Happy New Year from the Sustainable Green Team!
The SGT, including Mitch Gans, Kev Sullivan, Will Hill, Daynah Blake and Amy Finley, publishes this newsletter quarterly. All content is free and public.
Net Zero Waste is Here
The SGT has operated a zero-waste data center at Sliger Building since January 2023. Every recyclable and waste item passing through the facility has a distribution channel, to prevent it from being sent to the dumpster and then landfill. As a result of serving as a materials recovery facility to which the community at large sends waste unrelated to normal operations, the team now processes more waste than it produces. The Sliger Building Data Center is a net negative waste facility.
Green Drinks
Sustainable Tallahassee hosts a Green Drinks event at Oyster City Brewing Company on Gaines Street in Tallahassee, on the last Monday evening most months. The SGT attended presentations in February and March, from the Tallahassee Museum regarding the preservation of red wolves, and the Florida Springs Council, advocating for Florida’s springs and spring-fed waterways. The SGT hopes to be able to present at a Green Drinks event later this year.
Recycling Partner of the Quarter
Felicitations to the SGT’s newest recycling partner, the Godby High School Key Club service organization, led by Mrs. Susan Shoemaker, who has been teaching at Godby for 36 years. On January 12, Mitch visited and talked about the team’s recycling initiatives, and was warmly welcomed by the students, who were provided with can ring collection incentives by their advisor.
Upcycle Partner of the Quarter
One of the critical paths to success in implementing a zero-waste materials recovery facility, was the team’s attention to identifying a distribution channel for each category of refuse that would otherwise go to the dumpster. Early last Fall, the team contacted Christopher David at ReStore Big Bend Habitat for Humanity in Tallahassee, and obtained permission to begin bringing them unneeded basic hardware components, nuts, bolts, screws and the like, for their community construction projects. In October, the team visited and brought Michelle Register a two-gallon bucket of hardware, and talked about the SGT’s sustainable service activities and interests.
Local Education
In early March, Mitch was contacted by Ivory Miller, a colleague of Michelle Register’s, who works at the Learning Pavilion on Easter Stanley Drive in Tallahassee. She invited the team to talk about their successes to the students during their Reduce, Reuse & Recycle Week educational unit. On March 16, Will and Mitch brought RIDER Center stickers and soft drinks to 60 pre-school students, and showed them how the plastic rings connecting their 12-packs of bottles can be recycled. The students’ imaginative projects festooned the common area, and they were eager to engage the team with their comments and questions.
Annual MagLab Open House
On February 25, the SGT attended the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory’s annual Open House, and were delighted to meet its director, Dr. Gregory S. Boebinger. They visited the Candy Lab and watched the potato cannons fire.
Keep Tallahassee Beautiful: Adopt a Street
In January, the SGT’s personalized street adoption sign was erected, and Mitch Gans’ grandson accompanied the team and assisted with litter cleanup at Innovation Park in March.
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We strive to promote socially responsible and environmentally sustainable practices by empowering individuals to make the right choices.
Please let us know if you would like to be included with any of our activities and interests, or if we can help you rehome unusual items.
Spring into Sustainability for Earth Day on April 22!
Published by the RIDER Center
NL #003 March 2023
CC: Mitch Gans – SGT Lead Contact
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