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Environmentally Friendly Community Build

ltoscano

406 posts

www.kaboom.org

Joined
11/8/2006

Environmentally Friendly Community Build
Posted: 09 May 07 10:10 AM

Hi, I was wondering if anyone has suggestions on how to keep the community-build process environmentally friendly. I've seen some community build volunteers fill up a 40 yard dumpster full of pallets and cardboard that could have been recycled... how do you avoid this? Do you think it's important?

randi

36 posts

Joined
1/23/2007

Re: Environmentally Friendly Community Build
Posted: 09 May 07 2:46 PM

Ooooh, this is one of my pet peeves about any project. I would build recycling into the planning process. I went around at our last build and pulled stuff out, separated things and even salvaged the plastic protectors that come on the equipment for planters. Knowing how much cardboard we generate with each build, how many plastic bottles, how much wood can be salvaged, etc. should be part of the planning process. Rather than have a 40yard all purpose dumpster, we had a separate recycling dumpster on site. We had a special pick up to handle what we collected on prep day andthis worked out well. Build day does not generate much true garbage. Perhaps that is some of the in kind donation items people can look at...recycling containers instead of dumpsters. Most of what we wind up with is recyclable and it's easier to build this into the front end than try to deal with it on the back side.

merrywbee

121 posts

Joined
11/8/2006

Re: Environmentally Friendly Community Build
Posted: 17 May 07 12:37 PM

I'm so glad that someone posted about this because I had not really thought about it..I figured we would be recycling but to stop and think about the organizational piece that goes into it--having people on site to take care of this, is a great suggestion for us all to think about. One thing I might do is give this task to the local boy scout troop--they want to be involved but since they are so young, I don't want them doing any of the building, but this would be a very useful task to assign them to.

ltoscano

406 posts

www.kaboom.org

Joined
11/8/2006

Re: Environmentally Friendly Community Build
Posted: 23 May 07 2:24 PM

Hi again! I've received some responses from KaBOOM! staffers who have done lots of community-build playgrounds. Here's what they have to say:

WH:

"I just wanted to let you know that my site decided that each volunteer is going to get a water bottle that they can label as their own (I think they’re going to be nice souvenir ones) and then we’re going to use water coolers to refill…so hopefully everyone gets a cool reminder of the build, and we don’t have 2100-2800 empty water bottles to toss!"

CM:

"How about doing service learning projects in the community that incorporate environmental education? Or side projects such as creating outdoor science labs? How about making recycling part of the planning discussions and having a pre-dedicated team of volunteers to be responsible for implementing the plan during build week? I suggested a long time ago, when we were talking about how to keep volunteers hydrated, that we have a team that would go around and give water to volunteers, but that would also be responsible for picking up trash, making sure garbage goes into the appropriate bins (recycle, etc.), removing stickers and tags from wood, border timbers, and panels, and serve as runners to get tools or hardware as needed. This could even be a youth activity responsibility and become a service learning project."

MK:

"This is an important issue. I feel that we have a responsibility to recycle and reuse as much as possible in the communities we visit.

A couple of things that I do:

On design day I ask if there is a recycling program in the community. If the answer is yes, we reduce the size of the dumpster to 10 or 20 yards because our trash accumulation is reduced significantly when we recycle.

If the answer is no, that is not the end of the conversation. I have worked with communities that manage work around the lack of a formal recycling program. In one city there is a local man with a truck who collects cardboard around town and drives it to a nearby recycling plant. Collecting cardboard is a source of income for many people and we can use that to our advantage on builds. I f there is not a plastic recycling program I encourage communities to provide water and Gatorade in jugs with paper cups. This is usually much less expensive and saves a lot of trash. Many communities need to remove old playground equipment before the new playground is installed. I take some time on design day to encourage communities to recycle the playground materials instead of hauling them to a landfill. Some communities have built compost bins as a side project and use this as an educational tool with the kids. Vegetable gardens are also a great way to educate communities about the benefits of preserving the environment. I also take a minute at design day to talk about the value of recycling and the important lesson it can be for the kids in the community. While sometimes this seems to fall on deaf ears, even if one person considers recycling the next time they have an empty soda can, I have made a difference. During my kick-off ceremony on build day, I also speak briefly about the importance of recycling. The more this message is repeated, the more likely it is to become and important part of people's daily lives."

WH:

"I knew a community in Colorado that organized a "Zero Waste Day." There was a recycling company in the area who does these for any big event--they bring out all of the recycling containers to sort everything, and then pick it all up. It ended up being really difficult to facilitate with a big group, but there is definitely a way to do it right. But we sorted out cardboard, plastic & food waste for compost, so it really was very, very close to a no waste day...I've also had groups give every volunteer a water bottle (either a disposable one that they hang onto, or a fun one with a logo or something), and used water jugs to refill it, so that we don't have 800 water bottles in the trash at the end of the day."

SN:

"Communities can have several garbage cans and have some labeled for trash and others labeled for recyclables. On my last build, we had three types of throw aways: trash, plastic, cans (Michigan has a bottle bill, so each can is worth 10 cents). We also kept cardboard out of the dumpster by starting a pile on prep day and maintaining that separation on build day. Cities I’ve worked with recently have taken the cardboard for recycling and one group of Home Depot volunteers at another build offered to take cardboard back to their store for recycling (or to include it with all the cardboard the store recycles). Also, we’ve left pallets out of the trash. Some Home Depot stores require returns of them, so perhaps we could ask if they’d take them back anyway even if they weren't from that store (but making sure we had a way to get the pallets back – i.e. someone with a truck willing to transport them). Often pallets are just untreated lumber – especially from equipment delivery – so those can be broken down and reused.

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