraid to rock the boat a little. • Compost all food scraps (except meat, cheese, and bones) in a worm bin, a compost pile, or in a neighbor’s pile (they might be grateful for the extra material). • If you’re compost challenged, take one of the free workshops offered by the City of Eugene (call 682-5542 for details) or the compost hotline run by OSU Extension (682-7320). • Find an organization working on an issue you care about and see how you can get involved. • Eat a meal made from locally-grown foods at least once a week (see the recipe for Ted’s winter squash soup on pg. 2). • Take the bus, bike, walk, or carpool to a destination instead of driving at least once every ___________ (you fill in the timeframe that’s realistic for you). • Go “hunting” with a kid—track wildlife, sneak up on insects, look for the elusive fungi, and shoot some trophy pictures. Don’t forget the trail mix. • Have your own shopping bags to use—stash them in your work or school bag, the glove compartment, your purse, your back pocket…and then remember to use them. • Read a book about the environment (see the list of recommended ones on pg. 6). • Go for a long walk in a park or nearby natural area that you haven’t visited before. • Plant a tree. • At least on some purchases, spend a little more on quality—whether it’s organic veggies, a well-built watch, or energy-efficient appliances. • Follow the Center for a New American Dream’s motto: More fun. Less stuff. • Grow something you can eat (even a planter with some strawberries) and involve a kid if you can. • Get to know a neighbor—a sense of community is a powerful thing. • Do a sweep for “stuff” in your home and donate the items that you no longer use or enjoy. • Start reading the fine print and break ties with brands that don’t reflect your values—look for non-toxic cleaning products, recycled-content packaging and material, fairly-traded imports, locally made goods. • Write to a politician and let her or him know what you care about and how they can act on your concerns. • Go on a free tour of the local dump and recycling center, the landfill, and/or the Planet Improvement Center (call BRING for details). • Buy in bulk—whether it’s your laundry detergent, snack foods, or shampoo. • Make your next gift something memorable but not necessarily material such as a professional massage, music lessons, membership to a group, or maybe something only you can give. • _________________________________________________ (fill in with your own idea). Have fun seeing how many you can check off by year’s end (here’s one last idea—start a friendly competition with the neighbors by giving them a copy of this list. Then see if the Jones can keep up with you!). In a way winter is the real spring—the time when the inner things happen, the resurgence of nature. —Edna O’Brien
 Ted’s Winter Squash SoupYou may be surprised how easy and yummy this healthy soup is, not to mention how fresh and local the main ingredients can be in the wintertime. 1 or 2 butternut squash (or something similar—butternut squash is especially delish) oil or butter 6 cloves garlic 2 onions salt & pepper any other spices you like (basil, thyme, curry, cumin) Cut the squash in half and scoop out the seeds (these can be roasted in oil and tamari sauce on the stove top for a quick, healthy snack). Oil the cut edges of the squash and place cut-side down on a cookie sheet; bake in an oven at 375˚ for 30-45 minutes (you’ll know it’s ready when you can easily stick a fork in it). Meanwhile, chop up and then fry the onions in butter or oil (you can do this in the soup pot you’ll be using to save on dishes); add the garlic after a few minutes; add spices as the onions start to get translucent. Once the squash is cool enough to handle, use a spoon to scoop out the flesh from the skin and put this into the soup pot with the onions, garlic, etc. Add a glass or two of water and mash the squash so that it’s relatively smooth. Add more water until it’s thick and soupy (not runny, not mash potatoe-y). Adjust seasonings (especially salt and pepper). Chop up some sage to garnish the top, if you like. Grab a hunk of good bread and maybe some salad and you have yourself a fabulous meal! Thanks to Ted Purdy, FOOD for Lane County Youth Farm Coordinator and local foods cook extraordinaire, for sharing his celebrated soup recipe. BRING Blog BRING’s joined the blogosphere! We’ll share our darkest secrets, most personal revelations, innermost feelings…or not. We’re still learning how to manage our space, and we plan on sharing the latest goings-on at BRING and keeping our bloggers up-to-date on fresh ideas on what to do with all those wine corks, how to plug in to local waste reduction activities, or how to apply for funding on green projects. Log on and join us by going to: <http://lanecountyblog.com/bringrecycling>. Thanks to our blog sponsor, Brady Cox, who proposed the idea along with footing the site costs for us. PLANET IMPROVEMENT CENTER DONORS Thank you for helping us build our new home! Click here for donor list Fun Events Raise Funds for the Planet Improvement Center On November 8, BRING hosted BRING It Home!, a fundraising celebration at Marché Provisions, the new sustainable foods emporium at 5th Street Public Market. Territorial Vineyards & Wine Company provided the libations, and KEZI’s Rick Dancer served as emcee, interviewing celebrities and guests throughout the evening. We made many new friends and raised $8,900. Many thanks to all who attended, donated and contributed to a fabulous event. The ArtChics, a collective of women artists, held the second annual card and art sale on November 10-11. Beautiful hand-made cards—many made with recycled and donated materials—sold like hotcakes, earning BRING $4,000. Our heartfelt thanks for this tremendous gift. Kudana Marimba performed an afternoon concert at the Planet Improvement Center on October 22, giving folks a chance to tour the new site while dancing to lively sounds. The event earned us more than $1,300. Kudana rocks!
 Volunteer SpotlightBRING is extremely fortunate to have dedicated, skilled volunteers working “behind the scenes.”” We want to recognize them, give credit where credit’s due, and spotlight these amazing people one at a time. First on deck: Charlie Fleishman, our volunteer Web master. Have you visited our Web site? If you’re a frequent user, you’ll have noticed that it’s regularly updated, easy to navigate, quick to load, fun to look at and that it attracts more and more visitors each year. You’re looking at the skilled work of Charlie Fleishman, a key volunteer at BRING. For the past six years, Charlie has helped us build, maintain and manage our Web outreach—no small task! For an organization with a mission to educate and promote conservation, a lively, engaging Web site is a critically important tool. We’ve come to rely on Charlie’s fast, high quality work and willingness to meet our sometimes unusual demands and we’re very grateful to have him on board. So who is this computer whiz working away behind the scenes? We lured him away from his computer long enough to snap his picture and ply him with some questions. Here’s what we found out… Growing up in Poughkeepsie, NY, Charlie figured he would take up the reins of the family furniture business. But the call of the West proved too strong and he, his wife Audi, and their three children moved out to California in 1971. He did go into the furniture business for a time but finally put this idea to bed when he moved to Eugene in 1979. He had an appetite for a new kind of business and, along with business partner Doug Clark (a former BRING Board president), started up Wildtime Foods (makers of Grizzlies Granolas & Trail Mixes) in 1981. He co-managed this successful business for 12 years before hanging up his apron to try something new. Charlie began volunteering at BRING back when the main office was operating out of a tiny box in downtown Eugene. Charlie crossed paths with many BRING “icons” including Alex Cuyler (now a Legislative Analyst for the City of Eugene), Brian Fuller (currently working for the DEQ), and star recycler/volunteer, Zachary Zakon, who passed away in 2005. He was later hired as BRING’s Community Specialist, which had him doing everything from writing articles for the newsletter to managing cardboard route pickup schedules. Along the way, Charlie learned how to create Web sites and he eventually started a Web design business called Millrace Design <www.millracedesign.com>. Today he manages several sites, including those for the Prefontaine Classic, author Carolyn Scott Kortge, Winter Green Farm, Oregon Track Club, and BRING Recycling (the last two are pro bono). So why does he devote so much volunteer time to BRING? When asked, Charlie looked around and said, “All this material, all this stuff...we have to do something with it instead of leaving it to rot.” He says when he began working for BRING he got hooked on the mission—he could see the importance of it and when he worked in the office, he witnessed the staff’s commitment, calling them “top notch people.” He wanted to be a part of it and doing the Web site was a skill he could offer that BRING needed. Little did Charlie know that soon after taking over the Web site, BRING would launch its first fundraising campaign and begin rolling out plans for a new and improved location. The site quickly became a critical tool in this project, and Charlie rose to the challenge of expanding and maintaining it. When Charlie’s not working on Web sites, he enjoys spending time with his family. He and his wife have three grown children—a son in Seattle, a daughter in Eugene, and another son in California. Charlie is the proud grandfather of three, soon to be four. Beyond family, Charlie also finds time to pursue interests such as researching his family history, following all kinds of sports, and walking with friends for fitness and pleasure. When asked why others should volunteer for BRING, Charlie said, “BRING is making a difference. There are lots of excellent opportunities with a variety of organizations. But for people who care about the environment, this is as good as it gets.” We agree and as far as we’re concerned, Charlie is as good as it gets, too.
Junk Mail (i.e., direct marketing) Here’s the new way to opt out It used to be that a person could opt out of most junk mail simply by sending in a pre-printed post card to the Direct Marketing Association, available from Lane County Waste Management and BRING. You still can, but now it’ll cost you a dollar to get your name off of direct marketers’ list and there’s a new address to send it. That’s the bad news. The good news is that the Web-based request now costs $1 instead of $5. To cut down on your junk mail coming to your mailbox (this post-holiday season is a great time to nip it in the bud!): You can go on-line at: <www.dmaconsumers.org/cgi/offmailing>. It’s quick & easy! Or you can mail in your request by providing your full name and address along with a check for $1 made payable to “DMA” to this address: Mail Preference Service, P.O. Box 282, Carmel, NY 10512 If you’re wondering whether it’s worth the hassle (or the dollar), consider this: The average American gets 32 pounds of junk mail every year; 44% is never opened or read. Every year 100 million trees are cut to produce junk mail. If a thousand people reduced their junk mail by half, 170 trees would be spared, 46,000 pounds of carbon dioxide would be avoided, and 70,000 gallons of water would not be used. Less time looking at junk mail means more time for other things. Go beyond sending a postcard by asking our state legislatures to create a Do Not Junk opt-out registry modeled after the popular Do Not Call telemarketer registry. The Center for a New American Dream is starting a campaign about this. Contact Steve Krieger for information, talking points, and background materials by emailing him at <steve@newdream.org>. The Good Earth Home, Living, and Garden Show Come to this popular event showcasing businesses that are working on sustainability on the home, garden, food, recycling, living, art, and transportation fronts. It will be held at the Lane County Fairgrounds on January 26-28th. Come by BRING’s booth in the North Lobby and see our flower bed and other crazy reuse ideas sprouting up at BRING.  The Oregon Green Schools SummitThe Oregon Green Schools Summit will be held in Eugene on March 2nd. Participating schools can send a team of students and a teacher to this exciting and pivotal event—OGS will even foot the tab for a substitute teacher that day. Learn about this program and how your school can be part of it by visiting < >. School by school, this state is going to turn a brighter shade of green. Kudos To… Lane Community College won the National Recycling Coalition’s 2006 “Outstanding College or University Recycling Program” award. LCC recycled or reused more than 60% of its outgoing material (e.g., paper, metal, glass, wood, pre-consumer food waste, furniture). The food waste alone totaled 6.5 tons, all of which was composted and used on site. The college was able to net $60,000 from material sales and lower disposal costs. The 2006 Lane County Trashbuster awards went to: Gwen Farnsworth & the Dexter Post Office, Rachel Carson Center at Churchill High School, Saturday Market, Lane Community College, Lorena Young (Weyerhaeuser), Dave Kayfes, the Royal Caribbean Call Center and Bike Friday. Want to nominate an individual, business, nonprofit, or school for next year’s awards? Go to the Lane County Public Works page <www.co.lane.or.us/PW/default.htm> for the application. Nobel peace laureate Wangari Maathai pledged that her Green Belt movement will plant a billion trees in 2007 to address global warming and highlight the role trees play in its abatement. Maathai, who is from Kenya, says that, “…what is really important is what we do. Planting a tree is something that anybody can do.” The United Nations Environment Programme is backing this campaign and encouraging people to help. Visit <www.Unep.org/billiontreecampaign> to learn more. On a similar note, German Chancellor Angela Merkel has stated her country’s plans to make climate change a top priority in both the European Union and the G8 this year (Germany has the 2007 presidency of the G8). Merkel’s goal is to “convert the big emitters” of carbon dioxide—namely the U.S. since we are responsible for 25% of the world’s greenhouse gases and the only G8 nation not to sign on to the Kyoto Protocol. And a small kudo goes to us Oregonians. We did manage to increase our recycling rate by 9% since last year but, unfortunately, we’re also making more garbage. Why? Several reasons are causing this disappointing trend including increased housing construction and remodeling, larger homes being built (which also means more space to fill with stuff), excessive product packaging, and things increasingly built to last just a short time before being replaced. Work is being done to address this problem and our very own Executive Director, Julie Daniel, is on the DEQ task force working on this issue—so kudos to Julie! Is there a business, individual, or institution that you think deserves recognition in Used News? Send ideas to <jor@bringrecycling.org>. The Environmentalist Inside Transition in American morality A central issue of any system of morals is a person’s obligation to the community versus their quest for personal freedom. These often antagonistic pulls have seldom been easy to balance, but it has never before been as difficult to interpret where the boundary between mine versus yours and ours resides as today, and the hallmarks of our age—unprecedented technologies and vast material wealth —shoulder much of the blame. Our forebearers just didn’t have to deal with the effects their choice of a car or the placement of their house had on their fellow beings; didn’t need to choose between local organic and commercial produce and all that choice implies; didn’t have to wince each time they left a light on throughout the night, or worry about using carcinogenic chemicals in the backyard, or the mileage of their morning commute. Today, these have all become moral choices, and the line deciding right and wrong is not so much obscured by nuance as it is mutilated by the mechanics of modernity and the scale of our demands on the environment. Too, we now know more about the minutia of things. The American lifestyle, especially its untrammeled dependence on petroleum, has been around long enough for scientists to puzzle out many grim consequences associated with it, some casting a pall over the entire globe. No longer is right and wrong as simple as following ten commandments, although they still appertain. The Golden Rule is a sound moral basis for living, but how can we trust our own sense about our actions towards others when many of the consequences of our choices are subtle and not immediately apparent, their effects cumulative or downstream, passed to the next generation? Was it more moral, in retrospect, to drive a big car in the 40s and 50s than it is today? For sure, with the knowledge now at hand, to drive a gas guzzler in most cases is inexcusable excess; back then, when less was known about the consequences, maybe not so bad. A second aspect of morality is a person’s relationship with their creator. Whether God, Goddess, universal intelligence, or moral conscience, our actions are answerable to a way of thinking and understanding the world that runs deeper than personal need and desire. Please understand: needs must be met and desires cherished or despair and hopelessness will rot a person’s character—except a righteous Job. But in general, people appreciate the mystery inherent in all things, and the indescribable beauty that surrounds us inspires our virtue. Early civilizations used the mystery of life and the inspiration of Nature’s beauty as building blocks of culture. Indigenous people the world over saw little or no separation between their lives, celestial cycles, and a living Earth. Religious celebrations were defined by the turning of the heavens and the resultant terrestrial events. Even with experience limited to a small region of the world and the handicap of imperfect technologies, many of the moral insights gleaned by older cultures nurture us to this day. They include a sense of stewardship for the world and an obligation to insure the survival of future generations, which we now call “sustainability.” The most eloquent expression of sustainable behavior is still the Iroquois Law of Seven Generations: “In our every deliberation, we must consider the impact of our decisions on the next seven generations.” At the outset, modern America was built on its rich soil and incorporated a conservationist ethos similar to the Iroquois understanding: Yankee ingenuity meant improvising a way of doing things with the materials at hand; “Do what you can with what you have” was one President’s motto; “Waste not, want not” a key to worldly success. Thrift, moderation, and honest dealings were prized traits, and the Robber Barons, who neglected them, despised villains. There was an understanding that we were all in this together and, as the Iroquois code implied, greed needed to be tempered for the common good. Pushed along by abundant, cheap energy, the foundation of American culture shifted, at first gradually, but after World War II very quickly, from agrarian to industrial, and along with that there was a concomitant shift in morality. By early in the last century, it became OK to sell each other the toxic products and lifestyle that our new technologies produced, and an acceptable practice to waste anything because our material wealth meant we could never want. This unbelievable wealth gave license to inefficiencies in the system—trucking goods thousands of miles to market is one example, mountains of garbage another—because it made better short term economic sense, with the actual, unrecognized costs passed down in time and space. In our personal economies on up to the economics of big business, it became the norm to disregard most factors except expedience and profit. Greed was encouraged as a good thing for the economy. Those who were once despised Robber Barons now became entrepreneurs envied by the masses. Profit became a morality unto itself; if it made money and had short-term benefit, it was OK; if you could afford it, that made sufficient right to do it; never mind that it inconvenienced others, polluted rivers, or spewed poison into the air. Lost in this moral shift was the sense of responsibility to the community and the other considerations that made life common and sustainable. Those considerations became subservient to the enlarged sense of personal and corporate entitlement. The early American environmentalists, Thoreau, Muir, et al, saw the beneficial effect of nature and wished to preserve it for succeeding generations. Their understanding was similar to the ancient civilizations that saw humanity as growing from the Earth rather than separate and saw in Nature the hand of the divine. For them, defilement of Nature was a sin against the creator as much as an abuse of the creation. While succeeding generations of environmentalists focused on the evils of technology and the greed of its masters, the initial understanding for opposing those conducts was a deep reverence for life. Indignation and arguments were spiritually based rather than economic or technical. While it is proper to call others, especially society’s leaders, to task for their shortcomings concerning these issues based upon their advocacy of poisonous technologies and short-sighted economics, at the same time there is a great urgency to redefine American morality to facilitate the necessary change. Care for the Earth and the protection of future generations needs to be an equal or greater objective than the lunge for expedience and the grab after profits, and also openly sought after. No people can be great who have ceased to be virtuous.—Samuel Johnson The Bible, arguably the foundation of American morals, gives humans dominion (stewardship) over the Earth and all its creatures. Dominion (domination) became the spiritual justification for rapacious behaviors that spoiled our beautiful home. Another justification was “Progress.” Progress gave polluting the Earth a social basis, justifying a tradeoff of environmental health for material well-being. Today both of these justifications seem shallow and plainly arrogant. Dominion doesn’t mean that we have to destroy our domain; progress doesn’t have to come at the expense of the environment. It’s as if our spiritual compass had lost its bearing and pointed to a counterfeit north minted for the convenience of a few, although everyone was complicit. Perhaps all that can be said is that it seemed like a good idea at the time. More and more Americans are recognizing the need for a new moral compass when dealing with the environment. The Christian Right has recently joined the ranks of environmentalism moved by a moral prerogative similar to the first environmentalists. They have come to understand the original meaning of dominion, taking responsible care of God’s creation. Some business leaders, local and state governments, and many scholars have begun to redefine the American ideal of progress to include in the decision processes embracement of long-term environmental goals. What I am saying is that if we apply our minds directly and competently to the needs of the earth, then we will have begun to make fundamental and necessary changes in our minds. We will begin to understand and to mistrust and to change our wasteful economy, which markets not just the produce of the earth, but also the earth’s ability to produce. – Wendell Berry Morality is not a fixed thing. It is fluid and changes with circumstance. There are very few absolutes that define the American character today, and we are much different than those Americans who walked before us. “You shall not kill.” But in war or in self-defense, most people find no fault in it. “You shall not covet your neighbor’s property.” But what are TV commercials and advertisements but ways to inflame our cravings? “You shall have no other God before me.” But what do we call the urges that cause us to pollute and destroy the manifestations of God, if not false idols? We are so at odds with what we profess to believe that we need to step back and examine who we really are. If we don’t like what we see, let’s do something to change it. —David Wollner, BRING’s Business Manager
 Speaking of books… Here are some you might want to check out (get it? Check out?):Earth Odyssey by Mark Hertsgaard Garbage Land: On the Secret Trail of Trash by Elizabeth Royte Ishmael by Daniel Quinn Natural Capitalism: Creating the Next Industrial Revolution by Paul Hawken, Amory Lovins and Hunter Lovins The Consumer's Guide to Effective Environmental Choices: Practical Advice from the Union of Concerned Scientists by Michael Brower and Warren Leon The Natural Nursery: The Parent’s Guide to Ecologically Sound, Nontoxic, Safe, and Healthy Baby Care by Louis Pottkotter Small Wonder by Barbara Kingsolver  If you’re more in the mood for an animated movie, check out Spirited Away, Castle in the Sky, or Princess Mononoke. The Computer Reuse & Recycling Center is on the move! The Computer Reuse and Recycling Center has changed its name and location beginning this year and will start taking block foam for recycling on a regular basis. Read on for more details! CRRC (soon to be NextStep Recycling) is forced to expand a year ahead of schedule! Founded in 2002 as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, Computer Reuse and Recycling Center started out in a 500 sq. ft. garage. Within two years, Lorraine Kerwood’s computer refurbishing hobby turned into a full-fledged community project. In 2004, she moved the nonprofit into a public site, occupying 2900 sq. ft. In the last two years, CRRC has expanded into 10,500 sq. ft. and now has 16 employees, as well as approximately 100 volunteers who donate an average of 3000 hours a month to CRRC programs. Now, they’re bursting at the seams keeping up with all of the electronic waste Lane County’s citizens are trying to dispose of appropriately, so as of January 2007 CRRC is expanding yet again into a 15,500 sq. ft warehouse. To mark their move and the expansion of services that they’ll now be able to provide, they’re changing their name to NextStep Recycling. Through educational outreach they hope to encourage all Oregonians to take the “next step” with their obsolete electronic hardware, and bring it to them. CRRC accepts almost all electronic hardware, and with this expansion, they will now have the space to handle televisions. Presently, they accept TVs from businesses and schools. This expansion means they can accept TVs, washers, dryers, and possibly other electronic materials. They are seeking donations of warehouse and office material such as a forklift, baler, pallet racking, box truck, gaylords, work benches, office furniture, and retail store shelving. Through their adoption program, they have gifted over 1600 computers, sold 1000 computers in their thrift store, and recycled almost 510 tons of electronic waste!  They expect to have all their programs moved into their new space in the beginning of January. Join them for their grand opening January 29th!NEW NAME: NextStep Recycling NEW LOCATION: 2101 WEST 10TH AVENUE EUGENE, OR 97402 QUESTIONS: If you have questions, you can email lorraine at <lorraine@nextsteprecycling.org>. Block Foam Round Up! Don’t miss the third annual Zachary Zakon Block Foam Recycling Round Up. This annual event is sponsored by Lane County Public Works Waste Management Division in honor of Master Recycler, Zachary Zakon, who tirelessly dedicated the last few years of his life to collecting and recycling block foam. This year’s Round Up kicks off a permanent recycling option that will be available year-round. It will take place for two full weeks after the holidays. DATES: Tuesday, January 2nd – Tuesday, January 16th HOURS:10.a.m. – 6.p.m., Tuesday - Saturday. WHERE: At the new home of NextStep Recycling (formerly known as the Computer Reuse and Recycling Center). 2101 West 10th Ave., 97402. NOTE: This year’s Round Up will not take place at the Lane County facility as in the past. WHAT: # 6 Polystyrene – Styrofoam that is brittle and snaps easily # 4 Polyethylene – Bendable block foam # 5 Polypropylene – Styrofoam that is not brittle and hard to break up # 6 Foam food trays (any color), must be clean and dry # 6 Foam packaging peanuts (any color), bagged separately NOTE: Foam materials are not accepted in curbside recycling services. HOW: Materials must be clean and dry. Materials must be sorted and bagged separately. Materials must be dropped off during business hours only. For loads larger than a full pickup, call 24-hours in advance, 686-2366. While this event allows for free drop off, the rest of the year NextStep Recycling will need to charge a small fee in order to pay for the shipping expense of sending the material to Portland for recycling. PC Plastics will process the plastic back into a raw material that can be used by companies making all sorts of durable goods such as the outer shell of electronics and tools, CD jewel cases and cassette covers. The foam packaging for a stereo or VCR you receive this year could very well be recycled into the outer shell of the stereo or VCR your neighbor buys next year. Looking for the Eco-Meister? He’s been patiently waiting by his inbox for questions from our readers. He struck out on this issue but hopes that someone out there will put his environmental expertise to the test. Get your question to him by emailing <info@bringrecycling.org> with subject header “Dear Eco-Meister.” Join the Lane County Master Recycler Program! Do you want to learn how to reduce your waste, conserve natural resources, motivate others to change their habits, and make a difference in your community? If so, you should join the Lane County Master Recycler Program. Lane County Waste Management Division is offering a training course this spring that provides comprehensive training in solid waste reduction, reuse, recycling and compost education in return for 30 hours of volunteer outreach focused on teaching fellow Lane County citizens how to reduce, reuse, recycle and rethink. The Master Recycler training course includes 35 hours of instruction—9 classes and 3 field trips to area solid waste and recycling sites. Instructors are local experts in solid waste from the business, government and non-profit sectors. The spring class will be on Tuesdays, 6:00–8:45pm, April 3 through May 29 (with three Saturday field trips TBA). For an application go to: <http://www.co.lane.or.us/PW_WMD_Recycle/MasterRecycler.htm> or contact Nina Whitney, Master Recycler Coordinator, at 541-682-2059 or <nina.whitney@co.lane.or.us.> Staying Green While Moving Whether you are moving out of, or into, your home, apartment or residence hall, the door is always open to minimizing waste. When you are moving out…. Lighten your load, before you move: • Keep an eye out for clothing and other household items you no longer use; • Ask yourself “Do I use this anymore?” • Gather friends and neighbors for a yard sale, donate unsold items; • Give unused household items and unopened non-perishable food to a donation center. Get organized: • Set up a sorting system with boxes or bags for recycling, donations and trash inside your home; • Make this system accessible as you pack each room. Go reusable and recyclable for your moving supplies: • Check with a local business for packing boxes; • Use easily recyclable materials to pack whenever possible, rather than foam peanuts and bubble wrap; • Save packing space by using clothing and bedding as packing materials. When you are moving in…. Search for greener pastures: If you have a choice in a place to live, choose locations that have amenities such as a nearby bus route, on-site recycling and energy-saving appliances. These options make it easier to minimize waste from the start. Shop second-hand: If you need to furnish your new space, check out community resale stores and yard sales first. Adopt a new household waste-reduction habit after moving in: • Shop regularly with reusable bags instead of taking a new paper or plastic bag; • Buy products containing recycled material (e.g., recycled paper school supplies or recycled plastic shampoo bottles); • Turn off the lights, computers and electronics when not in use. Place low-wattage compact fluorescent bulbs in high-use light fixtures. —Robyn Hathcock, Housing Recycling Coordinator, University of Oregon Campus Recycling Winter Warehouse Hours Until we move to our new site (very soon!), BRING’s ReUse Warehouse has limited hours of operation due to the short days of winter. Come by any time between 8:30am and 4:30pm, Monday through Saturday, and 10am to 4:30pm on Sunday. If you hope to donate items, please come an hour before closing time. As always, you can call our office and ask whether we can take a particular item for donation or have something in stock. And, as always, our stock is constantly changing and you never know what you’ll find. Help us keep valuable items out of the landfill—winter is a slower time for us and we love the folks who brave the elements to shop or simply browse! And just think how much you’ll appreciate our new site’s sheltered shopping area if you come out to our current location during a rainy deluge. Here are some items that have come through the warehouse in recent days…
 Less is Best— and CraftierThe 2nd annual Less is Best Holiday Fair (Dec. 1-3) was a fun way to green the holidays. Kids and adults learned how to make decorations and gifts out of used materials from Master Recyclers and other volunteers. Professional artists had recycled art for sale which helped raise funds for BRING and MECCA. An all-around success—let’s keep the fun going year-round! 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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