Raising Funds through Recycling
Mar 3rd, 2008 by Jervey
The Gotham Gazette’s Wonkster blog had a nice item last Friday about a couple of ways that groups can raise money through materials recycling collection. Writer Mike Muller took an admirable approach in this piece, focusing on how schools or charitable groups could use these programs–in this case EcoPhones and Wearable Collections–to raise funds for projects.
When most people think of recycling, they think of the environment. But another, less intuitive reason to recycle is to raise money. Yes, that old shirt or cell phone may actually be used to raise money for your school or to fight cancer. There are at least two programs operating in the city who use recycling as a fundraising tool.
On such program is called EcoPhones, a for-profit company that pays for electronic waste. At least six schools in the city collect old cellphones, CD players and ink cartridges, which EcoPhones collects and pays for.
At Edward R. Murrow High School in Midwood, Brooklyn, they collect electronic waste throughout the month, which they then turn in to EcoPhones for about $300 per month.
“It’s easy,” says Sandra Pinder, who administers the program, “If you have an old phone, you just bring it to us.” Not only does the school raise some money, it helps keeps trash that is often toxic from entering landfills.
…read the rest of the article here.