Do More with Less

Prints by Ned Westover available at mecca

It’s that time of the year again — the holidays. And many companies are sending out one message: Buy! Consume! Waste! But Master Recycler Coordinator Kelly Bell wants you to hear a different message: Pause.

Since December 2007, Bell has worked to educate the community about ways to reduce waste throughout the year, but especially between America Recycles Day (Nov. 15) and New Year’s Day. Although Lane County had the highest waste recovery rate in Oregon last year at more than 61 percent, Bell believes we can do even more. She wants people to pause and think about what is actually important during the season. Most people think of memories with loved ones, she says, not material gifts.

Not only does conventional gift-giving stress our natural resources and skew our perception of the holiday season, Bell says, it can take a toll on finances as well.

“We have become habituated to the fact that very expensive things will fail, and we accept it,” Bell says about a culture that is used to replacing expensive things far too often. Lane County Waste Reduction Specialist Sarah Grimm has a similar perception. “Our disposable society seems to pull us away from the easy, simple steps that often bring more meaning or value to our everyday life and connect us again,” Grimm says. Grimm has been a Master Recycler for more than 20 years and is working with NextStep Recycling on the Repair 2 Reuse program to encourage the community to repair items before trashing or recycling them. She believes in the new message that Bell is bringing to the Waste-Free Holiday Campaign.

This campaign sends messages throughout the community via brochures and press releases about how to reduce waste during the holidays. Bell is teaming with recycling organizations in the area to help highlight examples of waste-free living that are easy for anyone in the community. These include holiday events and opportunities for alternative ways to reuse or recycle.

To reduce the impact of gift giving, the campaign is promoting gifts in a jar. Organizations like Material Exchange Center for the Community Arts (MECCA) are a perfect place to find recyclable and reusable craft supplies for projects like this. Grimm says that MECCA is also a great place for greeting cards that can be folded into small gift boxes or fabric scraps for sewing together your own gift bags. MECCA will host Create Something Day noon to 5 pm Friday, Nov. 29, at 449 Willamette St., where community members can create gifts with artists and other creative individuals at four different stations. Executive Director Heather Campbell calls this their “greener alternative to Black Friday.” Campbell’s favorite gift-wrapping ideas are using maps and old wallpaper, both easy to find at MECCA.

Grimm’s new favorite idea is cleaning chip bags and turning them inside-out for a shiny gift bag.

But gifts aren’t the only things that typically generate waste during the holidays. NextStep Recycling collects strands of Christmas lights that are often thrown into landfills, Facilities Manager Roy Nelson says. Over a three-year period at NextStep, he’s seen an increase in the turnover of electronics that were purchased with a short life span during the holidays. NextStep receives electronics and many household items from residential customers and is able to fix reusable materials and resell them in their store or place many back into the community so they can get more use.

Whether you’re making thoughtful gifts from reusable goods, giving an experience or donation instead of a material item as a gift or trying to repair and reuse items before wasting them, remember to pause this holiday season and consider the impact of your decisions.

A Note From the Publisher

Dear Readers,

The last two years have been some of the hardest in Eugene Weekly’s 43 years. There were moments when keeping the paper alive felt uncertain. And yet, here we are — still publishing, still investigating, still showing up every week.

That’s because of you!

Not just because of financial support (though that matters enormously), but because of the emails, notes, conversations, encouragement and ideas you shared along the way. You reminded us why this paper exists and who it’s for.

Listening to readers has always been at the heart of Eugene Weekly. This year, that meant launching our popular weekly Activist Alert column, after many of you told us there was no single, reliable place to find information about rallies, meetings and ways to get involved. You asked. We responded.

We’ve also continued to deepen the coverage that sets Eugene Weekly apart, including our in-depth reporting on local real estate development through Bricks & Mortar — digging into what’s being built, who’s behind it and how those decisions shape our community.

And, of course, we’ve continued to bring you the stories and features many of you depend on: investigations and local government reporting, arts and culture coverage, sudoku and crossword puzzles, Savage Love, and our extensive community events calendar. We feature award-winning stories by University of Oregon student reporters getting real world journalism experience. All free. In print and online.

None of this happens by accident. It happens because readers step up and say: this matters.

As we head into a new year, please consider supporting Eugene Weekly if you’re able. Every dollar helps keep us digging, questioning, celebrating — and yes, occasionally annoying exactly the right people. We consider that a public service.

Thank you for standing with us!