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Happenings in the Keweenaw Peninsula Posted April 12, 2006 Press Releases and logos © 2006 Michigan Tech Students for Environmental Sustainability (SfES), courtesy Rachael Sturtevant, and MTU Environmental Sustainability Committee. Published with permission.

Green Exchange, Earth Day events to begin Apr. 14

HOUGHTON -- USA Earth Day* events will begin on the Michigan Tech campus with the Drop-N-Shop Green Exchange on Friday, Apr. 14. Other opportunities to celebrate Earth Day locally include a Lunch-N-Learn on Friday, Apr. 21, and an electronic items collection on Saturday, Apr. 22.

Drop-N-Shop to be held at MTU's Spring Fling Apr. 14

We've all heard the phrase "One person's trash is another's treasure," but few people ever go so far as donating the items for which they no longer have use. Michigan Tech University's Students for Environmental Sustainability (SfES), a student group affiliated with MTU's Environmental Sustainability Committee (ESC),  is dedicated to serving the University and the community in waste prevention techniques and in helping people to find treasures in the midst of items that might otherwise end up taking up space in the dump. 

SfES, is organizing the annual Drop-N-Shop (a.k.a. The Green Exchange) event in this area. Students and community members are encouraged to drop off any unwanted items between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. on Friday, Apr. 14, during MTU's Spring Fling, at the SfES booth, #47, between Douglas Houghton Hall and the Walker Arts and Humanities Center.

The Drop-N-Shop goal is to reduce the amount of waste generated at Michigan Tech and in Houghton by extending the useful life of items no longer needed by the current owner. These items can find new homes with people who can use them or who just stop by to shop for a few new treasures at unbelievably low prices! The items will immediately be for sale for very cheap prices to the first person that wants them.

This year SfES is coordinating Drop-N-Shop with the Outdoor Adventure Program. The OAP, set to launch in the fall of 2006, is looking for used outdoor equipment no longer needed by its owners. The equipment will be made available to students to rent for minimal cost starting this fall.

Items to Bring (SfES reserves the right to refuse any donated item.)
Art work/posters
Bedding
Bins, baskets, Rubbermaid containers, etc.
Books, binders, & other school supplies
CDs, tapes, movies, video games
Cleaning supplies
Clothes and shoes (must be clean!)
Food (non-perishable)
Furniture (tables, chairs, futons, desks, etc.)
Holiday lights
Kitchen items (must be clean!)
Laundry supplies
Lumber (dorm lofts, etc.)
Pet supplies
Plants
Sports equipment & recreational items (games)
Towels (must be clean!)
Toys
TVs, stereos, CD and tape players, walkmen
White boards, bulletin boards, cork boards, etc.

Items Not to Bring
Broken items
Dirty, stained or torn clothing
Flammable Items (gasoline, oil, etc.)
Halogen Lamps
Mattresses
Tires
Toxic Items (paint, etc.)
Weapons
White goods (refrigerators, washing machines, etc.)
Computers and computer equipment

Items for the OAP
Outdoor supplies and equipment, such as:
Canoes, kayaks, paddles, sailboats
Wetsuits, personal flotation devices
Tents, sleeping bags, sleeping pads, backpacks
Stoves, white gas fuel bottles, cooking kits
Snowshoes

ESC Earth Day Lunch-N-Learn Apr. 21

ESC will hold an Earth Day Lunch-N-Learn from Noon to 1 p.m. on Friday, Apr. 21, in MTU's Memorial Union Building. Come and dialogue with members of the Environmental Sustainability Committee about ways to reduce and reuse items around your home. At this session, the group will explore unusual/multiple uses for everyday items. Learn how to use last year's holiday cards and gift wrap creatively, and discover how to make your own scratch pads from the recycling bin. You will receive a free gift as well as the opportunity to make your own stationery and gift tags.

Note: Beverages and dessert will be served. Just bring your own brown bag lunch or buy an entrée at the MUB cafeteria.

Electronics items collection Apr. 22

Trinity Episcopal Church in Houghton is sponsoring an electronic items collection from 9 a.m. to Noon on Saturday, Apr. 22 (USA Earth Day). If you have working or non-working old computers, fax machines, monitors, copiers, TVs, capacitors, cell phones, printers, network equipment, servers, circuit boards, telephones, stereos, etc., that you would like to get rid of, you can drop them off at Trinity Episcopal Church, 205 E. Montezuma, Houghton. They will be reused, recycled or disposed of responsibly.

For more information on these events, visit the ESC website or contact Shalini Suryanarayana (shalini@mtu.edu).

Editor's Note: USA Earth Day is celebrated April 22. This year Michigan Tech's ESC and SfES groups sponsored a whole week of International Earth Week events March 27-31. Visit the ESC Website for archived news of the March 2006 Earth Week presentations.