Alderman Lyda Krewson sent the January 2013 issue of Blue Bin News, below, a publication of the City of St. Louis Refuse Division-Recycling Program, specifically for the photo on page two. As is often the case, what started as a simple post has led to a broader discussion. Read on…
It's heart-warming to see the city's street sweeper brushes put to a great new use, above. Have you noticed, as we have, that 75% or more of our household trash goes into the recycling bin? It's mind-boggling to think how much went into the landfill for the past decades before this effort was launched.
One of my hair-brained schemes has been to find an abandoned piece of property in the neighborhood and turn it into an artful re-purposing center for the CWE. Picture an outdoor area where recycled objects could be turned into art and household items from renovation projects could be reused or re-purposed.
I recently had coffee with neighbor Hannah Roth, who is on the Architecture faculty at Washington University, to discuss this idea. Hannah has reams of information about the recycling business, which is indeed a big deal and crucial to our future. Somewhat related to the subject at hand, Hannah told me about Washington University's Land Lab Competition in which 48 teams are working on imagining uses for vacant land in St. Louis. The winner, to be announced in April, will get a 2-year lot lease and $5000 in seed money to start the project.
Thanks to Lyda for bringing Blue Bin News to my attention, and to you for reading my thoughts on recycling. The truth is that I am short on time and even shorter on resources, so if anyone wants to pick up the re-purposing idea and run with it…go for it!