MASTER RECYCLER NEWSLETTER—August 2016

Congratulations to Desiree Williams-Rajee for White House Recognition

Portland's Desiree Williams-Rajee spoke July 15, 2016 during a meeting of Champions of Change at a White House program in Washington, D.C. Photo courtesy of The White House. 

We couldn’t be prouder of Desiree Williams-Rajee (Class 36)! Desiree was one of 10 individuals recognized from across the country as White House Champions of Change for Climate Equity.

Desiree is the Equity Specialist for the City of Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability. She led an effort to authentically engage organizations in a new improved Climate Action Plan that meaningfully reduces carbon emissions, prepares for climate impacts, and delivers more equitable outcomes for Portland’s under-served and under-represented communities. Read more...

 

Eat Smart, Waste Less Challenge Recognized with Award

At their annual conference in Portland in June, the Association of Oregon Recyclers awarded its Recycler of the Year award in the education and promotion program category to the “Eat Smart, Waste Less Challenge.” Staff and Master Recycler volunteers from Washington County and the cities of Beaverton and Gresham reached more than 2,500 people at public events and group presentations over the last 14 months as part of a campaign to reduce household food waste. Nearly 32 percent pledged to waste less food through the Eat Smart, Waste Less Challenge.

From left to right, Shaunna Sutcliffe-Shadle, residential and schools coordinator at City of Gresham; Elizabeth Cole, recycling program coordinator at City of Beaverton; and Brian Stafki, senior program educator with Washington County Solid Waste & Recycling Program.

Thanks to Master Recyclers Caitlin Ahearn, Jacque DeVore, Denise Evans, Alexandra Gorbunova, Sue Hein, Mary King, Kris LaMar, Sarah Lavoie, Sheila Logan, Megan McCoy, Erin Moreland, Scott Morgan, Susan Powers, Diane Raven, Leah Schrodt, Denise Slattery, Liz Start, Linda Trujillo, Leisa Vandehey and Cecelia Warner for volunteering with the campaign.

You can help reduce food waste by joining the Eat Smart, Waste Less Challenge or Portland CAN: Save Food campaign. Check volunteer opportunities below or the Master Recycler calendar for upcoming events.

 

Easier than ever to get Metro Publications!

Cool Junk Mail postcard will add waste prevention ideas to your next table! 

Cool Junk Mail postcard will add waste prevention ideas to your next table! 

Spice up your next presentation or table with Metros awesome brochures, flyers and postcards on compost, gardening with fewer chemicals, cleaning with nontoxic products, safe disposal of hazardous products and reducing waste. 

Metro’s Recycling Information Center (RIC) has been busy streamlining the publication inventory and order process.  There is a new online Publication Order form to use to place publication orders.  The new form is nifty – just fill out the quantities, hit submit, and the order is received directly into the RIC inbox for processing.  It replaces an old PDF version that required printing a hard copy and then scanning or faxing!

Please use this form for all future publication orders and to remember that the RIC needs one business day to process orders-so plan ahead.  

If there are any questions, or if there is an instance where someone doesn’t have access to a computer, please feel free to call the Metro RIC team at 503-234-3000.

 

Master Recycler Viewing of Just Eat it

Washington County, Public Services Building, 115 N First Ave, Hillsboro
Tuesday August 9, 6:30-8:30 p.m. 

Washington County invites Master Recyclers and friends to a community screening of the award-winning “Just Eat It: A food waste story” documentary about food waste and food rescue. A potluck starts at 6:30 and the film starts at 7 p.m.

Filmmakers and food lovers Jen and Grant ,creators of the “Clean Bin Project”, dive into the issue of waste from farm, through retail, all the way to the back of their own fridge. County staff will facilitate a discussion afterword and introduce what you can do to make a difference. Please RSVP. 

Application deadline for Tigard class August 3! Help spread the word! 

  • WHAT: Washington County 8-week fall course and 30 hour volunteer program.

  • WHEN: Eight consecutive Wednesdays 6:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m. starting on September 7 and two Saturdays from 8 am to 2 pm on September 17 and October 15.

  • WHERE: TV Fire and Rescue Station #51, 8935 SW Burnham Street, Tigard

  • COST: $50 fee. Partial and full scholarships are available without extra application requirements. 

 

Appreciations

Dryden is pictured here at the SCRAP Prom Night.

Congratulations and thank you to Dryden Driggers (Class 53) who is now officially a Certified Master Recycler. Dryden joined the SCRAP board to help sustain the amazing creative reuse work of that organization. She also staffed a table for SCRAP at events like Crafty Wonderland and Sunday Parkways.

 

 

Volunteer Opportunities

Join the fun. Make a difference!

July opportunities

August Opportunities

Any Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday 2-18  Summer, Food and Fun (recycling presentation), Happy Valley

September Opportunities

  •  Thursday 1 Farmers' Market (Eat Smart, Waste Less table) Aloha
  • Saturday 3 Farmers Market (Eat Smart, Waste Less Challenge table), Cedar Mills

 

Conservation News

GLEAN Art Exhibit

Bison Building, 421 NE Tenth Ave., Portland
Opening reception from 6 to 9 p.m., Thursday, August 11. Show ends Aug. 27. 

GLEAN exhibit challenges ideas about waste! Inspiration often arrives in unexpected packages. See how five local artists - Erinn Kathryn, Hilary Pfeiffer, Dan Pillers, Amanda Triplett and Austin Turley - transformed an unpredictable stream of trash from the Metro Central transfer station into art.

More info at Gleanpdx.org.

 

Dessert Meetups hosted by the Eco-School Network

Want to start a sustainability project at your child’s school? The Eco-School Network, directed by a parent steering committee, aims to introduce or upgrade sustainable practices and to increase eco-awareness as a means to enrich the daily experience of K-5 children at school. The sponsor of the Eco-School Network is the Center for Earth Leadership, a local nonprofit.

Four dessert meetups will be held in homes of Portland Eco-School Network parents within the Portland School District. If you cannot attend one in your area, you may attend another within your district:

  • North  (Jefferson & Roosevelt clusters) – September 26, 7:00 p.m.
  • Northeast (Grant & Madison clusters) – September 27, 7:00 p.m.
  • Southeast (Franklin & Cleveland clusters) – September 28, 7:00 p.m.
  • West (Lincoln & Wilson clusters) – September 29, 7:00 p.m.
  • West Linn Thursday, September 22, 7:00 p.m.

Please RSVP to Marnie Bennett, 503-227-2315 

 

GoGreen Conference

GoGreen Portland is Wednesday, October 5 at the World Trade Center. Now in its ninth year, GoGreen Portland has established itself as the largest regional conference for business and government decision-makers to come together for one day to learn from recognized community leaders to advance sustainability best practices in their own organizations. GoGreen empowers attendees with the strategies, tools and connections through networking opportunities to advance the triple bottom line. Find out more online.

What: GoGreen Portland
When: Wednesday, October 5, 2016
Where: 2 World Trade Center - 3rd Floor, 25 SW Salmon Street, Portland, OR 97205
Registration & Cost: Tickets range from $45-$175, check out the Registration page for full detailshttp://portland.gogreenconference.net/registration/
Who Attends: Business and public sector decision-makers in sustainability

Master Recyclers get a 20% discount! Just enter the code MASTERRECYCLER during registration.

 

MINIMALISM FILM SHOWING

Cinema 99 Stadium 11, Vancouver, WA
Monday August 22, 7:30 p.m.

How might your life be better with less? Minimalism is a new documentary who will explore this question. This viewing will take place if enough people pre-register.

Job Opportunities

Columbia Slough Watershed Council School Educator

Closes August 1. The Slough School Educator is responsible for supporting and implementing the Council’s Slough School classroom and field programming. The Educator provides accessible, high quality lessons to a wide array of K-12 students at schools within the Columbia Slough Watershed. The Educator will teach programs both independently and as part of a team. They will maintain and organize teaching materials, and are also responsible for communicating with the schools, teachers, and organizations that they work with. The Educator will also support the training and mentorship of an Education Intern. 

 

Community Energy Project DIY Weatherization Educator

Closes August 14. The Community Educator for the DIY Weatherization will be responsible for coordinating and delivering up to 60 DIY workshops to over 850 Portland area residents between October and February. This dynamic position carries a 37 year history in Portland and is CEP’s founding program. The Educator has the opportunity to connect with diverse audiences across multiple languages, backgrounds, and experience levels as they share practical and valuable skills with others.

 

Lean Path Food Waste Prevention Coach/Trainer

Closes when filled. LeanPath, Inc. provides food waste smart meters which enable foodservice professionals to dramatically reduce food waste, lower food costs, and operate more sustainable facilities. We partner with customers in almost 50 states, Europe and Australia across numerous foodservice segments, including hotels, restaurants, colleges, hospitals, corporate dining facilities, contract management, casinos, military installations, schools, grocery stores and senior living facilities. LeanPath is a dynamic, growing, privately-held business based in Portland, Oregon.

 

For more information including how to apply for jobs, visit the Master Recycler Job Board.

Contributions to this month's newsletter include J Lauren Norris, Alicia Polacok and Wing Grabowski.

 

Serving the Portland metro region in Clackamas, Multnomah and Washington counties.