West Virginia’s first ZeroLandfill event to focus on “upcycling,” or keeping waste materials intact so they can be reused for another purpose, is being hosted by the Habitat for Humanity of Kanawha & Putnam County ReStore in Charleston.
The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection is a sponsor of the event.
ZeroLandfill is a national reuse program that supports the supply needs of local artists and art educators, while reducing pressure on local landfill capacity. It takes samples traditionally disposed of as waste and turns them into art and education supplies.
On March 18 and 24 and again on April 1, between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m., expired specification samples such as carpet tile, glass, fabric swatches and laminate chips from the architecture and interior design community can be dropped off at the ReStore located at 301 Piedmont Rd.
Once sorted, the “upcycled” items will be available for free to local art teachers and artists at the ReStore from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on April 2, 9 and 16.
“This is a perfect match for us at Habitat ReStore. It is good for the environment and the community,” said Amy McLaughlin, ReStore director. “We already collect, distribute and resell used and surplus materials of all kinds donated by individuals, contractors, businesses, retailers and manufacturers – this is an opportunity for us to give back to our local artisans and art teachers.”
Since 2006, the ZeroLandfill project team has assisted the architectural and interior design community in identifying, diverting from local landfills and re-purposing back into the community thousands of pounds of specification samples that hold value for other audiences. The program is supported by personnel from BeeDance, LLC, a web-based program that offers training workshops, volunteer services and online marketing for reusing materials misclassified as waste.
“Today’s creative community needs these materials which become integral to their process,” said Christy Gray, of BeeDance.
In addition to the ReStore and DEP, other sponsors of the ZeroLandfill event are InterfaceFLOR Commercial Carpet Tile; Herman Miller Furniture; Armstrong Ceiling Systems; Maharam Fabrics and ZMM Architects & Engineers.
“This ZeroLandfill event is a great opportunity for West Virginia,” said Greg Adolfson, DEP sustainability officer. “It is exciting knowing that we will divert materials from the landfill and celebrate as these materials will have a second life in the community.”
For more information about the event, contact ZMM’s Jill Watkins at 304-342-0159 (ext. 240) or jmw@zmm.com. Learn more about ZeroLandfill at www.zerolandfill.net. On Facebook, look for “ZeroLandfill Charleston, WV.”