Urban Waste Reclamation Project

Getting a jump on Dumpster Diving season 2015!

2015-05-06T18:49:00.000-04:00

It's finals week here in B-town and that means all of the students will soon be packing up and heading out of our little town. It also means that these wasteful new Zombies will be throwing out all of the stuff that they don't want to, or simply can't, take home into our local dumpsters. For punks and people like me, it also means a gold mine of opportunity for reclaiming, reusing, recycling, and reselling of all of kid's trash!
With the official dumpster diving season still a week away, I still managed to make off with a couple of good hauls over the past couple of days while out on my morning bike ride.

This was just from this morning's finds!

The fully functioning notebook was the most exciting find thus far. Looks like it is going to be a bountiful harvest this season!

This Dumpster season is officially closed.

2014-08-17T18:07:00.003-04:00

Dirty blue dumpster (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

As the students roll back in for the 2014-2015 tour of duty, and the last of the Summer students head off into the mysterious futures of their lives, the alley ways and dumpsters here in B-town yield the last of this years crop consisting of discarded items from these young people's lives. Everything from electronics to household cleaning supplies can be plucked from the depths of the dumpsters here in B-town (Bloomington, IN.). This is fortunate for my GF and myself considering I just recently signed the lease on a little flat on 4th street and survive on a budget that is miles below the poverty line. Here are just a few of the things worth mentioning that I brought up during this seasons dives into the bowels of this city's dumpsters.

This booming little speaker. It has Bluetooth capabilities that make it a wireless. It is perfectly functional and surprisingly loud! They list for $50ish online. The GF loves it!

This awesome little makeup box that I am going to re-purpose as my art/paint box.

Oh and some batteries,razors and other assorted crap including makeup that might come in handy this Halloween.

Some Whal sheers for DIY haircuts.

A hideous cross stitched deer, some DVDs of movies that I have already seen and some music that I have never heard.

Some classic Nintendo64 game cartridges including Paper Mario!

This cute little step stool...

...that folds up and tucks away which is great because my flat is tiny!

Brand new Felt handlebars!

FRISBEES!

This little white plastic end table.

Even our dishes where from the trash!

But this might be this year's strangest dumpster score of all.

A "Bat Papi" postcard created by Mr. Brainwash!

Thank you oh Dumpster Gods for your generous bounty, I look forward to next spring when once again the students fill the trash up with treasures.

Trash Life Baby!.

2014-08-03T19:28:00.001-04:00

I have been pedaling and patrolling the back alleys of B-town in search of that trash that could be my treasure. Here are some of the more interesting items that were rescued from the landfill.

A weird bird creature made from wire and beer bottle caps.

This cool little clay play set!

This painting on canvas with a working clock that I will repaint into one of my very own masterpieces!

Bling-bling for any room!

A very strange and eclectic assortment of flags found together. Must be representing the East Coast tribe of Italian, Mexican and Redneck. Go figure.

Nice little flexible keyboard.

A cupboard full of sustenance!

Free laundry detergent anyone?

These ink cartridges are still sealed in the pack.

This Under Armour jacket in the protective back bag.

Halloween makeup!

This protective i-phone case.

New clothing with tags still attached.

This nifty speaker that serves as my entertainment center when I plug it into my Droid.

This brand new Tiger Concept watch still in box!

This nifty Fez!

All and all the "Dumpster Gods" have been smiling upon me this summer. I will give a lot of these finds away. I might sell some things to make some $$$. Mostly, I just love nothing more than pedaling around a college town and shopping in the dumpsters!

Hello Dumpster.

2014-08-01T15:21:00.000-04:00

I saw these awesome little house slippers sticking out of the dumpster the other day and I just had to pull my bike over and fish them out. Nothing wrong with them that a little visit to the local laundry can't fix. I knew just the person who would appreciate them and am happy to say that they have a new home.

Dumpster Finds!

2014-07-27T08:54:00.004-04:00

I went out pedaling the alleys of B-town yesterday morning and this is what I found!

This cool little stash box!

An assortment of jewelery!

Including this little bracelet...

...and this sweet glass and hemp piece.

I also found this great stash sak!

No stash in it though.

Unless you count this little wooden hitter as a stash.

There were some bar tools that I figured could be re-purposed as craft tools.

Speaking of crafts, I also found an assortment of stickers, markers, binders, and other art supplies.

There was this XL red hoodie!

I found this Polo cap that should go well with the Hoodie,

and this first aid kit!

There was also this purple scarf, an unopened box of candy and some nerd glasses!

Then there was this painting which I will repaint over, and this interesting looking wall paper

that I will use in some art project or another.

Then there was this nifty little collapsible drinking cup!

This beautiful big scarf!

This small glass piece.

Then I came across these vintage Gucci Sunglasses!

These little babies are listed from $139.00 - $250.00 online.

http://www.buzzbeauty.com/html/sunglasses/gucci

http://www.asunglass.com/product_info

Not a bad haul for just pedaling through the alleys for an hour or so!

Calling All Dumpster Divers (reblogged)

2014-07-25T15:14:00.001-04:00

Dirty blue dumpster (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Calling All Dumpster Divers

By Sarah Ostaszewski

Posted April 17, 2014

Where Have All The Divers Gone?

After learning about dumpster diving practices across the country, I wanted to connect with divers in my own town.
My search began as conversations with students at Indiana University. I was referred to the Bloomington co-ops, where I might find a few residents who have some diving experience.
Kelly and Sandra did not know any divers personally, but Sandra admitted to occasional dumpster diving as well as frequent foraging.
Following their advice, I biked to the co-ops and found only two residents — neither had ever gone dumpster diving. One resident directed me towards another co-op, where I might find a dumpster diver or two (her co-op was “not that hardcore”). Unfortunately, no one from that co-op was home.
Disappointment growing, I approached the fourth and final co-op, catching a resident just as she was exiting the house. After explaining my intentions, she replied that yes, in fact, she did know someone. This someone, named Tim, was unfortunately not home at the moment, but I was welcome to email him. I did email later, but he did not reply.
I next brought up dumpsters with a friend, Neil, whose house neighbors one of the co-ops. After hearing inquiries about the elusive dumpster divers, he confessed to never seeing one but promised to keep an eye out.
Rachel, a student from Indiana University’s anthropology department, knew not one but two dumpster divers, Matt and Abby. Rachel had once eaten a dessert baked by these friends containing pineapple from a dumpster, but admitted nervousness has kept her out of dumpsters herself.
Two weeks after my initial questions about her dumpster diver friends, however, still no contact. Rachel had breached the topic with Matt, but she learned that he only went dumpster diving with an outsider man, upon whose name or identity was never elaborated.
Emily, a fine arts student, likewise had known dumpster divers, but they had all moved out of town within the past year.
There seemed to be a pattern emerging. Dumpster divers are indeed a secretive bunch.
Nearly every individual I had spoken with seemed to know of someone who actually dumpster dived, but not one individual could initiate direct contact with a dumpster diver. Moreover, no one I spoke to had actually gone dumpster diving themselves, save for one graduate student.
Where, exactly, was this food subculture and who was truly involved?

Success Story

Keeping eyes and ears open, I finally came into contact with a dumpster diver, one who had gone out of necessity.

READ MORE HERE!

Crushing Cans 4 Cash!

2012-10-31T09:40:00.001-04:00

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

No, we are NOT drinking that crap! We did a little recycling recently and had to condense our haul for transport to the recycling facility...

Get Monsanto Out of your bodies!

2012-03-24T10:15:00.001-04:00

Watching the early starts pushing up through the soil around here has given rise to a renewed sense of vitality and hope. Let's face it, in a world that produces so much excess and waste while destroying the very ecosystems and the global environment that enable and support life itself like some insane cannibalistic horde, where corporations are given more human rights than humans are, where profit comes first and is held in esteem way higher than the well being of the people, it is often hard to hold on to any sense of hope or feeling of being a vital part of the world around you.

We live in a strange world folks. A world where big global corporations are genetically mutating our food through GMOs (Genetically Modified Organisms) despite the fact that doing so has been scientifically and medically proven to cause harmful and often fatal mutations in humans.

Early this spring, while the world was distracted by Egypt’s uprising, President Barack Obama pushed the Secretary of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Agriculture to deregulate genetically engineered alfalfa and sugar beets in the United States. The USDA came through as he directed, totally deregulating these Monsanto-patented genes in early February.
In so doing, Obama and the USDA have chosen to override and ignore decisions and injunctions made by the U.S. Supreme Court that banned planting of genetically engineered alfalfa and sugar beets without consideration of the Environmental Impact Assessments, which showed high risks to organic and conventional (chemical) farmers.
So how does this affect you and me? Neither of us remembers seeing alfalfa or sugar beets on our breakfast table or even on our Seder table. Or do we?
Sugar beets provide over 50 percent of the sugar Americans use in their coffee, cereals, and desserts. For the moment, let’s not focus on the fact that sugar beets can cross-pollinate with red beets and make our borscht genetically modified.
Alfalfa reaches our tables within milk, cream, butter, and meat, as it is used as a major animal feed in the dairy industry. It is also used to enrich soils in organic farming.

In an interview with the True Food Foundation, Suzuki said anyone who claims genetically engineered food is perfectly safe is “either unbelievably stupid, or deliberately lying,”

With GM foods, concerns have been raised about possible effects on stomach bacteria and resistance to antibiotics, as well as their role in allergic reactions. We also need to understand more about their impact on other plants and animals.

Like Dr. Suzuki, I think it’s worthwhile to acknowledge that we are also guinea pigs in another big experiment. Ours is the first generation to ever eat food that has been intentionally sprayed with poison before being eaten. While it may be argued that we need greater quantities to “feed the world,” the truth is that we’ve lost quality, we’ve lost fertility in humans and in the soil, and our health care budgets are indicative of the effects of this path.

Maria Rodale’s book Organic Manifesto cites shocking studies that make a strong case against chemical farming, while at the same time highlighting the positive nutritional and environmental benefits of organic farming. And according to a 2009 report from the UN Environmental Program, organic farming may be the only way we can solve the growing problem of hunger in the developing countries. Yes, organic farms can feed the world, and do it sustainably.
So why is Obama favoring Monsanto? This is the company responsible for more than fifty uncontrolled or abandoned places where hazardous waste is located (“Superfund sites” according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Superfund sites). We also have Monsanto to thank for Agent Orange, PCBs, DDT, and more.
Monsanto’s genetically modified seeds already dominate the entire U.S. corn, soy, canola, and cotton crops. About 93 percent of soy, 86 percent of corn, 93 percent of cotton, and 93 percent of canola seed planted in the United States in 2010 were genetically engineered. Phil Angell, Monsanto’s director of corporate communications, explained the company’s regulatory philosophy thus: “Monsanto should not have to vouchsafe the safety of biotech food. Our interest is in selling as much of it as possible. Assuring its safety is FDA’s job.”
To assure the Food and Drug Administration and USDA do not regulate genetically engineered crops, biotech has spent more than half a billion dollars lobbying Congress since 1999.
If we follow the “historical” pattern of genetically engineered corn, soy, cotton, and canola, we will likely soon see engineered alfalfa and sugar beets, with their wind- and bee-carried pollen, completely taking over the entire seed industry for those crops. This contamination would disallow farmers’ ancient practice of keeping and breeding seeds from year to year, and drive up expenses for all farmers. This is nothing new from the American government, which has historically supported policies favoring the consolidation of U.S. seed ownership in the hands of a few major corporations.

Does Monsanto know what it is doing? Do, we, the public have all the facts? Is genetically modified food safe? Are food products which contain it clearly labelled? Is Monsanto, knowingly or unknowingly, destroying the biosphere? Is genetically modified produce a health hazard? For those who do not wish to get scared, please do not read on.
Monsanto. Haven’t we heard that name before? Yes, do you remember who created Agent Orange? Do you remember who created DDT? Do you remember who created Aspartame?
If we are what we eat, then we have a right to know the answers to these questions. And there are more. Why are cancers of the digestive system rising exponentially? Let us start with Monsanto’s wonderful herbicide, Roundup.
The journal Current Microbiology has just released a report (1) on a substance called Glyphosate, created by Monsanto in the 1970s and used in Roundup. The report is shocking. It reveals that studies prove that Glyphosate is altering and destroying the micro-organisms in the soil, which has a potential effect upon the health of crops growing in it.
So devastating are the effects, according to the report, that some bacteria have disappeared from certain areas where Roundup was used to spray vast areas of land and apart from this, use of the product has spurred the appearance of superweeds, meaning that in turn farmers have to use greater and greater concentrations of the product. The soil is as a result being rendered barren for future generations.
Far more worrying are fears that the use of this herbicide is killing organisms whose benefit on a planetary scale has not yet been fully investigated and whose elimination from the ecological chain may have very serious consequences.
But this is just the tip of the iceberg. What happens to Glyphosate? It works its way down through the topsoil to the groundwater below and from there finds its way into our water supply – underground water currents and springs. This is not conjecture: virtually all rain samples tested in the USA contain Glyphosate.
What does the US Department of Agriculture do? Why, nothing! And this, despite the fact that other investigations have warned that Glyphosate can be carcinogenic, reducing fertility and increasing risk of cancer because it is genotoxic, damaging the DNA chain.

Cancer, infertility, barren land, destruction of DNA, destruction of micro-organisms which may be crucial for the planet’s ecosystem, superweeds…what else? Well it appears we have been here before. In fact, Monsanto has just agreed to pay out 93 million USD for the effects of an explosion at its plant in Nitro, West Virginia involving the herbicide 2,4,5-T which contained the toxic agent dioxin. But there are still 80,000 property damage claims against the firm.
In fact, an investigation of the Nitro Residents v. Monsanto case reveals some horrific allegations which involve contamination of the environment, cover-ups, falsification of studies…you name it. But hey, as a government contractor, Monsanto has always enjoyed government immunity in the USA.
And what was that about Monsanto not serving Genetically Engineered (GE) food in its own canteens? Well, when we take into consideration that Glyphosate destroys human kidney cells at concentrations 450 times lower than the concentration used in agricultural applications… and when we consider the very little information available on the real potential dangers lurking behind GE foodstuffs, it is hardly surprising.

Facing direct opposition from the public, biotechnology giants like Monsanto and Dow are now making a disturbing attempt to brainwash developing minds into accepting their genetically modified foods using blatant lies and propaganda. In a last ditch effort to potentially sway public opinion, the Council for Biotechnology Information (CBI) has launched the “Biotechnology Basics Activity Book” for kids. With the intent to be used by ‘agriculture and science teachers’, the activity book spreads absurd lies about GMO crops — even going as far as to say that they ‘improve our health’ and ‘help the environment’.
The book can be seen on the organization’s website, and makes it extremely apparent that it is full of misinformation and propaganda that completely ignores scientific research surrounding genetically modified organisms (GMOs). In fact, let’s examine some claims made by this book that serves as an ‘educational’ tool to be used by teachers. The first claim by the activity book is that genetically modified seeds actually grow more food than traditional seeds, and is followed by even more ridiculous statements. The activity book reads:

“Hi Kids! Welcome to the Biotechnology Basics Activity Book. This is an activity book for young people like you about biotechnology — a really neat topic…. You will see that biotechnology is being used to figure out how to: 1) grow more food; 2) help the environment; and 3) grow more nutritious food that improves our health. As you work through the puzzles in this book, you will learn more about biotechnology and all of the wonderful ways it can help people live better lives in a healthier world. Have fun!”

Disproving Monsanto’s Propaganda
According to 900 scientists, GMO crops actually do not grow more food than traditional farming practices. In fact, they are simply not an effective tool to fight starvation in any capacity, thanks to their excessive costs and immense failure to yield crops. Funded by the World Bank and United Nations, an organization was created known as the International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD). Made up of 900 scientists and researchers, the group — whose mission was to examine the issue of world hunger — found that genetically modified crops were not a meaningful solution to the problem.

Instead, the group found that the genetically modified seeds were outperformed by traditional “agro-ecological” farming practices. Therefore, to say that biotech seeds and crops produce more food than traditional agriculture is not only scientifically incorrect according to these 900 scientists, but it is an outright lie.

But what about the claim that GMOs improve our health? It turns out nothing could be farther from the truth. A prominent review of 19 studies examining the safety of GMO crops found that consumption of GMO corn or soybeans can lead to significant organ disruptions in rats and mice – particularly in the liver and kidneys. Of course the negative effects do not end there. Monsanto’s modified biopesticide, known as Bt, has been found to be killing human kidney cells in conjunction with Monsanto’s best-selling herbicide Roundup. That’s right, it exhibits direct toxicity to human cells.
Further adding to the long list of negative health consequences that go against the claim that the biotech inventions ‘improve our health’ , Monsanto’s Roundup ready crops have also been linked to mental illness, obesity, infertility, and DNA damage. Peer-reviewed research shows that Monsanto’s products are far from healthy, and to say that they actually improve our health is truly concerning when you consider the fact that children are reading this information as fact.

The fact (is) that the executive wing of government has chosen to override a recent major decision by the Supreme Court to stop all dissemination of genetically engineered alfalfa until the completion on an environmental assessment of its danger is certainly cause for questioning.
What’s going on here? Did Obama betray us? Did Obama, a man, a charismatic politician, betray the people who voted for him, whose spirits were raised high with the slogan “Yes, we can”?
Perhaps. Yet I am reminded that to run a presidential campaign requires a great deal of money. And since the Supreme Court Citizens United decision — supported by Clarence Thomas, a former attorney for Monsanto — to allow corporations the unlimited ability to anonymously fund political campaigns, it is becoming obvious that Obama owes something to many rich people.
U.S. corporations have gained inordinate power over all our politicians by manipulating the 14th Amendment to the Constitution. The amendment was adopted in 1868 to protect the rights of newly freed Blacks, yet by 1886 the Supreme Court had begun recognizing it as a protection of the rights of the “persons” called corporations — persons which do not breath, do not have consciences, and are mandated to make a profit for their shareholders.
Which group would you betray? Your funders or your fans?
When Obama cried, “Yes, we can!” he obviously was speaking for a different “we” than those who voted for him imagined.
Monsanto’s seeds are genetically engineered for use with the company’s chemical herbicide RoundUp. Last year we learned that weeds are growing resistant to RoundUp. Monsanto’s profits and stock prices began dropping.
A failed technology is now getting another chance to dance and prop up a failing corporation. Oddly, alfalfa (Arabic for “king of herbs”) does not need herbicides for more than 93 percent of its common applications. Farmers have been growing it for many centuries and know how to do so without herbicides. The push for genetically engineered alfafa is just a game move toward controlling the food supply.
After all, what will we eat when America’s family farmers are all driven off their farms and into our cities? We would then be dependent on corporate factory farms, whose managers are far from the soil and lack experience in dealing with the whims of nature and weather. We would also be dependent on oil and the prices of oil to supply us with imported food. WikiLeaks has just revealed dispatches from Saudi Arabia to the United States from 2007–9 stating that Peak Oil is happening now: reports of oil in the ground were exaggerated by 40 percent. Thus shipping prices, and agrichemical prices are soon to rise even further.
In the 1970s, the richest 1 percent of American families took in 9 percent of the nation’s total income. Today, the top 1 percent take in 23.5 percent of total income. With median workers earning less than they did thirty years ago, who will be able to afford food, let alone nourishing food?
Even in the face of these dire circumstances, however, the consciousness of humans is rising. People are increasingly demanding to know where their food comes from. People are supporting organic production even in the face of recession. People are taking up gardening and shopping at farmers markets.

So as a radical form of resistance, we PLANT FOOD AND SAVE SEED!

It's about rebel gardeners: those people who use their botanical skills to make political, economic and social statements rather than say something about new directions in decking.
They are the kind of activists who carry farming equipment not to symbolise the proletariat, but because they've got some serious hoeing to do. They're not mild-mannered; they're angry. And while they may be patient when it comes to buds flowering, when it comes to urban wastelands, unsustainable town planning, the food industry, unemployment, social exclusion and the relentless grey, grey, grey of our towns and cities they are extraordinarily feisty.

For now I shall leave you with this: the word "radical", whether you take it to mean reformist in the political sense, or unconventional in the cultural sense or just plain awesome in the 1970s teenage sense, derives from the Latin word "radix", meaning "root". Radish is also derived from radix. So gardening and revolution, not such unlikely allotment-mates after all.
Do you know a gardener, greener, community gardener or adopter of feral lands who's digging for a better society? Perhaps there's someone in your life who's on a mission to change the world one vegetable patch at a time?

The Revolution will be composted!

Sources;
http://truth-out.org/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=1400:obama-deregulates-gmo-crops-despite-supreme-court-injunction
http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/gardening-blog/2012/jan/20/radical-gardening
http://www.realnews24.com/monsanto-and-genetically-modified-crops-is-there-a-cover-up/
http://www.trueactivist.com/monsanto-biotechnology-book-for-kids-caught-brainwashing-children/

D.I.Y. repurposing trash into textiles.

2012-01-20T15:39:00.000-05:00

Image via Wikipedia
Watching this first video of a young Peruvian spinning and weaving trash makes one think of the two fold benefits of doing such. Not only is it an attractive but also a utilitarian way of recycling/reusing/repurposing old discarded plastic waste and trash, but in order to do so you must first go out and actually PICK UP THE TRASH. A concept that is so simple, yet so awesome.

Here are a couple of uses for such repurposed plastic textiles and video tutorials on how you can do it at home.

This first one is a great way to not only recycle/reuse but also a nice way to reach out and help the less fortunate in our communities. It is brought to you by Community Action of Southern Kentucky's RSVP and it shows you How to make sleeping mats for the homeless from recycled plastic bags.

This last video is from Tarrot Lady Lissa over at YouTube and it shows how she turns plastic shopping bags into "plastic yarn" and crochet them into a reusable shopping bag that you can reuse so that you never need make another one again!

I hope that these videos have inspired you as much as they did me!

SNAP gardens!

2012-01-11T19:50:00.001-05:00

Since 1973, food stamps (now known as SNAP) have allowed for the purchase of food-producing plants and seeds. However, very few people know that the choice exists when deciding how to spend SNAP benefits.

SNAP Gardens is growing awareness and working to cultivate gardening successes.

Everyone has a role to play! Are you a gardener who can help SNAP recipients learn how to grow some of their own food? Do you have land to share? Are you a farmer who wants to sell more seedlings to SNAP recipients?

Are you a SNAP recipient who is using your benefits to garden...whether it's only a basil plant or two on your windowsill or if your garden is feeding your whole family...we want to hear from you! Please get in touch at http://www.SNAPgardens.org

Let us entertain you!

2011-08-07T20:08:00.001-04:00

We have 19, that's right 19 great movies for your viewing pleasure for the ridiculously low price of just $20.00!

All of the DVD's come in their original cases and have been tested and do work.

The condition of the disc vary from "like new" to "used".

There is something here for everyone!

***

What you get:

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2 disc widescreen edition).
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (widescreen edition).
Spiderman 2 (widescreen 2 disc special edition).
Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith (widescreen 2 disc).
2 fast 2 furious (fullscreen).
The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (fullscreen).
Varsity Blues.
Rudy (special edition).
Brokeback Mountain (widescreen).
City of Angels (special edition).
Love & Basketball.
Good Will Hunting (widescreen collector's series).
Blue Crush (collector's edition).
Elizabethtown (widescreen edition).
Take Home Defensive Driving.
Swimfan.
Chasing Liberty (widescreen edition).
Freedom Writers.
The Last Kiss.

Now that is entertainment that you can't beat for less than the price of going to a movie!

***View listing here!!!***

Feeling crafty?

2011-07-26T14:23:00.001-04:00

Got a neat idea for a cool t-shirt? Well make your own with this crate full of silk-screening supplies.

We even got the paper to draw your design on! We just listed both the silk-screening supplies and this large assortment of quality art paper on freecycle.

Grab your pencils and paints and head over to freecycle to grab this stuff up!

I.U. e-waste recycling is more harm than help.

2011-07-15T15:06:00.000-04:00

Image via WikipediaApril and August mark the beginnings of the two major dumpster diving seasons here in B-town. Those are the two months when the students clear and leave four years of junk at the curb for big trash pickup. All of this “stuff” eventually would end up in our landfills contaminating our soil and environment if it were not for those of use who dumpster dive and reuse/recycle these items.

This year, however, (to my dismay and disappointment) there were an absence computers and electronics being found in the dumpsters and on the curbs of Bloomington. Had the economic hardships caused these students to actually waste less, and hold onto these items? Nope.

The reasons for there being less e-waste present in those items being discarded by students this year was not due to any sense of frugality or financial hardships, but rather it was a direct result of Indiana University offering free e-waste recycling days for the first time this year.

Electronic Waste Collection Days, a free electronic waste recycling drive hosted by IU Bloomington and IUPUI, took place in both Bloomington on April 30-May 2.

The following is an excerpt from the Indiana University Home Pages web site at… http://homepages.indiana.edu/web/page/normal/10536.html

Toxic materials are extremely common in E-waste. Lead, for example, can be found in cathode ray tubes in many televisions and computer monitors. If improperly disposed of, E-waste can cause harm to the environment beyond the negative impact of adding clutter to landfills.

"Millions of pounds of electronic waste from Indiana residents and businesses end up in landfills every year," said Kristin Hanks, an IU sustainable computing graduate assistant. "Unfortunately, most people don't know where to drop off used electronics or even what's recyclable. But I think if you give the public an opportunity to do the right thing, they will."

Sounds good and “green” doesn’t it? Until you read scroll on down the page to read the following statement.

None of the electronics will be processed for resale. Anything that could potentially contain sensitive data, such as cell phones or computers, will be shredded.

Shredded? Well, where the hell do you put the “shredded” materials at? How does “shredding” e-waste translate into recycling? And what happens to all of the toxic materials contained in the e-waste? Surely “shredding” does not make these toxins and less harmful to the environment.

Then I went on to read that “Recycling services are provided by Apple.” I smelled a strong odor in the air, and it was not the dumpsters!

So what does happen to all this “shredded” e-waste after it is donated to Indiana University and their “free e-waste recycling program”? What does Apple do with all those toxins? I did a little research and this is what I found out about Apple’s recycling program.

Apple’s recycling program, which operates in 95 percent of the countries in which it does business, takes back old computers, monitors, printers and other e-waste at no charge.

Many companies ship their e-waste overseas. Apple says it doesn’t. Its policy reads, “No waste from Apple’s U.S. recycling program is shipped outside North America. All recovered materials are processed domestically, with the exception of some commodity materials that can be recycled for future use.”

But some people think that the bit about “commodity materials” gives Apple a loophole. BAN is trying to pressure Apple and other tech companies into explicitly promising not to export hazardous e-waste to developing countries. Specifically, BAN wants these companies to sign its Manufacturer’s Commitment, a straightforward pledge not to export hazardous e-waste to developing nations, either directly or through third-party recyclers.

At press time, of the major tech companies BAN is targeting, only Sony had signed the Commitment; Apple, as well as Dell and others, had not.

Apple counters that it audits its recycling partners closely and that it does not export hazardous tech trash. Environmentalists would like to know who these partners are, but Apple and other manufacturers aren’t saying. “Most companies have not been very straightforward about who’s in their recycling chain, and what they actually do with the material,” says Sheila Davis, the executive director of the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition (SVTC), which has been tracking the electronics industry since 1982.

This lack of transparency makes it difficult to assess Apple’s e-waste operation. “It’s very difficult to track, and you almost have to have internal knowledge of what their operations are,” says BAN’s Puckett. “If we knew which recyclers they use, if they could tell us that, then we could find out where the (e-waste) is going.”

I will give this to the folks over at “Crapple”, despite the fact that the majority of the products that they produce are inherently disposable due in part to the limited battery life and thus they are products that will end up in the waste stream as soon as they are no longer shiny and new, they are the leaders above Microsoft and Dell not only in the area of e-waste recycling but also in developing products which contain less toxins to begin with.

But none of this answers my questions. Where does the “shredded” e-waste go? And how are the toxins disposed of? Could this whole “free e-waste recycling day” thing just be another way for I. U. Bloomington to maintain that P. C. appearance of being small town environmentally conscious and green while helping huge corporations such as Apple ensure that their trendy products NOT get reused. By creating devices with non-replaceable batteries, Apple has a planned obsolescence strategy that essentially requires your iPhone to begin a slow death from the very moment you pull it out of its ultra-designed box. This means that the consumer is forced to purchase a new version of their products as soon as the battery runs out. In order for this strategy to work, big corporations like Apple would need to insure that their products are not being reused, what better way than to offer “free e-waste recycling” where the discarded product gets “shredded” beyond any usefulness rather than being refurbished and reused?

These insidious practices not only deprive financially challenged local citizens from obtaining these everyday benefits of modern technology and communication, but also leaves some big questions concerning the where and how these “shredded” e-waste materials are being recycled and what is being done with the toxins contained in them. A lot of serious questions with no answers being offered by the campus or Apple.

This strikes me as yet another example of how Indiana University has partnered with Big Corporations to stick it to the local people! Bigger apartments, more parking lots and strip malls and to hell with Mom and Pops!

Doesn’t it make more sense to reuse these items, by wiping any personal information from the items and refurbishing them to factory settings? In this way, we can not only keep the items from truly ending up in our landfills, “shredded” or not, and also provide impoverished families and children with technology and tools that they might not otherwise be able to afford or obtain.

If you are a Bloomington resident, or locally owned business that has any old laptops or computers that you are throwing out or no longer in need of and would like to see the items be refurbished and reused here locally and truly kept out of the landfill, rather than being “shredded” and shipped off to some undisclosed location then please consider donating them to the Urban Waste Reclamation Project!

R U A Freegan?

2011-07-03T20:19:00.000-04:00

According to freegan.info, "Freegans are people who employ alternative strategies for living based on limited participation in the conventional economy and minimal consumption of resources. Freegans embrace community, generosity, social concern, freedom, cooperation, and sharing in opposition to a society based on materialism, moral apathy, competition, conformity, and greed."

Do you fit that criteria? I don't know if all of the above applies to me personally, but I have been climbing into dumpsters throughout this great nation to acquire everything from personal hygiene items to laptops, and yes often for meals, for most of my life. I did so out of NEED, not GREED. When I was very young I made a conscious decision that I no longer wanted to participate in a system which puts a profit over the very people that it was designed to work for, or a society which accepts greed and gluttony as the norms. I didn't hear about any one calling themselves "freegans" out here in the alleys until a few years ago. Now I am not one to put on labels despite many having been put upon me, so I wouldn't call myself a Freegan, but rather that I am "Freeganish". That is to say that I agree with much of the Freegan lifestyle, as I have been living it before the term was even coined, even if it is not always for the same reasons.

To find out more about the Freegan philosophy and what their practices are please visit freegan.info for more infrormation and facts.

America Recycles Day: America Recycles Day: A Keep America Beautiful Program

2010-11-15T08:00:00.000-05:00

America Recycles Day: America Recycles Day: A Keep America Beautiful Program

“I Recycle” is the theme of the 2010 America Recycles Day (ARD), which takes place on November 15. Millions of Americans have pledged to increase their recycling habits at home and at work over the 13-year history of ARD, a nationally-recognized initiative dedicated to encouraging people to recycle more at home, at work, and on the go.

National nonprofit Keep America Beautiful is proud to lead the celebration, providing resources and supporting the activities of over 1,500 grassroots event organizers across the country.

“Recycling is the easiest thing that any individual can do to reduce his or her carbon footprint, save energy and protect natural resources,” said Matthew M. McKenna, president & CEO of Keep America Beautiful, Inc. “While we celebrate the power of recycling on this special day, it’s something we should all make a conscious effort to do every day of the year.”

"On America Recycles Day, EPA encourages all Americans to consider their role in creating a healthy environment by being responsible consumers. By making smarter choices, consuming less, and reusing and recycling, each of us can contribute to a healthier and more sustainable environment," said Mathy Stanislaus, EPA's Assistant Administrator for Solid Waste and Emergency Response.

More than 2,000 events have been registered in 2010 ranging from electronics recycling events and paper drives to contests and art exhibits. You can find events near you by visiting americarecyclesday.org, which features a search-by-zip code tool. Even if there’s not a formal event in your area, there are lots of ways to take part.

Take the America Recycles Day Pledge and commit to recycling as often as possible. Spread the word and tell your friends.

Download the America Recycles Day badge and show your support by featuring it as your Facebook avatar for the day.

Find out what you can recycle in your community and where – you might be surprised at your options. Visit Earth911.com and simply type in your zip code for the most comprehensive listing.

Are you a recycling pro? Take it to the next level with the America Recycles Day Challenge.

Join Disney’s Friends for Change and, on America Recycles Day, take an old tee shirt to a Disney store to be recycled and turned into paper.

Download the Aluminate^™ iPhone App to help boost your aluminum recycling efforts. Alcoa will donate $1 to Keep America Beautiful for every download!
Commit to recycle, and ask your friends to as well, by making a Dream Machine ‘Bottle Promise’ at www.facebook.com/DreamMachine.

Get more recycling facts, tips and tools at americarecyclesday.org.

Cleaning House!

2010-11-06T13:11:00.001-04:00

Things were getting cluttered around the U.W.R.P. headquarters, so we recently decided to clean house!

After cleaning and sorting we found that we still had a lot of items that were in great condition and still had a lot of use left in them. The books were boxed up and hauled to the local Red Cross to be resold in their annual book fair in order to raise funds for the great programs that they host both locally and world wide.

The computers and electrical appliances were reused and those that could not be repaired were stripped down and recycled. Still faced with a huge amount of reclaimed items, we decided to invite over all of our friends and had a "free for all" of sorts.

We gave away PCs, games, electronics, software, toys, clothing and so much more! It was a lot of fun!

Even so, when all was said and done, there was still one last chance for what remained of the items in the form of some of our neighbors who got to shop at our dumpster that week!

Dumpster Haul "Hall of Fame" (Summer 2010)

2010-11-06T10:17:00.004-04:00

This Summer was a beautiful and bountiful one for reclamation in B-town! Along with the routine seasonal rushes of dumpster riches caused by students moving in and out throughout the warmer months here in Bloomington (IN), we also came across some exceptionally unusual and rare finds as well.

The "most unusual" dumpster find for this year would have to go to our good friend "Hippie Dave" for finding this heart stent.

What Is a Stent?
A stent is a small mesh tube that's used to treat narrowed or weakened arteries in the body. Arteries are blood vessels that carry blood away from your heart to other parts of your body.
You may have a stent placed in an artery as part of a procedure called angioplasty (AN-jee-oh-plas-tee). Angioplasty restores blood flow through narrowed or blocked arteries. Stents help prevent the arteries from becoming narrowed or blocked again in the months or years after angioplasty.
You also may have a stent placed in a weakened artery to improve blood flow and to help prevent the artery from bursting.
Stents usually are made of metal mesh, but sometimes they're made of fabric. Fabric stents, also called stent grafts, are used in larger arteries.
Some stents are coated with medicines that are slowly and continuously released into the artery. These stents are called drug-eluting stents. The medicines help prevent the artery from becoming blocked again.

Dave sure looks serious about this stent, doesn't he?

Technically, it wasn't found IN a dumpster, it was found laying in the street. I know that "Cook Pharmaceuticals" manufactures such devices and assume that it was dropped by some inattentive employee. None the less, it is this year's "most unusual" find. Congratz to you Dave (with the long hair).

Our next "score" takes the number #1 slot for this year's "Dumpster Haul Hall of Fame"!

"Some friends of mine went dumpster-diving the other night and it was one of those rare occasions when I did not go with them. Despite being an advid dumpster-diver and aspiring "freegan" I had stayed at home that night to get some work done online. Imagine my suprise when I opened the front door a couple of hours later to see my friends carrying this "beast"!

I could hardly believe my eyes! It was the stuff of legends! They had scored an Alienware gaming p.c. tower in the trash! For those of you who don't already know, Alienware is a high-end gaming p.c. (starting at around $1,700) from Dell that has reached mythical status for it's reputed performance and power! Granted, that upon closer inspection, much of the internal hardware components such as the CPU and cooling units had already been stripped from the still intact motherboard and the locks had been busted (as can be seen in the pictures) it was still a rare find.

I knew that there was very little chance that I would have the time or financial resources to refurbish the unit (the CPU alone start at $400ish) and storage space is always an issue as well. I briefly thought about converting it into a shelved case to store game disc in, or maybe even building a less powerful but more affordable gaming p.c. and housing it in the tower. In the end I decided to give it to a good friend who would appreciate it for what it is and might be in a better position to actually restore it or to utilize it in some way. Regardless it was an awesome dumpster score that I thought was worth sharing!"
-figment'68

Well with the cold chill of fall and the coming winter we bid a farewell to this year's "Dumpster diving Season", but for many of us the "season" never really ends. Keep recycling, keep re-using, and most of all... "Keep it REAL"!

Night of the Living Dead (1968) on DVD!

2010-08-22T14:54:00.031-04:00

Condition:    Excellent (no scratches and plays great!)
Format:    DVD< style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" />Edition:    Hollywood Classics   Leading Role:    Judith O'Dea
Rating:    NR
Director:    George A. Romero
Release Date:    Jun 30, 1998
Genre:    Horror

If you wish to pick up locally please indicate which item you are interested in.

Detailed item info:
Movie description
George Romero's NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD is a low-budget,
homegrown classic that had great difficulty finding a distributor at the time of its release in 1968, and has since become one of the most influential horror films of all time. (Aside from its visceral impact years before realistic gore became the fashion, the film is also important for its portrayal of a black man as the protagonist during a time when race was an extremely sensitive issue in the United States.) The plot is simple: seven people secluded in a Pennsylvania farmhouse face relentless attacks by reanimated corpses seeking to eat their flesh. The group, which includes a married couple and their daughter, a pair of young lovers, and an African-American man, try to keep their sanity as the living dead keep trying to enter the house. Radio news reports tell of the plague taking over the eastern United States, while the ever-decreasing band of survivors rapidly loses ground in the battle to both keep peace with one another and stay alive.

Actual item in pictures.

Credits
Writer:   John A. Russo
Producer:   Karl Hardman, Russell W. Streiner
Cast:   Judith O'Dea, Judith Reilly, Karl Hardman, Keith Wayne, Marilyn Eastman, William Hinzman
Details
Edition:   Hollywood Classics
Sound:   Stereo Sound,
Notes

DVD Features:
Region 1
Keep Case
Additional Release Material:
Lobby Poster
Biographies
Interactive Features:
Trivia
Scene Access
Theatrical release: October 1, 1968.
Filmed in 1964 in the countryside around Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD was added to the Library of Congress National Film Registry in 1999.
NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD was director George Romero's first feature film.
NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD produced two sequels, DAWN OF THE DEAD (1978) and DAY OF THE DEAD (1985); one remake, NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (1990); and countless imitations.
William Hinzman, who appeared as the Cemetery Zombie at the beginning of NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, also served as cinematographer on Romero's THE CRAZIES.
The film was made for $114,000.

The Urban Waste Reclamation Project.

2010-08-22T10:28:00.001-04:00

Image via Wikipedia

Making some changes so please bear with us!

U.W.R.P. is a locally based grassroots project aimed at the beautification of our city and the betterment of ALL individuals living here by developing and promoting economically feasible and environmentally friendly ways to recycle and reuse discarded items and resources for the benefit of our community as a whole.

What does The Urban Waste Reclamation Project do?

Aluminum can and scrap metal pickup and recycling services.
Portions of the proceeds from the recycling of aluminum and metals will be donated to local homeless shelters and community centers in our community.

Old laptop pickup and reclamation.
Used and discarded laptops will be repaired and donated to low income families and individuals in need here locally in our community.

Clothing reclamation.
Gently used clothing will be distributed to low income families and individuals in need here locally in our community.

Unopened, non-perishable food reclamation.
Reclaimed foods will be distributed to the homeless and hungry living here in our community.

Unopened household cleaning supplies reclamation.
Supplies to be distributed to low income households in our community and local homeless shelters.

Unopened, non perishable hygiene products and toiletries.
Items will be donated to local shelters and community centers.
These are just a few things that the Urban Waste Reclamation Project currently does, and more is in development.

&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; float: right; margin-left: 1em;" href="" imageanchor="1"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;

Recent Dumpster Finds.

2010-05-13T16:14:00.163-04:00

Well it is May in Bloomington, Indiana. Which means that it is time for the annual exodus of IU college students from our fair city and that means that the dumpsters will be ripe for the pickings. Here is a great little introduction to dumpster diving on one of our affiliate sites. Here are just a few things that we have reclaimed from the dumpsters over the past week.

First of all, we didn't have to go far to hit our first dumpster score because as we were mounting our bikes to head out for a little dumpstering we noticed a cornucopia of goodies laying about the dumpster in our apartment complex. Like the reclamation opportunist that we are, we dove right in. One of the first things that we came across was this nifty looking little case. There were no dings or dents and the latches appeared to be in working order so I snatched it up and had a look inside.

To my surprise and joy, the case was a nearly full artist kit!

Although we did not discover any major finds on that day we did find some interesting items that were in like new condition such as this (vintage looking) hanging lampshade, or this sweet Dr. Suess T-shirt.

Some items were even still in the packaging, making them prime candidates for redistribution and resale here online and/or at the Urban Market in front of People's Park on Kirkwood in downtown Bloomington.

This toiletries bag and this laptop satchel were both clean and in excellent condition.

Then there was the usual plethora of toys and junk!

We reclaimed some of this "junk" for our own use as well. I mean who throws out perfectly good clown makeup? These empty Play-Dough containers make great little storage containers.

As usual we reclaimed even more books. I am always astounded by the amount of books I find in the trash in a college town like Bloomington. You would think that these IU students would recycle more. Upon opening an old, raggedy, green suitcase we discovered a butterfly!

Well, maybe not a real butterfly, but it was a nice find none the less.

Then there were what we like to call our "FEATURED FINDS"!

Such as this beautiful baby blue prom dress. I guess it could be used as a brides maid's dress or for any formal occasion as well. I am sure that this elegant piece of clothing will be at the Urban Market soon!

In the electronics department we reclaimed this Mac Apple home PC! It fires right up without a hitch but is in need of a mouse and keyboard, so if any of you fellow recyclers or dumpster-divers run across either please contact us. We also came across this Compaq tower which was once part of a security system and has six hookups for video surveillance camera's, but again is in need of a keyboard and mouse.

Other than various odds and ends, that is the U. W. R. P.'s dumpster loot so far for May of 2010. There are still plenty of dumpsters to be pillaged and we will be sure to keep you posted of what we find! Happy and safe dumpster-diving to all!

Bloomington: The Town Around Indiana University: Dumpster Diver Nervana.

2010-03-01T18:12:00.000-05:00

An interesting post I found while browsing the web.

Bloomington: The Town Around Indiana University: Dumpster Diver Nervana.

Colossal Comic Book Giveaway Contest!

2010-02-04T20:19:00.015-05:00

We have over 1,500 RECLAIMED comic books that all must go!

Click the picture to see our Craigslisting
for bulk boxes of comic books.

We also will be offering special, hand picked and carefully inspected, boxed collections of some high quality, independently published comics and collectible from the 1980s and 1990s throughout the month of February as part of the "Amazing B-town Comic Book Blow-Out"!

Click on the pictures for complete listing. More will be added regularly.

Every week we will be giving away stacks of comic books
for FREE locally here in Bloomington!

Our first contest begins Friday February 05, 2010 and
ends on Friday February 12, 2010.
Winners will be announced on Saturday February 13, 2010.

HOW TO ENTER?
Entry in this first contest couldn't be easier. Simply fill out the U.W.R.P. contact form HERE on our contact page and your name will be entered into the drawing and that's it. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY! It's not all about profit here at the U.W.R.P. , making sure that things get reused or recycled in order to reduce the amount of waste going into our local landfill is always first priority, supplying people with a means by which they may obtain gently used items that they might not other wise be able to obtain is another high priority with us, all proceeds obtained from any sales go back into assuring that the U.W.R.P. can continue to provide these and other valuable services to the local community.

This weeks prizes are (drum-roll please)...

Click the pictures for a detailed listing.

Well, what are you waiting for? Go sign up now!

For those of you who just can't wait a whole week to get your hands on these amazing comic books, we will be passing out stacks of them for free all around B-town all month long!

Click the picture for details of the event!

That's not all good citizens of Bloomington!
Well, it is the "AMAZING B-town Comic Book Blow-Out" event. We will also be randomly placing stacks of some of our more unusual comic books on the FREE rack at Boxcar Books all month long as well. So support local business by stopping in Boxcar Books and snatching up a FREE comic book from the Urban Waste Reclamation Project today!

I have a two headed kitten sitting in front of me.

2010-01-14T15:03:00.003-05:00

Literally, it is curled up in a pickle jar next to my laptop. That's something that you can't say every day. How do you put a price on something like that? I mean sometimes things are just so awesome to me that putting a dollar value on it is nearly impossible. I can't wait to begin typing down the history of this little... girl I believe. I know that she is at least 35 years old. Assembling the provenance on this one should prove to be interesting indeed!

We reclaim the strangest things.

2010-01-14T08:04:00.008-05:00

A friend and I went out to do a little scrap metals reclamation yesterday here in B-town. We ended up scrapping 3 pounds of sheet aluminum, 1 pound of cast aluminum, 63 pounds 0f #2 heavy melts, 1 pound of painted aluminum, 33 pounds of baling #3 scrap, 5 pounds of #2 copper and 4 pounds of #1 insulated copper in about 45 minutes. The 100+ pounds load put our bike cart to the test, and I am proud to report that the bike cart held strong.
While sorting through one dumpster for the aluminum beverage cans I noticed my friend tossing aside what looked like a Fez hat . "Whoa there!" I exclaimed and pulled the hat from the depths of the rubbish. Not only was it a Fez hat, but it turned out to be a genuine Shriner's Fez hat! Upon gazing at the dark burgandy fabric adorned with glitzy costume jewels I was overcome with a tingling vibration. The "vibe" was calling out to me, telling me to take the Fez. I mean, come on, how often do you find a genuine Shriner's Fez hat in the trash? So I stashed the Fez in one of my packs and continued with the reclamation route. By the time that we had cashed in the load and headed home thoughts of the Fez had left my mind.
It wasn't until later that evening when we had friends over that the Fez once again came into play. One of our friends mentioned the fact that they had been talking about trying to find a Fez hat to wear as a sort of fashion joke. Viola! "Hold on one second." I said as I went to retrieve the Fez. Our friends were smiling as I showed them the pimp-a-licious Fez that I had reclaimed that day. Immediately they offered to purchase the Fez, but some things are just destined to be and money has no value when it comes to Dharma. The only thing that I asked in return was that our friend pose for this handsome portrait.

HAPPY NEW YEARS! (huge reclamation score!)

2010-01-01T11:58:00.007-05:00

The new year has started out with a huge haul for the U.W.R.P. ! Reclaimed items include over 1,500 books on every subject imaginable, 175+ movies on VHS, a number of CDs, screenprinting supplies (which we will make good use of ourselves), 200+ cassettes, large assortment of board games, large assortment of electronic accessories, kenwood dvd player, psp, and more! I couldn't think of a better way for the U.W.R.P. to kick off the new year. Needless to say, we will be busy over the next few weeks.

P.S. I think I have unwittingly turned Kira's apartment into the U.W.R.P. headquarters. LOL

Urban Waste Reclamation Project

Getting a jump on Dumpster Diving season 2015!

Related articles

This Dumpster season is officially closed.

Related articles

Trash Life Baby!.

Related articles

Hello Dumpster.

Related articles

Dumpster Finds!

Related articles

Calling All Dumpster Divers (reblogged)

Calling All Dumpster Divers

By Sarah Ostaszewski

Posted April 17, 2014

Where Have All The Divers Gone?

Success Story

Related articles

Crushing Cans 4 Cash!

Related articles

Get Monsanto Out of your bodies!

Disproving Monsanto’s Propaganda

Related articles

D.I.Y. repurposing trash into textiles.

Related articles

SNAP gardens!

Related articles

Let us entertain you!

Related articles

Feeling crafty?

Related articles

I.U. e-waste recycling is more harm than help.

Related articles

R U A Freegan?

Related articles

America Recycles Day: America Recycles Day: A Keep America Beautiful Program

Related articles

Cleaning House!

Related articles

Dumpster Haul "Hall of Fame" (Summer 2010)

What Is a Stent?

Night of the Living Dead (1968) on DVD!

The Urban Waste Reclamation Project.

Related articles by Zemanta

Recent Dumpster Finds.

Bloomington: The Town Around Indiana University: Dumpster Diver Nervana.

Colossal Comic Book Giveaway Contest!

I have a two headed kitten sitting in front of me.

We reclaim the strangest things.

HAPPY NEW YEARS! (huge reclamation score!)