New Garden Friends Meeting along with most congregations stopped foam recycling during COVID-19. But we are close to having a local drop-off site in Greensboro. Located at the Tiny House Recycling Center at 1310 W. Gate City Boulevard, the site will be equipped with a high-speed densifier and two large collection bins. For everyone involved in recycling foam to keep it out of the landfill, we will no longer need to haul our foam cups, trays, clam-shells and packages to Dart in Randleman. It could not come soon enough as many find their homes filling up with take-out containers.
Environmental Stewardship Greensboro, working in partnership with Greensboro Beautiful, Emerging Ecology, and Tiny House, secured a grant of $22,000 from the Foodservice Packaging Institute. In September Greensboro Beautiful committed $18,000 toward the $44,000 budget needed to equip the drop-off site. With additional support from foam recycling enthusiasts in congregations, last week we ordered the densifier and expect it to be installed on November 12. Plans now call for a training session for Tiny House staff and ESG volunteers on how to run the densifier at 12:00 noon on November 12. The drop-off site should be ready to receive foam from ESG related congregations by late November.
The project still needs about $500 to help pay for signage and publicity for the drop-off site prior to opening to the public. You can contribute through the website of Emerging Ecology, fiscal agent for the project. https://tinyurl.com/yygfu325 Contact Bill McNeil at [email protected] if you want to participate in the November 12 training session or if you have questions about re-starting foam recycling efforts. Thanks for keeping engaged in practicing good stewardship.