Trash for Peace transforms ‘garbage’

You’ve heard the phrase “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure,” right?

In the case of Trash for Peace, it’s most certainly true.

On Tuesday, Nov. 19, EcoReps—a group of students promoting environmentally responsible behavior on campus—teamed up with a local nonprofit, Trash for Peace, to demonstrate three do-it-yourself, eco-friendly and waste-reducing projects built from “trash.”

Landru Parker, a third-year EcoRep, said the project showcased sustainable responsibility in action.

“It’s for the community, by the community. Community waste becomes community art by making it a community resource,” Parker said.

One group made recycling bins for plastic bottles—made out of plastic bottles—showing what is recyclable and what is not; if you don’t see it on these bins, don’t drop it in.

The second group built a table out of bottle caps and the inside part of a bicycle tire frame.

Another group made a bulletin board out of used wine corks.

“This corkboard is literally made from recycled and reclaimed wine corks. Every material here has been recycled or reclaimed,” Parker said.

Trash for Peace was started by graduate assistant Laura Kutner in 2010, inspired by her work in the Peace Corps.

“We wanted to continue to educate people on trash and how we need to reduce, reuse and, as a last resort, recycle. We’re trying to send out an educational message with eco-art as function art. Art that’s created from trash will serve as a constant reminder to people about trash and recycling,” Kutner said.

She started with the help of friends who provided legal and website design services. Trash for Peace is completely volunteer-based, and they sell their bins to businesses and schools.

“It’s important to know that waste does go somewhere, and it does have negative impacts on our environment. We’re trying to find…creative methods to recycle and reuse our trash,” Kutner said.

Jennie Sharp, the residence life liaison for the Sustainability Leadership Center, explained that the event was organized to fulfill needs on campus, but was also meant to educate.

“We identified needs that we saw here. The first one is at the Meetro Cafe, where they actually approached Trash for Peace about needing two tables. The second was that the EcoReps wanted to have a bulletin board in the Broadway Housing Building, to post EcoRep related materials. The third need was the recycle bin: It is built to demonstrate what types of plastic can be recycled.”

The strategy was to draw students’ attention as they passed by.

“One thing that people have found is that visuals, instead of words, are more effective in getting people to recycle…on campus, our signage has fewer words and more images,” Sharp said.

“This is an educational process,” EcoRep Deven McCanna said. “What we’re doing is not recycling; it’s reuse. What is appealing about this is that we’re finding a productive use for things that are no longer useful. We’re repurposing previously used materials to send that ongoing message and create awareness. This bin—you see it and you know where your trash is going to go. Trash for Peace is really all about, ‘Hey, be aware of what you recycle and throw away.’”

“EcoReps is an inclusive community that is promoting sustainability in the residence halls on campus. We’re also about creating welcoming communities to live in,” Sharp said. “We want to create spaces where people can learn and interact together and make a difference.”