As you may know, at Shaver’s Creek we “trashed” our trash dumpster last year. We now recycle and compost nearly every single item that passes through our facility. Of course, this was not just for our own benefit; we want to inspire people to strive for zero waste in their own homes, and think about the materials used when purchasing items. And naturally, we get a lot of questions like: “How did you do it?” “Where does your recycling go?” “What happens to compost?”
We’d love to be able to answer some of these questions! We want to enable people to learn how to live more harmoniously with the natural world. With this in mind, we’ve embarked on a mission to provide some interpretive videos exposing some of the mystery behind our road to zero waste. We’re calling these videos our “Zero Waste Watch” series. Zero Waste Watch #1 gets down and dirty with answering the question: “What happens to our trash and recycling?” We’ve interviewed Amy Schirf from the Centre County Solid Waste Authority, and she was kind enough to give us a thorough tour and let us capture lots of things on film. We’re pleased to present this video not just to residents of Centre County, who will get a look at where exactly their waste materials go, but to anyone who is curious about the concept of a transfer station and recycling center. And a note to residents of Centre County: the timing of this video is no accident. In the video, you’ll hear Amy mention that one of the most-requested items for recycling in the county is yogurt cups. The good news is that the CCSWA will begin accepting not only yogurt cups, but all sorts of miscellaneous plastics: margarine tubs, cottage cheese and sour cream containers, cherry tomato containers, and more. The even-better news is that this collection begins TOMORROW, March 16! Click here for a flyer with more information. We hope you enjoy the first entry in this Zero Waste Watch series. http://bit.ly/ZWW_Video_1~ Justin “Rutabaga” Raymond, Marketing/Communications Intern, Spring 2012