The True Cost of Cheap
Transcription
The True Cost of Cheap
HIGH SCHOOL KIDS TAKE THE TOUR . PAGE 7. News You Can Use and Reuse | Vol. 22 , No. 2 Summer 2013 The True Cost of Cheap By Shirley Perez West B reezing into my favorite big box store in search of a sports watch, my attention goes to a bright display of “Happy Bargains” just past the entry. Something among the shelves and baskets of small goods catches my eye. I comb through the brimming bins of toys and gadgets, note pads, LED key rings, and plastic picnic ware, looking for some useful thing I need for $3 or less. Maybe there are sports watches. Even if it just lasts a few months, a three-dollar sports watch would be a heck of a deal. We all love a bargain. In fact, it’s embedded in our brains and has overwhelmed our culture, says Ellen Ruppel Shell, author of Cheap: The High Cost of Discount Culture. Shell, a Boston University journalism professor, dives deep into the historic, psychological, and cultural roots of Americans’ quest for a good buy, concluding that our drive for discounts ultimately creates a low-quality food supply, a ruined economy, a polluted environment, low wages, a shoddy educational system, deserted town centers, ballooning personal debt, and the loss of craftsmanship. Reading Shell’s book is eye-opening and disturbing. I recognize the ploys retailers use to lure me in and seal the deal. I shake my head at the memory of all the “good deals” I’ve scored, only to discover later that I wasted my money. Why We Buy Cheap Thrift is an old-fashioned ideal like craftsmanship. It essentially means not being wasteful. We’re thrifty because we don’t have piles of money. But we buy cheap because our sense of value is often overwhelmed by our emotions—from the thrill of the hunt, to the joy of short-term Save the Date! Mark your calendar now for the fifth annual gratification, to the fear that we’ll miss out, says Shell. As an example of how our emotions muddy our thinking, Shell says that despite discounts galore, Americans habitually fret that we are paying too much. She sites marketing experts who say this fear is rational because there are retailers who overcharge for their goods The “cut and consume” cycle… is destroying the world’s forests at an unprecedented rate. (e.g., $2,500 for a designer handbag). But consumers tend to lump all retailers— from grocers to car dealers—into that category and believe merchants overcharge us “just because they can.” Says one researcher, “People really believe they are being ripped off.” That mistrust leads shoppers to miscalculate the value of products. Because the marketplace has gotten so complex, consumers have very little real information about the value of products and tend to attribute the differences in price to the greediness of the retailer rather than the service, quality, design, or materials on offer. As a consequence, we go out of our way to find the lowest prices. We drive miles and miles to outlet malls or discount stores and take on some of the manufacturing cost by assembling products at home. The “Idea” of Furniture At BRING we take in things that people would otherwise discard. Staff works hard to sort through what’s still Beyond repair: Once a bargain, now a disposal nightmare. This particleboard desk that showed up at BRING is not repairable, reusable, or recyclable. Off to the landfill it goes—wasting all the resources and energy that were used to make it. BRING Home and Garden Tour Sunday, September 8 Tickets go on sale mid-August at BRING (store and online) and Down to Earth. Stay tuned. usable and salvageable, but sometimes stuff just ends up in our trash bin. High on the list of unredeemable junk is cabinetry, furniture, and other goods made from particleboard, says BRING’s warehouse manager Deveron Musgrave. “Particleboard, unless sealed on all sides, can’t hold up to the elements,” says receiving associate James Jones. “In Oregon’s cold, damp climate, particleboard expands, contracts, and warps badly—it literally falls apart.” “These are the kinds of things that end up in our trash bin,” Musgrave says of a broken bookcase that likely seemed like a bargain when new. The idea behind this kind of furniture is to design something that looks good, appears functional, and is super cheap. It wasn’t built to intentionally fall apart, nor was it built to last very long. In Cheap, Shell devotes a chapter to IKEA, the world’s largest furniture retailer and the third largest consumer of wood in the world, behind discounters Home Depot and Lowe’s. She explores IKEA’s popularity and seeming virtue as a place where stylish stuff can be affordable. In spite of questionable wood harvesting practices, IKEA (unlike Walmart) has been able to thwart critics and greater scrutiny of its practices by aligning with non-profits such as World Wildlife Fund, Greenpeace, and Save the Children. The results of these partnerships are unclear, says Shell, because “IKEA offers no guarantees and few specifics. Yet in the minds of consumers, these alliances offset any nagging negatives.” Environmentalists warn that the “cut and consume” cycle stoked by the demand for cheap furniture is destroying the world’s forests at an unprecedented rate, says Shell. And, it contributes to climate change, accounting for more than 18 percent of global carbon dioxide emissions. Back to the bookcase in BRING’s trash bin. . . . Shell describes IKEA’s Billy bookcase—a sleekly designed bargain at $59.99: “Loaded with heavy books, the particleboard shelves tend to buckle. If the owner attempts to modify it—such as trying to put in a couple of supports—the screws lose purchase. Try too hard or too often and the particleboard crumbles,” she writes. Why are we still buying this stuff? Shell believes our culture has turned a corner. We are now willing to accept the shoddy construction and limited holding capacity of such a bookcase because of its sleek design and low price. Billy is not a bookcase, she says, but a subspecies of bookcase: a cheap bookcase. Likewise, we apply the same thinking to other merchandise: i.e., it’s not a great chair, it’s a great cheap chair. It’s not really furniture, but the idea of furniture. For What It’s Worth Stepping away from the siren song of “savings” to really think about a purchase may be our only chance to change our buying habits. Five minutes of thoughtful questions—Do I really need this? Can I borrow or rent it? Will it do its job? Will it last? Is it repairable? Can I save even more by buying used?—can reroute our brains from impulse satisfaction to reasoned decision-making. I try it with the sports watch: What if I ran a predetermined route? What if I used my cell phone’s timer? What if I just walked out of this store empty-handed? Buyer Beware Here’s a quick list of retailers’ tricks for manipulating customers’ willingness to buy: • Reference Pricing – when the published price (often the mythical “manufacturer’s suggested price”) of a discounted item is inflated (e.g., a $1,000 mattress on sale for $250), consumers tend to: a) believe the item is indeed worth the higher price; and b) want to buy this apparently deeply discounted item because it’s such a bargain. • Rebates – an offer of substantial discounts if the buyer is willing to mail in a rebate coupon with documentation of purchase. Most of us (90-95%) don’t claim the rebate, yet we still feel we got a bargain. Please read, reuse and recycle this newsletter. • Outlets – inconveniently located stores that sell brand name merchandise (slightly irregular or out of season) at a discount. Some retailers use outlets to sell specially manufactured, but lower quality, products. • Nines – the most common number used on a price tag. Pricing something for $29.99 rather than $30 conveys a subliminal message. Even though we know this trick, we’re lured by the lower number. • Exploding Discounts – price reductions rigged like an arbitrary time bomb heighten our emotions and make us focus on the present, not the future. Whether we need the item or want it, the time limit gives us a reason to act now and avoid missing out. Return Service Requested Eugene OR 97403-2437 4446 Franklin Blvd. BRING RECYCLING Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage PAID Eugene, OR Permit No. 24 2 BRING's UsedNews | Summer 2013 BRING's VOL. 22, NO. 2 Summer 2013 Mission: Helping people understand how the stuff we use shapes the planet we share. What We Do: EDUCATION: BRING provides workshops, activities and presentations to groups of all ages throughout the county. Each year, the education program reaches well over 15,000 individuals with the reduce, reuse, recycle message. RE:THINK: RE:think Business provides free, hands- on services for businesses in Lane County. We offer independent, confidential advice on cost efficient ways to reduce waste, recycle more, and use less electricity, water and materials. Businesses that meet conservation benchmarks are eligible to receive the RE:think Recognition Award and publicity for their efforts. REUSE: BRING sells used building materials, bicycles, lawn mowers, canning jars, windows, doors, sinks, plumbing fixtures and much, much more. We offer disposal of unwanted — yet still reusable — material from remodels, construction projects, garage clean-outs, etc. STAFF Kara Brinkman, Administrative Assistant Judy Bryant, Director of Finance & Administration Allen Burton, Retail Outlet Julie Daniel, Executive Director Brady Davis, Retail Outlet Emily Horton, Assistant Retail Manager Brett Jacobs, Community Education Program Manager James Jones, Retail Outlet Kinsey Kaylor, Retail Outlet Gary Knox, Retail Outlet Larry Levinson, Director of Business & Operations Vanessa Manzano, Retail Outlet Megan Meister, Retail Outlet Deveron Musgrave, Retail Business Manager Shannon Oliver, Business Program Shirley Perez West, Tour/Event Coordinator Jay Ritcher, Receiving Manager Sonja Snyder, Director of Communications & Development Carolyn Stein, Business Education Program Manager Sherry Tillett, Retail Outlet Kim Witchey, Retail Outlet Ben Zublin, Assistant Retail Manager It All Adds Up "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has" — Margaret Mead Lane County throws away 485,000 tons of stuff each year. While BRING handles just a fraction of those discards, the endless river of stuff f lowing through our hands can feel like a raging f lood. The good news is, many things can be used again, either in their current form or adapted for another purpose. The bad news is, a dismaying percentage ends up as scrap or trash. A plethora of cheaply made stuff—including bicycles, light fixtures, furniture, power tools, mowers, and barbecues—piles up in our processing area, waiting to be dismantled so we can salvage at least some of the materials’ intrinsic value. Most of these items were not designed to be repaired, and their shoddy construction and low quality materials guarantee they’ll break, sooner or later. What a waste. As regular readers of the UsedNews know, the greatest environmental impact occurs during the manufacture of goods. We pay a high price for cheap stuff. I’ve been involved in the materials management industry for the best part of two decades. I see the waste firsthand. I read about rapid climate change, political and social upheaval, and pervasive public health problems—all connected to humans' use, and misuse, of natural resources. It’s sobering at best, downright depressing at worst. While it’s easy to feel paralyzed by the enormity of the problem, it’s important to remember: You don’t have to change the world alone! Individual actions, added to those of your neighbors and friends, can achieve more than you’d ever imagine. When BRING was launched in 1971, recycling was practiced by a handful of true believers. Today, 90% of Lane County households put some of their discards in a recycling bin instead of a trash can—an enormous piece of social change. BRING continues to work because thousands of you donate your materials and shop here for things you need. Your choices make a difference. Buy used, rent, or borrow before you buy new. If you buy new, buy things that are beautiful, durable, and repairable. Things you’ll cherish for a long time. Support organizations like BRING. Have more fun, less stuff! — Julie Daniel, Executive Director BOARD OF DIRECTORS Doug Bovee,Vice President Gabriel Cross Donna Doperoy Al Eckerdt Dick Helgeson, President Beth Hjelm, Secretary Britt Jefferson Meg Kieran Carole Knapel Marie Matsen Brittany Quick-Warner David Richey Eli Volem Dave Winship, Treasurer Graphic Design by Cindy Parks Printed on 40% post consumer paper, low/no VOC soy inks. BRING is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt not-for-profit agency, serving Lane County since 1971. 4446 Franklin Blvd., Eugene, OR 97403-2437 Phone: 541-746-3023 • Fax: 541-726-9894 email: [email protected] Web address: www.bringrecycling.org Meet the Board Pillars of our community: BRING board members donate professional know-how, personal resources, and hours of volunteer time to help make BRING a success. Serving on the board is not only rewarding—it’s a lot of fun. Just ask these folks, who gathered on a Saturday morning for a little team building retreat. Back row from left: Al Eckerdt, Britt Jefferson, Doug Bovee, Dave Winship, David Richey, Dick Helgeson. Middle row: Brittany Quick-Warner, Beth Hjelm, Marie Matsen, Eli Volem. Front row: Meg Kieran, Donna Doperoy, Gabe Cross. Absent that day, Carole Knapel. Got a Green Team? EarthShare Can Help Your Workplace Go Green OPEN SEVEN DAYS A WEEK Mon.-Sat. 9-5; Sun. 10-5; receiving until 4 Save resources. Read the online version. EarthShare Oregon is best known for its workplace giving program, which supports dozens of environmental non-profits, including BRING, through payroll deductions. EarthShare also offers support to company Green Teams and Sustainability Committees to help keep employees current on the issues and motivated to keep improving their environmental performance. EarthShare provides such things as seasonal Eco-Tips for newsletters and bulletin boards; a Green Books List; topics for newsletters and green team meetings; brown bag talks; workshops; and volunteer opportunities. If your workplace doesn’t have an EarthShare campaign, or to learn more about Green Team support, contact EarthShare Oregon at 503-223-9015. Or visit their web site: earthshare-oregon.org. Pints for the Planet Monday, June 24, 5:00-9:00 p.m. Ninkasi Brewery Join us and our good friends at Ninkasi, and raise a pint for BRING. Ninkasi will donate 25% of pint sales to BRING, all day long. Party with us from 5:00 to 9:00 p.m. Enjoy food cart fare. Sample some of Eugene’s best suds. Proceeds will help us complete the Planet Improvement Center (see page 3). Pints for the Planet is part of Ninkasi’s monthly “Pints for a Cause” program. The brewery is located at 272 Van Buren in Eugene. BRING's UsedNews | Summer 2013 Capital Campaign—BRING It Home! Countdown! We’re counting the days to the end of our 12-year long, $3.2 million capital campaign to build the Planet Improvement Center—and we need your help to finish up this year. Only $200,000 to go! With the Meyer challenge grant on the table, your gift or pledge counts double. It’s a great time to give. Completing construction is our top priority. Not only does it maximize the potential of the site—to generate more revenue and save more resources—it frees up organizational energy and resources to focus fully on our mission. As anyone who has done a home building project can attest, being under construction takes its toll. We’re eager to finish up and get on with the big job of building a healthy and sustainable future. Even in its wild state, customers enjoy combing our “back 40” for treasures. Actually, it’s just one acre that remains to be developed. Improvements will make the entire site safe and fully accessible for all our customers. BRING Gives Back What goes around comes around. Each year, BRING receives dozens of requests for donations of materials and gift certificates—used for everything from raffle prizes and volunteer perks to staging events or keeping buildings in good repair. In the past year, BRING gave close to $2,000 worth of goods to 39 schools and non-profit organizations: Academy of Arts & Academics Alvord Farm and Museum Applegate Regional Theatre ArtStravaganza! Festival, Spencer Butte Middle School Association of Oregon Recyclers Ballet Fantastique Bethel Fix-it-Fair Boy Scout Troop 60 Business Commute Challenge CALC City of Westfir Haunted Bridge Event Community Veterinary Center Creswell FFA Alumni Edgewood Community Elementary School Emerging Leaders in the Arts Network at UO Eugene Active 20-30 Club Friendship Foundation for International Students Hamlin Middle School Booster Club Lane County Master Gardeners Laurel Hill Valley Citizens Neighborhood Association LCC Student Nurses Association Lost Valley Educational Center ManyHands Community Network Charter School MECCA Mother Earth Festival NEDCO NextStep Occupy Medical Clinic Opportunity Village Eugene Oregon Club Oregon Country Fair Pearl Buck Center Sheldon High School Water Polo South Eugene High School Springfield Neighborhood Watch $3.2 M Timing is critical. We must raise all remaining funds this year so we can break ground next winter, during our slow season, to minimize disruption to our customers and revenue stream. One-third of the site will be torn up and renovated during the two-month project. Everything that sits on our back lot now—from piles of giant timbers to bits of broken tile—will be loaded up and moved off site during construction. Talk about a challenging remodel! With your help, BRING has come a long way since we first envisioned our new home. We’re almost done with this incredible transformation. Please help BRING It Home! Invest in a healthy and sustainable future every time you shop—it costs you nothing! Market of Choice and other participating merchants donate up to 4% of every purchase to BRING. Just sign up online—it takes 3 minutes max. Go to escrip.com. Click on “Sign Up—It’s Free.” Enter BRING as your preferred group, and securely register your debit or credit cards. (Skip steps 3 and 5—they don’t apply in our area.) That’s all you do. Thank you! $2.6 M 2011 Last December, Meyer Memorial Trust awarded BRING a $190,000 challenge grant for the Planet Improvement Center. To receive the funds, we need to match the grant, dollar for dollar, in new donations. To date, we’ve raised $112,000 toward the match. Help us make this important match by making a donation today. Pledges count—spread your gift over two to three years with our handy auto-pay option. Added: 2nd Retail bldg. Garden PV system Septic system Finished: Admin bldg. 2007 Moved in/open for business 1st Retail bldg. Customer service Gallery Receiving Parking 1st Bioswale Bathrooms! 2000 Purchased property Thanks for Your Support For Gifts Made February - April, 2013 CAPITAL CAMPAIGN DONORS Building the Planet Improvement Center Shelter from the storm: BRING joined with other organizations and volunteers to provide temporary shelter for some of our community’s homeless people this year. We donated doors and discounted other materials for Opportunity Village Eugene to build six-by-ten-foot “Conestoga huts,” providing dry, secure, lockable space at city-approved car-camping spots around town. Aging With Benefits Support BRING—No Cost to You! $3.0 M Meyer Match The Arc of Lane County Thurston High School Cabaret Dance Team Triangle Lake Charter School Unity School Last Piece 2nd Bioswale Paved yard Trash bldg. Renovations Signage $1.8 M Turning 70? Congratulations! Here’s a convenient way to lower your tax liability, while supporting your favorite charity: Turn your RMD into a QCD—Qualified Charitable Distribution. If you are 70½ or older and have a traditional IRA or employer-sponsored retirement plan, you will probably need to take a Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) this year and every year for the rest of your life—whether you need the income or not. In most cases, the RMD is counted as taxable income. However, if you make a Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD) directly from your plan to a qualified charity (such as BRING), the income is not taxable. It's a convenient way to satisfy IRA distribution requirements, support your favorite non-profit, and receive a tax break all at the same time. You can exclude up to $100,000 of QCDs from your gross income ($200,000 if filing jointly). The tax code is a thing of wonder. Be sure to discuss this option with your tax professional and financial advisor to make sure your gift qualifies and ends up with your charity of choice. 3 REFORMERS Marion Sweeney, Kate Laue & Cama Laue RENEWERS Deborah Larson Jim & Barbara Sly REBUILDERS Evelyn Anderton & Janet Anderson Fred & Sandra Austin Pacific Continental Bank REDUCERS Douglas Bovee & Sally Marie Elaine Twigg Cornett & Zane Cornett Julie Daniel Bill Klupenger Ken & George Maddox Ruth Miller, in memory of Richard W. Hayward REUSERS Rudy Berg & Anne Delaney Warren & Grete Brown Hallis Richard Helgeson & Christina Gryc Karyn Kaplan Bing & Nancy Kibbey Carole Knapel Larry & Debra Levinson Organically Grown Co. Ken Sandusky Jane Scheidecker & Duane Partaine Carol Schirmer Emily Shack Molly & Jonathan Stafford David Winship & Lisa Bieber Anonymous RECYCLERS Roger Bailey Meg Blanchet Dorothy Bollman Kate Bollons & Fred Tepfer Judy Bryant Allen & Pat Burton Gladys Campbell Robert & Rose Marie Cassidy Mary & Paul Christensen-Moore Donna Doperoy Jimi Duke in honor of Earth Day and BRING Karin Edla Jennifer Edwards Timothy & Deneen Foelker David & Duane Funk Denny Guehler Bob Huffman & Mary Miller Joseph & Jo Anne Hynes Greg & Marcia Ilg Gaelen Laue Renate Mackenzie Joanne McAdam John & Ardyth McGrath Neal & Nancy Miller Mary & Rick Mowday Joyce & Louis Osternig Karla Rice Julie Rogers Joann & Roger Schliep Paul & Roz Slovic Donald Spiek Mary Spilde Nathaniel Teich Connie & Harry Wonham Anonymous (8) Donor categories represent value of cumulative gifts to the campaign. See full donor list at bringrecycling.org. GENERAL FUND DONORS Supporting BRING Programs and Operations James Newell Royal Blue Organics/ Cafe Mam SeQuential Biofuels —By Charlene Carter, CFP® Carter & Carter Financial Special Thanks Thanks to Claim 52 Brewery, Klean Kanteen, and our many loyal fans for a fun and successful benefit on May 10. On an unseasonably hot evening, we gathered at the West Eugene brewery for unique Europeanstyle beer and amazing food from the Sammitch Truck. Raffle prizes were donated by Klean Kanteen, Claim 52, and BRING. Blue Bus Creatives snapped photos in their traveling PhotoSwagon. If you missed the party, you can still sample the beer at Friday evening dock sales, 1030 Tyinn St., #1. 4 BRING's UsedNews | Summer 2013 Retail Store Another Classic found at BRING Days* BRING Discount nior Day • Monday – Se r) tte be (for 65 or AP Day • Tuesday – SN ail Card) Tr n (with Orego Veterans Day • Wednesday – (with Vet’s ID) ed goods * 20% off all us and paint This spring, we got a love note from our friend Tylar Merrill, known to local art lovers for her wonderful felted garments and works of art—many of them made from reused fiber. Tylar thanked us for the 1945 Maytag wringer washer she found at BRING. Felting requires much agitation, wringing, twisting, and pounding, which can get pretty hard on the hands and arms. “I've been looking for several years for a wringer washer, but have had no luck finding one,” wrote Tylar. “This machine is not only CUTE, it works like a dream! Since I purchased it in January, I’ve been able to create so much more, because it's doing all the repetitive movements that were causing strain in my wrists and arms. I love showing it off to my students when they come to my studio for felting workshops.” Samples of Tylar’s work can be seen on the Gallery page at www. ecosleepsolutions.com. Disclaimer: BRING generally does not carry household appliances. If you’re in the market for a refurbished appliance, try St. Vincent de Paul. Thimbleberry Felt Designs owner Tylar Merrill adores her new/old wringer washer, one of the rare treasures found at BRING. r Frequent Reuse Reward Card Nothing to it—out comes a beautiful felted scarf! Larry’s World: Worthy of Purchase BRING, and Spend $300 at of used goods. earn $50 wor th ard Card Ask for your Rew counter and at the cashier’s . start saving now BRING receives many thousands of pounds of used goods every month. Some stand out as particularly worthy of ownership. Older items are often made from old growth lumber, with heavier metal castings and joining methods that produce strong durable products. Good design and quality materials contribute to sustainability. Smart BRING customers look for value and reduced impact by buying used goods that have sustained the test of time. Here are a few tips to help shoppers identify quality merchandise, whether used or new. • Look for quality materials. Choose wood, fiber, metal, or plastic that is dense and strong. Well-made materials, chosen for the correct use, live longer and provide better service. Don’t forget to look for sustainably harvested wood when buying new. • Brass and stainless steel make for lasting garden tools when in contact with water. Zinc, a common low-cost material, offers low strength and will decompose with time. 50% Off Sale! ! Sign up for Be first to know of f of our big 50% advance notice ut ho ug ro adically th sales, held spor g, or g. lin bringrecyc the year. Go to: d ge envelope, an an click on the or Specials. select Sales & • Solid wood furniture, constructed with mechanical joints like dovetails, outlasts particle board and MDF furniture constructed with barrel fasteners and screws (the kind found in modern D.I.Y. imported furniture). Odds & Ends BRING’s eBay specialist, Kinsey Kaylor, spends his days in a corner of our warehouse, researching, pricing, posting, and selling some of our most unusual items on eBay. These are generally esoteric, one-off curiosities, which often require extensive research just to figure out what they are—anything from industrial controls and lab equipment to an antique chain saw, which, at press time, was going for more than $300. Online sales allow us to find markets for the rare and highly specialized used goods that come our way. • Look for tools made from forged steel, often with “DROP FORGED” embossed on the item. Make sure shovels don’t flex or rattle when tapped. Hickory or oak handles on garden tools, hammers, or shears are preferred to fine grained tropical wood. • Is that old saw, chisel, or shear still holding a sharp edge after years of service? This is a good sign of a quality carbon steel tool. • The 30-year-old screwdriver can be made like new with a few minutes of cleaning and dressing, providing a tool far superior to many available in stores today! — Larry Levinson, Director of Business & Operations Our Mission: Transform money from a source of worry to a resource for fulfillment. Visit www.mcsfa.com or call us at 541-345-7023 to discover how your wealth can grow. You grew your wealth with your own hands. We’re here to nurture that growth. M CS Financial Advisors ® Managing Risk to Increase Wealth MCS Financial Advisors is proud to sponsor BRING’s newsletter! BRING's UsedNews | Summer 2013 Retail Store Repair, Refinish, Repaint! A little paint (and ingenuity) can work wonders. The key is to start with a solid piece of furniture—in this case, a solid plywood cabinet in need of small repairs. Look for solid wood—not particleboard. Remove old hardware, repair, sand, prime, and repaint the wood, then let your imagination take over. We covered the top of this cabinet with tile and added wood molding for trim. Then we removed and prepped the doors and drawers for decorative painting. Purchased at BRING Cabinet $20 Brass hardware & hinges $5 Tile, grout, adhesive & sealant $11 Molding $.90 MetroPaint and MetroPaint Primer: $4 worth ($13/gallon) Krylon fixative $.50 TOTAL $41.40 1 1) A distressed but sturdy cabinet is our canvas. After making needed structural repairs, sand, prime, and paint the entire surface using MetroPaint Primer and MetroPaint Glossy White. 2 2) Prepare the doors and drawers for a decorative paint job. Using 1-inch painter’s tape and a ruler, crisscross the surface on the diagonal, forming a lattice. 3 3) Cut out the center diamonds with a craft knife. Apply contrasting paint, in this case MetroPaint’s Storm Cloud, finished with a sheer silver metallic glaze. When dry, carefully remove the remaining tape. We used a black sharpie to outline the black diamonds after painting. Apply a clear Krylon fixative to the dry painted surface. 4 4) A little gold paint, left over from another project, completes the flashy theme. Buy Metro Paint at BRING! • High quality, 100% recycled latex paint • Full line of beautiful colors • Indoor and outdoor use • Save resources, landfill space, and money! 1-gallon paint 1-gallon primer 5) Ta-dah! The entire project took three hours and cost about $41. 5 13 $ 15 $ 5-gallon paint 5-gallon primer $ $ 50 58 5 6 BRING's UsedNews | Summer 2013 RE:think Business Join the Growing List of RE:think Certified Businesses Autohaus Blackburn and Company Catering Brothers Cleaning Services Bulk Handling Systems Burley Cafe Yumm! Catalyst Technologies Cawood Creswell Coffee Company The Divine Cupcake ElderHealth and Living Emberex Eugene Area Chamber of Commerce Eugene Coffee Company Why so happy? Sundance is RE:think certified. EuroAsian Automotive FedEx Ground First Congregational Church UCC Full Access Glory Bee Foods HEROweb Marketing and Design Hot Mama's Wings Hummingbird Wholesale Jones & Roth Kraig's Carpet Cleaning Lane County Historical Society and Museum Life Technologies Mount Pisgah Arboretum Mountain Rose Herbs The Nature Conservancy Nearby Nature NEDCO New Dream Child Care Center 9Wood Not Your Mom's Sandwich Shop Oregon Community Credit Union– Main Office & Downtown Branch Oregon Eye Surgery Center Oregon Research Institute Out On A Limb Gallery Pacific Women's Center Parenting Now! Potter Decals Presentation Design Group Rainbow Valley Design & Construction Rural Development Initiatives Saturday Market SeQuential Biofuels ShelterCare So Delicious Dairy Free South Lane Mental Health Sperry Tree Care Springfield Chamber of Commerce Stadium Automotive Sundance Natural Foods Sustainable Wealth Management Sweet Life Patisserie Unique Properties The UPS Store, Springfield Vanilla Jill’s Vox Public Relations Public Affairs Western Environmental Law Center Westminster Presbyterian Church Willamette Massage To add your name, call 541-746-3023 ext. 309 or email [email protected] The Art of Reuse UsedNews readers know that reusing and repurposing is always better than buying new. It saves resources and, if you’re refinishing a piece of furniture or remodeling your house, the final product is usually more interesting and better quality than something massproduced or purchased new. Certified RE:think Businesses are keenly aware of the beauty and quality of found, reclaimed, and used items. Rainbow Valley Design and Construction Rainbow Valley Design and Construction has been building and remodeling custom spaces for more than 40 years. With a high attention to detail and quality, the company has reused and reclaimed items for many of their projects. One recent job included reclaiming a tongue and groove fir ceiling. “Reusing the wood to make a unique table and bench was a great way to add a custom look,” said Alec Dakers, a designer for Rainbow Valley. “You just can’t beat the beauty or quality of reclaimed wood.” Using environmentally preferred purchasing practices and reducing waste are company values at Rainbow Valley. Each job site is monitored for items that can be reused or recycled, even items that can’t go curbside, including plastic film and block Styrofoam. When a job is completed, the company uses nontoxic and green seal certified products to clean, protecting air and water quality. curbside discards of Eugene residents. “The student housing areas near the University are a treasure trove of materials,” Tim said. “I find many of the items I need for projects, including lampshades that I re-cover, magazines and poster paints for cards, and even the pens, pencils and paper I use in the shop.” It didn’t take much for Out On A Limb to be certified by RE:think Business. With a business model based on reuse, Tim rarely buys anything new. It’s about as sustainable as a business gets. Presentation Design Group Next time you visit BRING, be sure to check out the donor wall in our Out On A Limb Gallery Gallery. Designed and built by Located on Broadway in the heart PDG, this one-of-a-kind display of downtown Eugene, Tim Boyden’s uses materials found at BRING, Out On A Limb Gallery is packed with including cabinet doors, an ironing beautiful items crafted from found, board, saw blades, and doorknobs. recycled, and reclaimed materials. From The screen-printed glass listing tables with driftwood legs and urbanBRING’s donors is both removable forested wood to collage style greeting and reusable. “Using screen-printed cards up-cycled from magazines and glass is both cost effective and calendars, all items are sourced and environmentally friendly,” said made locally. Tim’s regular sourcing Laura Theiss, project manager at routine includes the free boxes and PDG, a locally owned company that creates donor walls for major institutions across the country. “When a donor wall needs to be updated, we simply remove the panel and re-print.” PDG has completed other projects that reuse materials, including a large art piece for another local non-profit using wood and materials sourced at BRING. KLCC has a PDG donor wall too, created A detail from BRING’s donors wall, created by PDG with from up-cycled CDs. BRING materials. Screen-printed glass can be removed and updated as names are added. What Do I Do With My...Batteries? From cell phones to cars, we use batteries to power just about everything. That power comes at a cost. Single-use alkaline batteries (for flashlights and such) come with a lot of packaging and aren't recyclable. That means they are garbage when they finally die, and it’s your job to pay for their disposal. If you've been saving up your alkaline batteries, unsure what to do with them, relax. In 1996, their mercury content was outlawed. Today, while they create waste, they aren't creating toxic waste. You can toss them in the trash. If you want to cut down on that waste, there's good news. You can switch to rechargeable batteries, which can be used over and over again. Their packaging footprint is smaller because you're buying them once for a multitude of charges. They are more expensive initially, but over their lifetime, they cost less than their non-rechargeable counterparts. The bad news is, they contain heavy metals or toxic components. Lithium Ion, Nickel Metal Hydride, and Nickel Cadmium batteries never belong in the trash. Instead, you can recycle them for free at any of Lane County's transfer stations (see page 8). You can also take your personal rechargeable batteries to BRING. They can be left at the cashier's station. Car batteries are a different matter. Their lead acid components qualify as hazardous waste. BRING can not accept them. They can be taken for free Table and bench designed and built with reclaimed fir by Rainbow Valley Design and Construction. One of Tim Boyden’s bowling ball lamps at Out On A Limb Gallery, which sells lighting, furniture, and accessories made from found and reclaimed materials. to any Lane County transfer station. No appointment needed. Happy Recycling! Bold Steps Is your business taking Bold Steps? Certified RE:think Businesses located in the City of Eugene are eligible for the Mayor's Bold Steps Award. The award honors businesses and organizations making significant environmental, social, or economic progress. The top three finalists receive a free, 1-2 minute video about their company, shown at the State of the City address in January. The winning business is presented with an engraved trophy, to be kept on display for the year. BRING's UsedNews | Summer 2013 Community Education Dear Goddess of Garbage Waste Revisited One of BRING’s most popular educational programs is our tour of community waste handling facilities, for a firsthand look at where all our stuff ends up. Tours include Short Mountain Landfill, Lane County Central Receiving Station, and BRING. A grant from the Gray Family Fund of the Oregon Community Foundation has allowed us to provide more tours for rural and low-income schools by funding transportation costs. This school year, we led tours for 16 classes, serving 389 students. 1 BRING Educator Brett Jacobs inspires kids to think twice about what they use and what they toss in the trash. Let’s Talk Trash! Dear Goddess, We've been looking for new furniture for a guest bedroom. We don't have a lot of cash and have been considering inexpensive, put-ittogether-yourself furniture. We can do the whole bedroom for about $500. This seems like a deal, but I know you would tell me to buy used. The thing is I don't know where to start. I don't really understand why it's better. If it's old, isn't it going to fall apart faster? Help! 2 Students from Kalapuya High School arrive for a tour of the Lane County Central Receiving Station and BRING. The trip was organized by Kelly Shilanek, a classroom assistant in the College/Career/Transitions class at Kalapuya. 3 While every class tours the same points of interest at the Central Receiving Station, every tour ends up being unique. The students’ questions drive the conversation. One group may spend a lot of time on plastics recycling while another may have a greater interest in reuse. Here, the conversation turned to rechargeable vs. disposable batteries. (See “What do I do with my…Batteries?” on page 6.) 4 “The Pit” is a staging point for our waste. Neighborhood route trucks drop their refuse here. It then gets loaded onto semis and taken to the landfill. Thursday is a great day to tour and really understand how the transfer station works. Every Thursday, the County “scrapes bottom,” removing all debris from the Pit. The “Pit Cat” keeps busy on these days. Even with very little material in the Pit, the students have no trouble identifying items that could have been reduced, reused, or recycled. Summer Events Celebrate summer with us at these events. And save the date for the annual BRING Home and Garden Tour! Springfield Light of Liberty Celebration Day Island Park July 4 4:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m. Art and the Vineyard Alton Baker Park July 4 July 5 July 6 11:00 a.m. - dark 11:00 a.m. - 9:30 p.m. 11:00 a.m. - 9:30 p.m. Oregon Country Fair Veneta July 12 July 13 July 14 11:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m. 11:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m. 11:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m. Eugene Celebration Downtown Eugene August 23-25 BRING Home and Garden Tour Eugene September 8 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. 5 It’s always nice to end the tour of waste handling facilities on a more pleasant note. At BRING, we show how reuse trumps recycling and offers another avenue beyond the landfill—an uplifting way to finish the day. Here, students experience the aesthetics of reuse in BRING’s Garden of Earthly Delights, including four Art Decostyle bridge rails, salvaged during renovation of a landmark bridge in Gold Beach. Composting Workshops Learn from the experts. Free hands-on workshops, sponsored by the City of Eugene and OSU/Lane County Extension Service, cover all the basics for beginners to experienced composters. Preregistration not required. • • • • Saturday, June 1 Saturday, June 15 Saturday, Sept. 14 Saturday, Sept. 28 10:00 a.m. – noon 10:00 a.m. – noon 10:00 a.m. – noon 10:00 a.m. – noon BRING: 4446 Franklin Blvd. Parking is limited. Take LTD bus 85 or the EmX to McVay Station. GrassRoots Garden: Located behind St. Thomas Episcopal Church at 1465 Coburg Rd. Transition Garden Project: 905 Flamingo, Springfield, adjacent to Food for Lane County Youth Farm. Parking is limited. River House Compost Education Site: 301 N. Adams, behind the River House (along bike path in East Maurie Jacobs Park). BRING GrassRoots Garden Transition Garden River House —Becoming Exceedingly Depressed Dear BED, I understand your dilemma. You aren't alone. There are a lot of companies that provide inexpensive furniture and goods. They serve a market niche. Unfortunately, most of these goods are not built to last. The Goddess does not purchase these products. The Goddess appreciates quality. You can spend more money now on new quality furnishings and have something that will keep its value and provide you with a lifetime of usage, or you can buy quality used items, as the Goddess prefers. Again, you have to look for quality. There is another reason why you should buy used. The Goddess’ drafting desk was built in the 1940s. The oak tree it was cut from was over 100 years old. The tools used to make it were inefficient and unsafe. The finishes used were toxic for the workers who built the desk. The metals used in the desk were mined at a time when environmental considerations were nonexistent. The vehicles used to transport the materials and finished product were inherently dangerous and polluting. The true costs of this desk are too great to allow it to be discarded. It was built before planned obsolescence took hold in the manufacturing world. This desk isn't going to fall apart. I can take it apart and put it back together, secure in the knowledge that the fasteners won't break. Is it stylish? You have no idea. Still I have hope for you—you are asking the right questions, after all. Start at BRING. Hit the antique stores. Go to the used shops. Pawn brokers often have quality items. You’ll be amazed at what your new bedroom will look like. —The Goddess Send your questions to [email protected] 7 8 BRING's UsedNews | Summer 2013 Where to Take It Reuse and Recycling in Lane County KEY Curbside recycling is just the beginning. Take advantage of all the opportunities to reuse and recycle in Lane County. $ Fees may apply. Call for information. Illegal to throw away as garbage. BRING 541-746-3023 CRS Central Receiving Station, Glenwood, 541-682-4120. CURBSIDE call your hauler for details. MECCA 541-302-1810 APPLIANCES HAZARDOUS WASTE Air Conditioners $, CRS, XFER, SVDP Common household hazardous waste is taken free of charge by Lane County Hazardous Waste. Call 541-682-3111 to make an appointment. Dishwashers; Washers & Dryers Batteries CRS, XFER, SCHNITZER, SVDP, NEXTSTEP Mr. Appliance, 541-343-1698 Hot Water Heaters CRS, XFER, SCHNITZER Microwave Ovens CRS, XFER, NEXTSTEP, SCHNITZER Pacific Recycling, 541-461-3443 Refrigerators & Freezers $, CRS, XFER, SVDP Mr. Appliance, 541-343-1698 Small Appliances (toasters, irons, blenders) CRS, XFER, THRIFT, NEXTSTEP Stoves CRS, XFER, BRING, NEXTSTEP Mr. Appliance, 541-343-1698 Fire Extinguishers CRS, XFER, SCHNITZER Pacific Recycling, 541-461-3443 $ A1 Fire, 541-726-7287 Lane County Hazardous Waste, by appointment, 541-682-3111 National Firefighter, 541-485-3566 Paint Lane County Hazardous Waste, by appointment, 541-682-3111 Building Materials Lumber, bricks, doors, windows, Prescription Drugs DO NOT flush down the toilet. Tile BRING (reusable) MECCA (broken) ELECTRONICS CDs, DVDs & Cases CRS, NEXTSTEP Cell Phones & PDAs CRS, XFER, NEXTSTEP Drop box at UO Bookstore and various locations, ASUO office, UO Telecom office, and Kennedy Middle School. Christmas Lights scrap metal CRS, XFER, NEXTSTEP Computers & Peripherals CRS, NEXTSTEP Garten Industries, 541-868-1550 Goodwill, 541-345-0769 Phones & Phone Equipment Lane County Sheriff’s Office lobby, 9:00 a.m.5:00 p.m., Monday-Friday, 541-682-4150 Springfield Justice Center lobby, available 24/7, 541-744-4177 Florence Justice Center, 900 Greenwood Street, Florence, available 24/7, 541-997-3515 Oakridge & more. Sharps Medical needles, scapels, etc. CRS, XFER Place in a red, rigid container with a screw-top lid (such as a detergent bottle). HOUSEHOLD Books Textbooks, hard/paperback, computer manuals; Printer, Inkjet, Fax & Other Cartridges Corks NO plastic, composite, or metal closures. NEXTSTEP Rapid Refill, 541-334-4465 Redundant Cartridge, 541-302-1444 BRING SeQuential Biofuels, 541-736-5864 Televisions CRS For recycling, must be 100% wood; hardware no bigger than a thumb. BRING reusable non-upholstered. CRS, XFER, NEXTSTEP VCRs & DVD Players CRS, XFER, NEXTSTEP Video Cassette Tapes & Cases Pre-recorded only SVDP, NEXTSTEP GLASS Bottles, Jars, & Jugs CRS, XFER, CURBSIDE For recycling: rinse clean, remove lids. Labels OK. BRING For reuse: only canning jars, vases, antiques Furniture Hearing Aids & Eyeglasses Key Bank, 725 A Street, Springfield Oregon Lions Sight & Hearing Foundation, 1-800-635-4667 Williamalane has Lion's box. Luggage, Backpacks, Totes THRIFT AAA will donate these to a foster care program, 541-4840661. Mattresses & Box Springs Clean and dry ONLY. $ CRS, SVDP Shoes Drinking Glasses, Vases (Reusable) BRING, THRIFT THRIFT all brands NIKE Store, 541-686-3141recycle: athletic shoes only Shower Doors Wine Bottle Foil $ BRING Wood, Dimensional Lumber & Plywood, Reusable Dimensional lumber 4’ or longer. Plywood CRS, XFER, CURBSIDE sheets, nails OK. BRING Greeting Cards & Gift Wrap Wood, Not Reusable Some restrictions apply. CRS, XFER Recyclable, if non-metallic MECCA reusable CURBSIDE Recyclable, if non-metallic $ CRS, XFER Rotten wood, pegboard; NO railroad ties or pressure treated wood. Lead-free painted wood OK. Rexius Forest Products, 541-342-1835 Lane Forest Products, 541-345-9085 Junk Mail Remove any samples. CRS, XFER, CURBSIDE Prevent It website: www.dmachoice.org Magazines Remove plastic packaging to recycle; donate to social service agency waiting rooms. CRS, XFER, SVDP, CURBSIDE VEHICLE Milk, Soy, & Juice Cartons Rinse and let air-dry; recycle at all county sites. CRS, XFER Antifreeze, Oil Filters Highly toxic but free to Auto Batteries Newsprint Loose or place in brown paper bag. CRS, XFER, CURBSIDE The Mission, 541-344-3251 CRS, XFER Battery X-Change, 541-689-9134 Batteries Plus, 541-349-5030 Paper, High-Grade Office Cars wrecked, broken, or unwanted Paper, Low-Grade Mixed Magazines, junk mail, Motorcycles wrecked, broken, or unwanted Cyclepsycho Motorcycle Recycling, 541-461-9279 Pacific Recycling, 541-461-3443 SCHNITZER Pacific Recycling, 541-461-3443 SVDP Working only. catalogs, egg cartons, gift wrap, cereal and 6-pack boxes, and all high-grade paper. CRS, XFER, CURBSIDE Phone Books Cancel the ones you do not use. CRS, XFER, CURBSIDE Cooking Oil & Grease Stereos, Radios, etc. CRS, XFER, NEXTSTEP PAPER Corrugated Cardboard & Brown Paper Bags Flatten; only 3-ply; no waxed, no food contamination. Candles, Wax, & Crayons Clothing Tyvek Recycling Hotline, 866-338-9835 Pallets CRS, XFER, CURBSIDE, NEXTSTEP Computer/copy machine paper, fax paper, envelopes, lightcolored office and school paper, etc.; staples, windows, adhesives OK. CRS, THRIFT Tyvek Envelopes Pacific Pallet, 541-688-2887 Eugene Pallet Services, 541-485-0549 Carpet CRS, XFER, NEXTSTEP Styrofoam™ (Block Foam) SVDP The Bear Factory, 541-746-4842 WOOD remove plastic parts/straws. CRS, XFER, CURBSIDE MECCA Goodwill Industries, 541-345-1801 Plastic Film, Pallet Wrap & Lumber Wrap CRS, XFER and lids OK. CRS, XFER, CURBSIDE NOT wet or moldy. CRS, SVDP International Paper, 541-744-4100 CRS Carpet padding only, restrictions apply. THRIFT new and stain-free BRING new or like new XFER some or all Lane County Transfer & Recycling sites, 541-682-4120. Call to check. Propane Tanks $ CRS, XFER, SVDP Pacific Recycling, 541-461-3443 Tin Cans Rinse clean of any food/contamination. Labels $ CRS Delta Sand & Gravel, 541-688-2233 THRIFT (STORES) Goodwill 541-345-1801 The Salvation Army 541-343-3341 St. Vincent de Paul 541-345-0595 Hot Water Heaters lighting & hardware stores (incl. Jerry's & True Value) will take those under 4 ft. Lane County Hazardous Waste, by appointment, 541-682-3111 Pesticides & Fertilizers SVDP 541-687-5820 contamination; wad foil into a baseball-sized ball. CRS, XFER, CURBSIDE Scrap 75% or more metal; barrels, toasters, bed frames, bikes, etc.; containers must be visibly punctured from all sides. CRS, XFER, BRING, SCHNITZER, NEXTSTEP Pacific Recycling, 541-461-3443 Fluorescent Light Tubes & Bulbs Most Asphalt & Concrete Ceiling Tiles SCHNITZER (STEEL) 541-686-0515 CRS, XFER If EMPTY, recycle in tin can collection—remove caps, do not flatten or puncture. If NOT empty, take to Lane County Hazardous Waste, by appointment, 541-682-3111 Aluminum cans, foil, trays; rinse clean of any food/ paintcare.org Enter your zip code for a listing of drop off sites. Armstrong World Industries, 1-888-CEILING Aerosol Spray Cans CRS, XFER Most batteries (car, watch, rechargeable, NiCad, mercury, lithium, lead-acid) free to recycle. Alkaline batteries less than10 years old are considered safe in the garbage. Batteries + Bulbs, 541-349-5030 Other: www.rbrc.org/call2recycle CONSTRUCTION cabinets, flowerpots, garage doors, hardware, plumbing, & more. BRING Habitat Restore, 541-344-4809 METAL NEXTSTEP (RECYLING) 541-686-2366 Shredded NOT cross-cut CRS, XFER, CURBSIDE Place in paper bag, staple once and label "shredded paper." International Paper, 541-744-4100 commercial quantities PLASTIC Bottles, Tubs, & Jars Rinse, discard lids Motor Oil CRS, XFER Some curbside recyclers accept motor oil in labeled, nonbreakable containers with a screw-top lid. Tires Passenger tires only. Maximum 22" diameter, measured at rim. $ CRS, XFER Big B Tires, 541-746-4193 Les Schwab many locations YARD NO #6 plastic (most takeout containers & foam). CRS, XFER, CURBSIDE 6-Pack Rings Recyclable as bags/film. CRS, XFER Packing Peanuts No food containers or cups. NEXTSTEP Try craigslist, UPS Stores, and other mailing services. Brush, Yard Debris, Grass Clipping, Leaves Grass, leaves, weeds, branches 20” diameter and less; compost/mulch at home. $ CRS, XFER Lane Forest Products, 541-345-9085 Rexius Forest Products, 541-342-1835 Plant Pots & Trays Remove all dirt. CRS BRING One gallon or larger. Plastic Bags Clean and dry only. BRING CRS, XFER Windows $ BRING Lane County Transfer and Recycling Sites For information on rural disposal and recycling sites, hazardous waste and paint disposal, or other Lane County Solid Waste Department issues and services, call 541-682-4120. Cottage Grove: 78760 Sears Road, 541-942-8986 Wed. through Sat., 8-6 All year Low Pass: 22377 Highway 36, Cheshire, 541-998-8215 Fri. & Sat., S 8-6, W 9-5 Sharps Creek: 74540 Sharps Creek Road, 541-946-1029 Culp Creek, Sat. only, S 8-6, W 9-5 Creswell: 34293 Cloverdale Road, 541-895-3274 Wed. through Sat., 8-6 All year Mapleton: 13570 Highway 126, 541-953-0217 Sat. only, S 8-6, W 9-5 Swiss Home: 13711 Highway 36, 541-268-4841 S Fri. & Sat., 8-6 W Sat. only, 9-5 Florence: 2820 N. Rhododendron Drive, 541-997-6243 Mon. through Sat., 8-6 All year GLENWOOD Central Receiving Station 3100 East 17th Ave., 541-682-4120 Oct.–Mar. Mon. through Sat: 8am–6pm Apr.–Sept.: Mon. through Sat. 8am–6pm; Sun.: 8am–5pm Hours and Days subject to change without notice. S = Summer hrs. May–Sept. W = Winter hrs. Oct.–April CONFUSED? Call BRING 541-746-3023 London: 73111 London Road, 541-942-0120 Sat. only, S 8-6, W 9-5 Marcola: 38935 Shotgun Creek Road, 541-933-2823 Wed. through Sat., S 8-6, W 9-5 McKenzie Bridge: 55805 McKenzie Hwy., Blue River, 541-822-3748 S Sat., 8-6, Mon. & Thu., 1-6 W Sat., 9-5, Mon. & Thu., 1-5 Oakridge: 48977 Kitson Springs Road, 541-782-3923 Wed. through Sat., 8-6 All year Rattlesnake: 82572 Rattlesnake Road, Dexter, 541-937-3403 Wed. through Sat., S 8-6, W 9-5 Veneta: 24444 Bolton Hill Road, 541-935-1297 Mon. through Sat., 8-6 All year Vida: 44041 Canal Lane, Leaburg, 541-896-3643 Wed. through Sat., S 8-6, W 9-5 Walton: 18585 Transformer Road, 541-935-5348 Sat. only, S 8-6, W 9-5