Turning Trash into Cash: A Community Beautification Project

March 30 at 3:00 EST
Presenter: Eve Shafi

Cost: $25 (free for HandsOn affiliates and members - Contact for discount code)

Click here for full details and to register.

Ever wondered how to lead a neighborhood clean up? Come hear from HandsOn expert Eve Shafi, Director of Projects and Partnerships with HandsOn Frederick County, to learn how to mobilize and lead a county wide beautification day that also raises money for local nonprofits. Similar to a walk-a-thon, The Big Sweep participants collect donations and sponsorships for picking up trash on roads, waterways and parks throughout the County. In 2010, over 1,000 volunteers and 60 service leaders picked up over 13 tons of trash and recyclables and 344 tires and raised over $47,000 for nonprofits, school clubs, churches etc.

"Freecycle" Your Materials

Call it a "green" movement, organization, or whatever you want to call it, Freecycle is something to consider in joining if you hate to fill the landfills because those things may still be usable or someone else could benefit from them. According to Freecycle's website: "It's a grassroots and entirely nonprofit movement of people who are giving (& getting) stuff for free in their own towns. It's all about reuse and keeping good stuff out of landfills."

In other words, Freecycle is not a charity to help the less fortunate, but to pollute the Earth less which is important for generations to come. I think it is a neat concept because it shows that we as individuals or as a collective group can help improve the Earth in different ways.

There are over 4,000 Freecycle groups with more than 4 million members worldwide. You do not join a general international group. What you do is find your own town or county, and sign up at the local level. I had learned about this organization from a friend who is an avid user of Freecycle, so I assigned up, I will be sure to write a post about my experience in the near future.