Hayden Henderson of East Lansing High School waits to throw scrap wood into a dumpster during Project Pride on Saturday. Boys’ junior varsity football coach Mark Foster and members of his football team, including Henderson, came out to volunteer throughout the day.
The Abbott Center’s parking lot was filled with what many think of as trash on Saturday, and for organizers of East Lansing’s Project Pride, that was a sign of another successful year.
Project Pride, held at 1400-1500 Abbot Road, is an annual cleanup event where residents bring their household items to be recycled or reused. Some of the items accepted included usable furniture, scrap metal and cardboard.
“I’m exhausted, but that’s a good sign,” said Susan Schmidt, volunteer coordinator.
David Smith, environmental specialist for East Lansing’s Department of Public Works, said he thought the turnout for Project Pride was slightly higher than previous years’ 500 to 600 cars.
Last year, 87 percent of the 45 tons of material collected was able to be recycled, and Smith said he expects similar numbers from this year’s event.
Classic Computer Recovery, or CCR, accepted electronic items for the first time this year.
“The electronics was huge, it was beyond anything I’ve ever seen, people just went wild,” Schmidt said.
Computers were collected for free and TVs were collected for between $9 and $35, depending on their size.
Linda McFarland, president and CEO of CCR, said the company has participated in about 75 events over four years.
Since there are costs involved in taking apart the TVs to turn them into something new, McFarland said the company had to charge for the electronic drop-offs.
“This was the first event we’ve done in over four years that we’ve had to take money (from residents),” McFarland said.
She said she wants to send the working TVs to developing countries for learning purposes.
“Developing countries really would have use (for them) if working; they could use them in school systems, it’s a way to learn,” McFarland said.
Electronics collected were sent to recyclers to be broken down and used in the production of other electronic products.
“The number one way to recycle is reuse,” McFarland said.
Jim Bradley, an East Lansing resident, said he was pleased with the addition of electronics, as he was able to get rid of items he couldn’t in previous years.
“It’s just a really nice way to get rid of materials you’d otherwise have to throw in the trash,” he said.
Two other new items collected this year were planting pots and trays, and boxboard.
“People just aren’t used to that — they don’t think to recycle things like cereal boxes,” she said. “We’re not quite there yet, but we will be.”
Two ideas for Project Pride next year are the collection of plastic bags, and the selling of reusable grocery bags, Schmidt said.
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Despite the overcast day, the turnout for the event was high.
“We were kind of worried about rain for a while, but it (didn’t) come and the flow of cars (was) pretty steady,” said volunteer Barbara Curtis.
Curtis said there were residents who arrived right as the event began at 8 a.m., and there were residents who came right before it ended at 3 p.m.
“The response is so tremendous, that’s what gives me the boost to go do it each year,” Schmidt said.
