Utah Recycling Alliance

A nonprofit organization

$20 raised by 1 donor

The Utah Recycling Alliance was started in 2011 by a group of dedicated professionals to promote recycling initiatives in our state through education, outreach and advocacy. We co-founded the Intermountain Sustainability Summit with Weber State University, the region's premier sustainability conference. That same year we started the Zero Waste Awards, an annual event coordinated with America Recycles Day, to recognize businesses and organizations taking innovative steps in their operations to reach zero waste.

In 2016 we launched a series of CHaRMs - collection of hard-to-recycle materials - that are unique to the Wasatch Front. By bringing together businesses and organizations in one location, we have created a unique opportunity for Wasatch Front residents to repurpose and/or recycle 30+ different types of materials that can't typically be recycled curbside. With only three events in 2017 we diverted 3 TONS OF MATERIAL from the landfill, items from scrap metal and carseats to bras, mattresses and pharmaceuticals. By reducing the volume of material being landfilled, the life of our landfills can be extended, reducing tax-payer expenses. In addition to hosting the CHaRMs, we have partnered with Patagonia to host mini-CHaRM collection events, targeting one or two items, such as skis and bikes. 

In 2017 we launched our quarterly Fix-It Clinic program. We are creating a cultural shift away from society’s “throw-away” mentality with this unique program. At the clinics, people are paired with repair specialists and taught how to disassemble, troubleshoot and repair their broken household items. These repair specialists are experts in fixing a wide variety of items, like small household appliances, larger items like snow blowers and lawn mowers, furniture, bicycles, small electronics, torn clothing and more. By focusing on repairing and reusing materials, rather than throwing items away, this program helps reduce the amount of material to be landfilled, saving space in our local landfills. We've partnered with the Leonardo Museum in Salt Lake City and Habitat for Humanity's ReStore & Recycle Utah in Park City to host our Fix-It Clinic events.

In 2017 we also launched our Bag the Bag campaign, a program to reduce the use of single-use bags in Utah. One trillion single-use disposable bags are used in the world every year, with one billion used in Utah alone. Only 1% of these disposable bags are recycled, meaning the bulk of them end up in our landfills, waterways and elsewhere. By bringing together a coalition of businesses in Utah committed to promoting the use of reusable bags at their retail stores, we hope to impact this unnecessary waste stream.

As a community nonprofit we need your financial support to continue to offer programs like our CHaRM, Fix-It Clinics to Utah residents. Our goal with #GivingTuesday and End of Year campaign is to raise $3,000 in funding, which will cover some of our expenses related to the CHaRM, Fix-It Clinics and Disposable Bag Campaign.

Some of our events and activities planned for 2018 include:

  • Fix-It Clinics – workshops to teach participants how to repair small appliances & household items - January 27
  • Lunch and Learn – networking events that bring speakers to address community participants about pertinent resource management topics - coming in February
  • Plastic bag-free business coalition – a program bringing together businesses voluntarily committed to reducing the use of disposable (plastic and paper) bags - ongoing
  • Intermountain Sustainability Summit - March 1 & 2
  • 8th Annual Zero Waste Awards & Film Screening – an annual event to honor businesses and organizations throughout the state taking successful strides towards zero waste - coming in November
  • Recycling education and mentoring to community groups, organizations and schools - ongoing

Want to donate your time? Please contact us at recycle@utahrecyclingalliance.org.

THANK YOU for your support!

 

 

Organization Data

Summary

Organization name

Utah Recycling Alliance

Tax id (EIN)

27-4117035

Categories

Environment,  Community

Address

PO BOX 927
SALT LAKE CTY, UT 84110