Every year, the Association of Oregon Recyclers (AOR) rewards programs, individuals and companies around the state for "above and beyond" performance in the area of recycling and waste prevention. We are very proud to let you all know that BRING was selected for a special lifetime achievement or "recycling sage" award for our 30 years of promoting waste reduction, reuse and recycling. The award was presented (with standing ovations) at AOR's annual conference, held at the Valley River Inn in Eugene in early September. It is wonderful to be recognized by our peers in the industry, and we look forward to many more years of "above and beyond" service to our community.—Julie Daniel
Lane County Tops the State for Recycling
Every year, the Department of Environmental Quality surveys hundreds of collectors, recyclers, processors, garbage haulers and commodity buyers to calculate the waste recovery and disposal rates around the state. This year Lane County took the number one spot, achieving a 52% recovery rate, the highest in all of Oregon. This achievement is significant because this area does not have access to as many markets for recyclables as does Metro, the tri-county region which includes Portland. Metro has, up till now, held the number one spot. Since BRING's emphasis is waste reduction, we were especially pleased to see that per capita waste generation, the amount of trash that each of us makes, was down for the first time since 1996, reversing a long, sad trend of annual waste increases.—Julie Daniel
Earth Friendly Parties for Kids
Do you dread that annual rite-of passage, your child's birthday party? Are you amazed at how expensive, extravagant and materialistic kids' parties are becoming? Whether it's high profile, spendy locations, massive decorations, excessive goody bags and/or increasingly expensive gifts, it's easy to run screaming from the idea.
We'd like to encourage you to stay put and put on a great show. It's easy and fun to create a stunning party that doesn't break the bank or abuse the environment. Organize
a sing-along, an egg race or a back yard scavenger hunt. Talk a friend or relative into dressing up as a clown, a children's book character, a dinosaur or a sports player. Or better yet, gather low cost materials for the kids to make their own costumes. Lovely insect wings can be made from coat hangers and panty hose, gauze, tissue paper or wrapping films. Spirals from old notebooks make great antennae. A trip to second hand stores where clothing is sold by the pound can net lots of costume materials for very little cash. Boxes, egg cartons and milk jugs can be cut and reconfigured to make costumes, sculptures, or even cities.
With other reused materials you can have the kids decorate their own party to a theme or activity. Races, impromptu play acting, treasure hunts and other whimsical contests are all good possibilities.
Check out The Kids' Pick-a-Party Book: 50 Fun Party Themes for Kids, ages 2-16 by Penny Warner or Ecology Crafts for Kids: 50 Great Ways to Make Friends With Planet Earth by Bobbe Needham for ideas and resources. There are also a full two shelves in the public library dedicated to craft activities for kids, most of them feature using odds and ends and various scraps.
Instead of spending a lot of money on THINGS for the kids, give them an experience instead. Take advantage of the outreach programs of local environmental organizations such as MECCA, Nearby Nature or Center for Appropriate Transport.
This summer MECCA artists have been guiding many youngsters in making their own baskets, jewelry and trinkets from telephone wire and other scraps. Tools, materials and two hours of instruction can be provided for about $75. Parties could take place at your location or MECCA's new studio in the Whiteaker neighborhood. To trim the price even more, MECCA can sell you low cost scrap materials for an activity that you plan and guide. Contact Lizzy Hughes at MECCA, 302-1810 or mecca@efn.org.—Sarah Grimm
Sometimes even recyclers need help recycling. Thanks to United Way's Day of Caring, we got just that. Twelve eager, hard working volunteers from Symantec spent a day helping us do a massive cleanup at our new site. They sorted through, and separated for recycling, the mountains of stuff left behind by the previous owners. We were amazed at the huge amount of work that got done!
In just a few hours, the wonderful volunteer crew sorted out over one ton of paper, one ton of scrap metal, 15 boxes of hazardous waste, half a 30 yard container of wood waste and box after box of reusable items. Reusables were donated to St. Vincent de Paul, the scrap metal went to Schnitzer Steel, the hazardous waste to Lane County's hazardous waste facility and the paper and cardboard to Weyerhaeuser. In total, more than three tons of materials were sorted for recycling. Wow! An added bonus, Symantec generously donated six copies of Norton Utilities to help keep our office computers virus free. Thanks, Symantec!—Julie Daniel
DEQ releases Rethinking Recycling; a K-5 curriculum
Rethinking Recycling, a comprehensive waste prevention & recycling curriculum for K-5 teachers is now available from the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality's Waste Prevention & Management Division.
The curriculum has twenty lessons at levels K-3 and twenty-one lessons at levels 4-5 on the topics of environmental awareness, solid waste management, waste prevention, recycling, composting and household hazardous waste. Also included are overhead masters and student worksheets. Lessons have been matched to the state education benchmarks in subjects such as Math, Science, English, History, Health and Social Studies.The curriculum also includes a teacher resource section with additional information in the solid waste field such as: field trips, extension activities, suggested books, software and Internet sites and a glossary of terms.
One copy will be mailed to all public and private elementary schools, solid waste educators and libraries. To request additional copies contact DEQ's Solid Waste Program at (800)452-4011 or 503-229-5913 or e-mail solwaste@deq.state.or.us. Rethinking Recycling will also be available on the DEQ's web site as an Adobe pdf document:
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Drop sites and preparation • County transfer and recycling sites • What to do with everything else
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copyright© 2001 BRING Recycling. All rights reserved.
Drop sites and preparation • County transfer and recycling sites • What to do with everything else
return to home page
copyright© 2001 BRING Recycling. All rights reserved.