Earth Day Event Recycles Tons

When the last of Habitat for Humanity’s personnel finally left Sunset Park at 9:30 pm on April 22, the community had recycled 112,000 pounds of electronic waste (five semi-trailers and three box trucks), 56,000 pounds of latex paint (enough to paint the 1,695,000 square feet of Lambeau Field), 25,000 pounds of non-functioning appliances and scrap metal, three pallets of used clothing, two pallets of shoes, more than 750 books, more than 100 expired fire extinguishers, a box of outdated emergency flares, 100 pairs of used eyeglasses, and boxes of cell phones and printer cartridges.

Residents interested in ethically recycling out-of-date, unusable or unwanted items waited more than an hour to get through the long lines that extended all around Little Lake. One visitor remarked, “You’d think this was a Brewers game.”

The Door County Habitat for Humanity ReStore, which has kept approximately 500,000 pounds of usable or recyclable merchandise out of area landfills since 2009, hopes to make this an annual event. Recycling does not have to wait until Earth Day 2015; Habitat plans additional events this year in Brussels – July 19, Sister Bay – Aug. 30 and Sturgeon Bay – Oct. 6. For more information visit doorcountyhabitat.org.