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Twin Cities Free Market: A great way to give and get free stuff.
The Twin Cities Free Market is an innovative program created by Eureka Recycling to reduce the amount of reusable and durable household goods being thrown in the trash. This online listing service is available to Twin Cities metro area residents who want to give or get free reusable goods for the home, garage and garden. Giving away or getting items on Twin Cities Free Market SM is quick, easy, free, and most importantly, it’s good for the environment. Since its inception in 1998, almost than 70,000 items have changed hands, diverting nearly 5,000 tons of still-useful items from the waste stream. The following email excerpt, sent by Elizabeth M of Saint Paul, really says it all: “There are so many people, who, like me and my family, seem to accumulate "stuff,” use for a little while, and hold onto it for far too long. These things are too good to throw away, but how do you find new homes for them? That’s where Twin Cities Free Market comes in! Thank you for offering this GREAT service!”
Compost at the State Fair
Eureka Recycling teamed up with the Minnesota State Fair to reduce waste at the 2007 Great Minnesota Get-Together through composting! The State Fair has composted manure for years, but this was the first attempt to compost food scraps. State Fair guests composted corn cobs outside the Corn Roast, which sold an average of 10,000 ears of corn per day! In addition, a dozen volunteer vendors in the food building also participated by composting food behind the scenes, along with the prize-winning food and vegetable displays from the agriculture/horticulture building. Eureka Recycling staff and volunteers were available to answer any questions fair-goers had including what would happen to the cobs. Nearly 40 tons of food waste were turned into nutrient-rich soil!
Experiencing Zero Waste
Eureka Recycling believes that waste is preventable….completely preventable. But how can people really make this belief a reality in their daily lives. That’s where Eureka Recycling can help. Eureka Recycling provides practical programs, services, and education that give people more opportunities to recycle, compost and reduce their waste on-the-go and at home. For example, Eureka Recycling is adding compostable materials to Saint Paul’s curbside recycling programs, giving people the ability to compost everything from egg shells and leftovers to paper napkins and pizza boxes. And it works. For the people who have already tried it, it’s a powerful, first hand experience in having no waste. “Composting at home has been so easy to do. We were down to one bag of garbage instead of four to five. We feel great knowing we’re not being as wasteful now that most of what we used to throw away can now go into our recycling bin or our compost cart.”-Judy H, Saint Paul.
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