Recycle or Not? -For the Environment
Turns out a lot of people put the wrong things in the recycling with confidence that they are doing the right thing for the environment. What they don’t realize is that wishful recycling can do more harm than good.
Master Recyclers Break Records!!
You reported the highest number of hours ever last fiscal year! These hours represent leadership, creativity and passion. Thank you, Master Recyclers!
Volunteer opportunities
Join in. Have fun. Make a difference.
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Appreciations
Quincenturions
Last month, two Master Recyclers reached the impressive milestone of 500 hours. There not a lot of these committed individuals. Quincenturions receive a button made of recycled bottle tops to wear next to their badge. Thank you to both Lori Gates and Maycell Villanueva for your continued commitment.
Quincenturion Lori Gates
Lori Gates (Class 63) is one of the founders of the Westside Master Recyclers. So, she has spent many of her hours at the Forest Grove Farmers' Market and organizing the HUGE PlanetCon events. Lori also volunteers with Recycling Advocates, promoting bringing your own coffee cup. From girls scouts to climate change advocates, she offered presentations for many Washington County residents. This spring and summer she helped organize other Master Recyclers to staff a regular table with rotating topics at the Hillsboro Farmers' Market. Lori is a Master Recycler Mentor who offers new Master Recyclers inspiration, a cool collected approach, and a wealth of experience.
Quincenturion Maycell Villanueva
Maycell Villanueva (Class 68) attended the course just a year ago in Clackamas County and then took that experience to become the Washington County AmeriCorps volunteer this year. Maycell dedicated much of her time increasing access to sustainability. She spent hundreds of hours helping multifamily communities receive improved recycling systems and then went door-to-door to help the residents learn how to use the new systems. Maycell also empowered area residents to tackle food waste with simple tips. Above and beyond her AmeriCorps volunteer time, Maycell also helped co-organize a cohort of Master Recyclers of Color. This group is creating a space for folks to get together and network, share, vent and build. Thank you Maycell for all that you do! You are an amazing voice for sustainability.
Centurion
We have a new Centurion Master Recycler this month! Kendall KIC (Class 55) started off at her kids' school at Hayhurst as a one person recycling machine working to get a recycling program going. After years of effort, she began seeing the need for people to take her place as her kids had moved on from the school. It was perfect timing for her to seek this model as other parents were doing the same and they began to form a Center for Earth Leadership project that would soon become the Eco-Schools Network. Kendall is now a key participant. This year she spend many hours working on waste plans with Rigler and Bridlemile schools and as if that was not enough, she has been a steady volunteer at the SW Community Recycling events! There are many Master Recyclers in this picture from the Eco-Schools Network. Kendall is top second from the left.
Certified Master Recyclers
Congratulations and thank you to four newly Certified Master Recyclers.
Mara Pauda (Class 67) dedicated much of her volunteer hours on toxics reduction and waste prevention. She researched the best ways to use and maintain paint brushes so that the City Repair Project's street painting projects could preserve their tools for as long as possible. The information was so great it was featured in a Master Recycler "Planet Friendly Painting" article. Mara also volunteered with Metro's Healthy Homes at several North by Northeast Healthy Clinic health fairs, offering families tips and tools for toxics free homes. She wrapped up her hours engaging families at Explorando el Slough (pictured here).
¡Felicidades y gracias a las tres primeras personas de la clase 73 por completar sus 30 horas y oficialmente recibir sus certificados!
Laura Nuñez (Clase 73) Ofreció su entusiasmo para el medio ambiente en el mercado de los martes de Hillsboro, una feria de salud en la iglesia St. Elizabeth, y con la escuela bíblica Iglesia Adventista Hillsboro. Ya reportó 44 horas después solo algunas semanas después terminar la clase. Laura también esta una de los facilitadores del nuevo grupo que formó de la clase 73.
Bricia Miranda (Class 73) inmediatamente supo que quería compartir lo que aprendió en la clase con su iglesia. Ella organizó una serie de demostraciones y presentaciones a las que se unieron varios de sus compañeros de clase. También tiene talento para la reutilización creativa y está organizando algunos talleres para la comunidad.
Lupe Gomez (Class 73) habló con una vecina y le ayudó a clasificar las cosas que tiene en su casa para ayudarle a que se recicle lo que se puede reciclar y comenzar a hacer la composta y guardar la ropa para un evento de intercambio. Ella tambien conecto la comida desde Oregon Food Bank a una escuela. Ella también conectó dos proyectos muy importantes en la comunidad, recuperando los desechos de comida el día en que el Oregon Food Bank reparte comida para ponerlo en el jardín comunitario de Adelante Empresas Agricultura Sostenible.
Conservation news
Join Us Thursday Night
Five artists—Vanessa Calvert, Jeremy Okai Davis, Asa Mease, Miel-Margarita Paredes, and Lauren Prado—will show collections of upcycled art created from materials salvaged from the Metro Transfer Station (aka, "the dump").
6pm – 9pm
August 1
Lovejoy Square
1313 NW Kearney St
Portland
Sponsored by crackedpots, Metro, and Recology, GLEAN is a juried art program that taps into the creativity of artists to inspire people to think about their consumption habits, the waste they generate and the resources they throw away.
Metro Council Advisory Body
Are you passionate about equity, health and the environment? Apply to serve on a new Metro Council advisory body to guide implementation of the region’s 2030 Regional Waste Plan!
Participation counts for Master Recycler hours!
Responsibilities:
meet for two hours every one to two months over a two-year term.
provide input on legislative and administrative actions that the Metro Council or Chief Operating Officer will consider related to implementing the 2030 Regional Waste Plan
provide input to staff on development of policies, programs and projects to implement actions in the Plan
review and provide input on the region’s effectiveness in implementing the Plan
Community members will be financially compensated for their time.
A couple of examples of items the Committee will discuss and weigh in on during the first year:
Establishing standards to help ensure that recycling collection services for multifamily residents across the region are strong, truly accessible and consistent across the region
Changes to all elements (collection, processing, marketing, public oversight) of our recycling system to make it more resilient over the long term
One position on the 13-member committee is reserved for an individual representing the interests of environmental or health advocates. The balance of the committee’s membership will consist of three individuals representing the interests of communities of color and other historically marginalized groups, five local government staff, one user of the solid waste system, one solid waste industry representative, one employee of the Oregon Dept. of Environmental Quality and a Metro staff person as chair.
Apply to serve on the committee and share this opportunity with your network. Deadline August 9, 2019
Application form to print and send in.
Application form you can fill out and email.
Contact: Matt Korot, 503-797-1760, matt.korot@oregonmetro.gov.
Metro Community Enhancement Grants
2020 METRO CENTRAL ENHANCEMENT GRANTS INFO SESSION
Metro is now accepting applications for grants to finance neighborhood based programs in Northwest Portland near the Metro Central Transfer Station. Funded by a surcharge on waste at the Metro Central Transfer Station, Metro Central Enhancement Grants benefit residents and workers in the neighborhoods of Forest Park, Cathedral Park and Linnton; the Northwest District Association, the Northwest Industrial Area and an area directly adjacent to the St. Johns Bridge.
For the current 2019 grant cycle, over $296,000 were made available in grants through community enhancement fees collected at the Metro Central transfer station.
Those interested in applying for the up and coming 2020 grant cycle can attend an informational session on Tuesday, August 13th from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in conference rooms 370A & 370B at the Metro Regional Center, 600 NE Grand Ave.
· Applications and are due by midnight, Friday, September 13, 2019 via ZoomGrants. Visit our website to learn more about the Metro Central Enhancement Grant program.
· Optional grant info workshop: Tuesday, Aug. 13, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Metro Regional Center, 600 NE Grand Ave., room 370 A & B.
Metro encourages applications for projects with an equity lens that support people of color, immigrants, elders, youth, those with disabilities, low-income residents and other underrepresented groups. For more information on Metro’s strategic plan to advance racial equity, diversity and inclusion, click here.
Questions? Contact Eric Crandall at 503-797-1662 or Eric.Crandall@oregonmetro.gov.
Translation and interpretive services are available upon request at no cost to you.
DEQ Materials Management Grants Open 2019
The Department of Environmental Quality’s Materials Management Program funds projects on a yearly basis that support Oregon’s 2050 Vision for materials management. Since 1991, DEQ has awarded over $9 million in materials management grants. Grants are for projects that reduce impacts across the full cycle of materials and products. The lifecycle of materials and products includes product design, raw material extraction, manufacturing, transport, consumption, use, reuse, repair, recovery through recycling, composting or anaerobic digestion, and disposal.
The 2019 Materials Management Grants are now open. Deadline Oct. 4, 2019 at 11:59 p.m. PST.