Sunday, September 23, 2012

Volunteer with Trash to Treasure

Trash to Treasure is an all-volunteer organization. We  are always in need of volunteers to help run our organization

Besides the satisfaction of helping a grass roots organization, volunteering can build resumes, create connections, and inspire creativity.

Daily Operations

Our primary need is for people to run our daily operations on Fridays and Saturdays.  You will be responsible for greeting members, explaining how the center works, signing up new members, taking in donations, and placing materials on the shelves.

There is a great satisfaction in interacting with people who desperately need our materials.

Here are examples of comments from one our volunteers:
 It was great to talk to so many people that came in.  Great projects are being done from all that they get at T2T - networking happened big time! 

One of the benefits of volunteering is the opportunity the get first crack at our best donations that we receive when we are open.

This is also a great opportunity for those needing volunteer hours.

Contact us if interested.

 Other Activities

We also need help from talented people who skills in activities like:

Fund Raising
Email, Social Networking
Organizing Volunteers
Web site development
Event Planning and Organizing

Or you can tell us what you are good at and how it can help our organization.  We look forward to hearing from you.  Call 888-828-8242 or email us. 

Our success depends on people like you.

ANNOUNCING NEW BENEFIT-EARN MEMBERSHIP

You can now earn a membership to Trash to Treasure.  Use the membership for yourself or give it to someone else.

Here are the details:


EARN YOUR MEMBERSHIP BY VOLUNTEERING!
6 shifts = ONE FULL MEMBERSHIP valued at $60

1 full SHIFT =     Fridays 2-7
1/2 SHIFT=          Saturday 10-2 or 2-5:30
1 full SHIFT+    Saturday 10- 5:30

We made our decisions on the shifts based on Fridays being a little quieter. Because Saturday is a 7.5 hour day, we have provided the opportunity for split schedule to do only 1/2 the day. If someone wants to commit to the entire day, we give them an extra .5 for the extra time.

Shifts can be scheduled as frequently as desired, and membership is awarded at the completion of six shifts.  Current members are encouraged to start now to earn membership credits that can earn a membership by renewal time.
 






Friday, September 21, 2012

BetterWorld Books Metrics

Check out our metrics from Better World Books in the past year.  Through our partnership we were able to reuse or recycle 294 books saving 4 trees, 3,257 gallons of water, and 631 pounds of greenhouse gases.

How can you help?  Bring us your books you no longer want.  We'll see if Better World is interested.  Buying books?  Go to the link on our home page to go to Better World and we will get a commission.





Environmental Metrics










Account
End Destination of Book
Total Books ReUsed or Recycled
Books (lbs)
Trees
Water (g)
Green-house Gases (lbs)
Landfill Space (cu yd)
Electricity (kwh)
Trash to Treasure Creative Reuse Center
 
294
401
4
3,257
631
 
975
 
Recycled
80
109
1
464
168
 
259
 
Reused
214
292
3
2,793
463
 
716


EXPLANATION OF DATA VALUES


REUSED BOOKS – This category is made up of the sum of books sold and donated. The reuse of these books is considered waste prevention. Reducing the volume of waste we create results in limiting the environmental impact of disposal or recycling¹.

RECYCLED BOOKS – Books we deem unsalable and not appropriate for donation to our participating literacy partners. Recycling books is termed waste reduction¹. Our recyclers report that the efficiency of recycling a book yields 97% of that book as usable fiber.

POUNDS OF BOOKS – The average weight of the outbound books that Better World Books has processed is 1.37 pounds. This average weight is multiplied by the number of books categorized as ReUsed. Recycled books are multiplied by the efficiency rating of generating recycled fiber (see Usable Fiber below).

TREES – The number of typical trees assumes a mix of hardwoods and softwoods 6-8inches in diameter and 40feet tall. The number of trees saved per ton of 100% recycled fiber produced is twenty four².

WATER (g) - There are 8,750 gallons of water saved per ton of paper produced when comparing 100% forest fiber sources to 100% postconsumer fiber².

METHANE & GREENHOUSE GASES (lbs) – Landfilling produces .725 pounds of methane per book³. One way of measuring the impact of greenhouse gases is by assigning them a Global Warming Potential (GWP). The concept of a global warming potential (GWP) was developed to compare the ability of each greenhouse gas to trap heat in the atmosphere relative to another gas. The definition of a GWP for a particular greenhouse gas is the ratio of heat trapped by one unit mass of the greenhouse gas to that of one unit mass of CO2 over a specified time period*. Methane has a GWP of 25 which makes this particular emission a greater cause for concern than CO2. The total greenhouses gases, including Methane saved in production of one ton of paper from 100% postconsumer fiber versus 100% forest fiber sources is 2108 pounds²

LANDFILL SPACE (cu yd) – 1 ton of books takes up 3.3 cubic yards of space in a landfill². The total pounds divided by 2000 equals total tons. Tonnage multiplied by 3.3 cubic yards and multiplied again by the 97% efficiency rating of postconsumer content paper yields the total cubic yards of space conserved.

Kwhs – There are 4893 Kilowatt Hours of electricity saved per ton of paper produced when comparing 100% forest fiber sources to 100% postconsumer fiber². The conversion factor utilized was 1 Btu = 0.00029307108333 kilowatt hour.

Tons of Usable Fiber – Our recyclers report that 97% of the books that we send are turned into usable fiber. This 3% of refuse is used in calculation of any pertinent metrics. The total pounds of Recycled books divided by 2000 yield the total tonnage of usable fiber.

____________________________________________________________________________________

1. Environmental Protection Agency. Pollution Prevention Act of 1990. Retrieved October 27, 2008 from http://www.ofee.gov.

2. Environmental impact estimates were made using the Environmental Defense Fund Paper Calculator. For more information visit http://www.papercalculator.org

3. Borealis Centre for Trade Environment and Trade Research. Findings from the U.S. Book Industry: Environmental Trends and Climate Impacts. Retrieved July 10, 2008, from http://www.greenpressinitiative.org/documents/trends_summary.pdf.

*Environmental Protection Agency. High Global Warming Potential (GWP) Gases. [Online] Retrieved October 28, 2007 from http://www.epa.gov/highgwp/scientific.html"

Saturday, September 8, 2012

T2T to Participate in 5th Annual Craft & Outreach Fair 12/8/12

5th Annual Craft & Outreach Fair 12/8/12

Lauderdale By The Sea - - - - The Community Church of Lauderdale-By-The-Sea at 4433 Bougainvillea Drive would like the invite the public to their 5th Annual Craft & Outreach Fair.

The event will be held on Saturday, December 8th, 2012 – 9:00 am to 1:00 pm. Booths
will feature handmade items, including: knitted items, quilts, wood crafts, flower arrangements, holiday crafts, candles, photography, art, children's crafts, ceramics, etc. and there will be a bake sale in support of the church’s food pantry benefiting the homeless and underprivileged.

I have hosted T2T's booth for several years to display recycled and repurposed items. Projects this year will include repurposed light bulbs and greeting cards. Currently, I am looking for cardstock to use in recycling the fronts of old cards. I could also use greeting card-sized envelopes.  Shown below, reusable gift bags handmade with yarn donated to T2T.

Please save the date, 12/8, and help contribute to our presentation. Thanks,
Leona McAndrews