 Athens County Recycling Guru Receives Award
This year marked the Association of Ohio Recyclers 25th year. As a part of their conference and celebration, they recognized 10 people who significantly influenced recycling in the state of Ohio. Athens County resident, Ed Newman (front row, far left), was recognized for more than 30 years of work to increase recycling. Newman co-founded RecycleMania, a recycling competition that now engages colleges across the nation. He was also instrumental in launching the first curbside recycling program in the state of Ohio and currently serves on the board of the Athens-Hocking Recycling Center. He also has a strong connection to Rural Action as he is a trustee of the Sugar Bush Foundation, a main funder of Rural Action, and was a lead thinker in building the Appalachia Ohio Zero Waste Initiative.
To see a full list of the winners, check out the Association of Ohio Recyclers Newsletter.
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Zero Waste Champion at Nelsonville-York Elementary School
Special education teacher, Sarah Nelson, has been making great strides towards zero waste through her recycling efforts at Nelsonville-York Elementary School. She has been part of multiple changes to increase recycling awareness in her school, including making sure that every classroom has a recycling bin and encouraging the school to start recycling plastic milk bottles from the cafeteria.
Sarah and her class at Nelsonville-York Elementary are responsible for the implementation of the school's recycling program, which she took charge of in the fall of 2013. The multiple disabilities class had been collecting recyclables as part of their life skills curriculum for some years prior, and when Sarah took over the class she wanted to breathe new life and enthusiasm into the program.
Read More
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Wayne National Forest To Pull Cleanup Trailer
Thanks to a recent formal partnership with Rural Action, Wayne National Forest is able to pull the Keep Southeast Ohio Beautiful Cleanup & Beautification Trailer to 13 counties in southeast Ohio. Groups of 20 or more can partner with a member of Keep Southeast Ohio Beautiful and borrow the trailer to host a litter cleanup or community beautification event. The trailer is fully stocked with gloves, shovels, vests, bags, and more, so your group has everything it needs to complete a volunteer project.
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Zero Waste Must-Watch List: The Clean Bin Project
Every semester, new zero waste interns watch The Clean Bin Project to learn about zero waste. Here is what our new intern, Trent Stephens, has to say about it. You might want to check it out, too!
Education is an important step when transitioning to a zero waste economy. Many people are aware that recycling is important, but struggle with reasons why. Quoting statistic isn't enough to convince some people of the importance of zero waste. Instead, you have to relate directly to people's live. This is where The Clean Bin Project comes into play.
This 2010 documentary follows a Canadian couple and their quest to go waste-free for an entire year. The only two rules are to produce as little waste as possible and to buy nothing but absolute necessities. Their journey is funny, heartwarming, and most importantly, eye opening. There are struggles along the way, but they learn many techniques to reduce waste are actually incredibly easy. With the focus being on just two people, it makes the entire story easy for viewers to connect with.
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The Athens-Hocking Recycling Center has a New Website
This easy to navigate site provides useful information including where people can take their recycling in rural areas, what can be dropped off at the recycling center, and pictures of accepted materials.It's an exciting time for the AHRC as they are looking to purchase a new building and transitioning to a single stream recycling model.
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Thank You Athens Foundation!
Rural Action we would like to give special thanks to the Athens Foundation. They approved a grant that allows us to fund a third AmeriCorp member on our team. This means we can do more waste assessments, organize more cleanups, and put on more zero waste events!
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Appalachian Transition Fellowship Blog Spotlight
Zach Swick, Appalachian Transition Fellowship for ReUse Industires, has put together an interesting blog post about why people should care about trash. Although not the most glamours topic, Swick goes into detail about why some of the least fun things to talk about are actually the most important.
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New Lexington Class Makes Paper Ornaments to Promote Recycling
At New Lexington Elementary, Mrs. Gibson's class didn't just get into the holiday spirit, but also the recycling spirit. The 3rd grade class used recycled paper to create holiday ornaments for them to take home. Check out the slideshow below.
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Donkey Coffee and Espresso Pledges Zero Waste
Donkey Coffee and Espresso has made the pledge to take steps toward zero waste. They've already implemented several changes including composting paper towels and switching to a cash register with no printed receipts. In the long term they hope to replace their current disposable cups with ones that are compostable.
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Slideshow Of Partners' Work!
We want to share your story, too. Email us photos of the good work you are doing to lead Southeast Ohio towards zero waste.
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Upcoming Events & Recycling Opportunities:
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January 26th
Repurposed Bottle Cap Jewelry/Fridge Magnet Workshop
New Lexington Library
6-8pm
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January 29th
Keep Southeast Ohio Beautiful Meeting
Wayne National Forrest Headquarters
10-noon
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February 23rd
Rag Rug Seminar
New Lexington Library
6-8pm
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Rural Action Zero Waste Program Staff:
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Rural Action Zero Waste Program Sponsors:
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