What purpose would a thriving business have for excess iridescent plastic or unused deodorant covers? Some might say these items are prime candidates for the Dumpster.
But Recycling for Rhode Island Education (RRIE), a local educational and environmental nonprofit agency, and the local teachers and students who work with it, respectfully disagree. These materials, plus countless other seemingly useless products, form the basis for various school projects.
For 14 years, RRIE has been turning businesses’ overruns, outdated stock and extra material into treasures for area teachers and schoolchildren, all while also helping businesses in Rhode Island give back to the community, clean out their warehouses and earn a tax deduction all at the same time.
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The materials that are donated would most likely be discarded, said Kathleen McAreavey, educational and events coordinator at RRIE.
The program “keeps materials out of landfills and uses it in education,” she said. In fact, she said, it keeps away more than 10 tons of waste from Rhode Island dumps each month.
The vision of RRIE is to “encourage self-discovery by active participation in learning through creative experiences,” according to its Web site, www.rrie.org.
Members must prove they are educators or work for a nonprofit organization to have access to the materials per the agreement RRIE has with its business sponsors that donations go to education and improving the environment.
Pam Blakey, product manager at Vilmain Inc., a designer of manufacturing products in Providence, said the company is always trying to recycle its extra materials.
“We are grateful there is a source to use the products we are no longer using ourselves,” she said.
Each April, the Providence plant undergoes a spring cleaning, in which discontinued products like gift boxes, posters, coasters, wood and metal that can be used for unique school projects is donated.
“It is wonderful to hear and see what kids can make with products we are no longer using,” said Blakey.
George Shuster, chief executive officer of Cranston Print Works Company in Cranston, said his company has been donating materials to RRIE for more than 10 years. He has a picture sent to him of students who used the fabric the company donated to make their own designs that he hopes represents the future quilters of America and potential consumers of his product.
The company produces hundreds of designs each year, he said. Shuster is resigned to the fact that some of the designs will not work out, but he points out “they are still beautiful and the kids like them.”
Shuster said it is his understanding that the donated products are not substitutes for other materials but provide supplies for projects that the students would not otherwise be able to do.
These are just two examples of the nearly 200 material donors that have given different school supplies like binders, markers, pencils, glue sticks, cardboard, foam, paper, ribbon, beads, gift boxes, containers, wood, fabric, string, tubes, piping, plastics, wallpaper, magnets and any other safe and clean manufacturing scraps that can be used for classroom projects.
“Teachers have to think outside the box,” said McAreavey.
Every week there are at least two days of pickups from businesses around the state and region. Workers have traveled as far as Connecticut and Maine for donations. The staff of one full-time employee and 10 part-time workers can always use volunteers to sort and organize the donated materials.
The organization offers three membership opportunities for area teachers and educators.
An individual card cost $50, an organization membership (four cards) is $185 and a corporate sponsorship (eight cards) is $320. All memberships last for one year. Teachers also pay 20 cents per pound of materials that they pick up to defray building and maintenance costs. More than 450 schools, education programs and community organizations use the materials.
RRIE also offers regular workshops that show teachers how to incorporate the materials into their classes. Thirteen workshops were held throughout the summer that ranged from Make & Take Bookmaking, Simple Math with Resuables, and Oceans & Insects Projects for elementary and secondary schools.
Select workshops can earn professional development credit.
RRIE has been at its current location in a rented mill on Hathaway Street in Providence for about five years. The group dreams to one day have its own building, said McAreavey.
The office is open on Wednesdays from noon to 4:30 p.m. and Fridays and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. To learn more, contact RRIE at 781-1521 or visit www.rrie.org.
