Micro Recycling Network: Captain Ecology

Sunday, October 23, 2011

Captain Ecology

I’m proud to announce that the first person to endorse the Micro Recycling Network is Captain Ecology. I’ve had the honor and pleasure of working with the Captain in the past. Several years ago I published a bicycle newspaper in Southern California and Captain Ecology was a frequent contributor. His bicycle is his only form of transportation as he travels across the country looking for ways to improve the environment. He will be checking in with the Network from time to time with comments and ideas. He is a powerful ally, and we’re privileged to have him on board.

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What is Micro Recycling?

Micro Recycling means removing items from the recycling and trash barrels that require special handling. People frequently throw recyclable items into garbage bins. And they throw items into recycling bins that need to be recycled separately. The above photo illustrates several of these items. They include clothing, electronics, Styrofoam, batteries, plastic bags, food and plastic lids. It’s important that we find ways to remove these types of materials from the bins before they’re picked up by the trash haulers and brought to landfills.

About this blog . . .

The goal of the Micro Recycling Network can be summed up in one word: solutions. Our landfills are loaded with millions of tons of items that could easily have been removed from the trash, and been effectively recycled and/or reused. We will be reporting on concepts and solutions dealing with Micro Recycling. Our first project was to begin the process of recovering plastic lids from apartment buildings and converting them into oil. We will introduce you to many other people and companies that are dedicated to improving our recycling techniques in future posts. Contact: Don McCall, ibnpdx@hotmail.com

Volunteer Profile

Apartment residents frequently discard items that can be reused. Sometimes it’s because they’re moving and won’t have enough space in the new apartment. On other occasions, the resident is upgrading an appliance, and they drop the old model in the trash room. If the apartment building takes the time to remove reusable items from the trash, they have a hard time dealing with them. That’s where a volunteer can be very helpful. We would like to introduce you to a micro recycling volunteer: Tim Mowrey. At my building, when I find reusable items in the trash, I call Tim. He comes to the rescue and takes everything to the Union Gospel Mission Thrift Store. On a recent pickup, he salvaged a working TV with remote, several bags of clothing, and a box of very nice pots and pans. In the past couple of years, he has rescued hundreds of items from the landfill.