SARATOGA SPRINGS – Sustainable Saratoga’s second Saratoga Recycles Day is Saturday, October 20 from 9 am-2 pm in the SPAC parking lot on the west side of Route 50. Re-purpose your unwanted items while also protecting the environment and keeping things out of landfills. It’s easy and you don’t even have to get out of your car!
Sustainable Saratoga’s first Saratoga Recycles Day in 2017 was an amazing success. More than 500 cars dropped off 11,000 pounds of textiles, at least 80 bikes, and tons of scrap metal, diverting these items from the landfill. Help us recycle even more this year!
Please note that there will be a $5 entrance fee per vehicle. New this year, household TVs and monitors can be recycled for an additional fee of $20 each, which helps us offset the cost that we have to pay to get these items properly recycled.
When is it? Saturday, October 20 from 9 AM-2 PM (rain or shine)
Where? SPAC Parking Lot, west side of Route 50 (NEW LOCATION)
Entrance fee: $5 per vehicle
Who can participate? Everyone! You do NOT have to be a Saratoga Springs resident
What can be recycled?
• Electronics + Appliances
• Bicycles + Metal Objects
• TVs and monitors (for an additional $20/each)
• Clothing + Household Textiles (any condition)
• Fabric + Notions (clean materials only)
What not to bring? Pillows, rugs with rubber backing, carpet, batteries, thermostats, smoke detectors, light bulbs, toxic/hazardous materials
More info or to volunteer to help at the event:
• Visit this WEB PAGE
• Email zerowaste@sustainablesaratoga.org
To keep traffic flowing as efficiently as possible, please sort your items by the major collection categories. There will be “stations” set up in the parking lot (see map above): 1) TVs and monitors; 2) electronics, appliances, and metal objects; 3) bicycles for Bikeatoga; 4) sleeping bags and backpacks for Shelters of Saratoga; 5) men’s jeans & hoodies, blankets and adult bikes for Backstretch Workers; 6) clothing and textiles; and 7) fabric and notions.
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Repair Café making a difference in Saratoga Springs
Repair Cafés are catching on in Saratoga Springs! Sustainable Saratoga and the Saratoga Springs Public Library hosted their second Repair Café on Saturday, September 29. Over 100 items were brought in for repair, including lots of lamps, wooden chairs, necklaces and bracelets, bikes, jeans, a paper shredder, an umbrella, and a vacuum. Knife and scissor sharpening was also a popular station. Especially cute was the influx of precious stuffed animals that were repaired to the joy of some of our younger attendees.
One of the main goals of Repair Café is to get people to think about repairing an item before thinking about replacing it. According to Margie Shepard, Chair of Sustainable Saratoga’s Zero Waste Committee, “In just one afternoon, we were able to keep over 70 items out of the landfill; these volunteers are making a tangible difference in our community.”
Wendy Mahaney, Manager of Sustainable Saratoga, stated that “this event more than doubled in size from the first one, and the overwhelming sentiment of the patrons is thankfulness that these skilled Repair Coaches are donating their time.” One woman had several garments repaired and described it as “fixed with professional care.” Another patron commented “This event is wonderful! I wish I had the skills to offer for fixing other’s things. Thanks for hosting this event!”
“The Repair Café exemplifies the library’s values of supporting independent learners, being a responsible steward of resources, and to be of service to one another and to every member of our community,” affirms Jennifer Ferriss, the Saratoga Springs Public Library Green Team Coordinator.
The Repair Coaches can be seen teaching people how to do their own repairs and sometimes coaches team up to find the best strategy for a particular item to be repaired. One woman was inspired by her necklace repair, “A wonderful program. Looking forward to the next one, and in the meantime, I’m inspired to head home and attempt repair on my similar items!”
Keep your eye out for our next Repair Café in early 2019. If you like fixing things, Sustainable Saratoga and the SSPL are always looking for additional volunteer repair coaches. This is a fun way to meet new people, make a difference in someone’s life, and help the planet all at the same time. If you would like to learn more about becoming a volunteer repair coach, email wendy@sustainablesaratoga.org
The Repair Café concept arose in the Netherlands in 2009 and has expanded to over 1600 Repair Cafés around the world. Martine Postma started the Repair Café Foundation (see Repaircafe.org) to provide support to groups that want to start their own Repair Café. Sustainable Saratoga and the SSPL will organize a Repair Café every few months, so please visit this Web Page for additional information.
