On April 15, Community CU hosted a Community Recycle Day event at its Auburn Branch with community partners in celebration of Earth Day. The number of participating partners grew this spring, offering many opportunities for the community to help connect organizations with recycled resources.
Several local partners and volunteers joined forces with the credit union to make this collaborative event a great success including Kaydenz Kitchen, Kommunity Kritters, North Coast Services, SHAREcenter, Shredding On Site, and Stratham Tire. As a result of this effort, the following items were recycled:
- North Coast Services accepted/rescued 3,158 electronic items (CPUs/laptops, printers, monitors, and televisions) from landfills.
- Stratham Tire’s truck was filled with tires that will be repurposed for projects by another Maine business.
- Shredding On Site professionally destroyed over 3,800 pounds of personal and confidential documents on site, protecting individuals and businesses from identity theft.
- SHAREcenter collected several items to support local schools, nonprofits, and other community-serving organizations. The organization’s bottle drive also was a success, raising over $150 in can and bottle donations.
- Kaydenz Kitchen accepted clothing for both children and adults, toiletries, non-perishable items, monetary donations, and more.
- Kommunity Kritters was able to rehome pet food, cat litter, toys, and beds to help some special four-legged emotional supports in the community.
Community feedback also is validating the growth and importance of this annual event.
“Mark Turcotte of WIGY said it best—our Community Recycle Day event is a ‘well-oiled machine,'” shared Erin M. Dunn-Kimball, Recycle Day Coordinator and Marketing Specialist at Community CU. “Our additional marketing efforts have grown both social and media coverage, community donations, vendor and volunteer interest, and participation. Smooth event operations and positive engagement were knocked out of the park by our volunteers and community partners, and over half of all Community CU employees volunteered at this year’s event. This was an incredibly successful Earth Day celebration for all and we are looking forward to our next Earth Day celebration on April 20, 2024.”