Some of you may remember Nunpa, our final speaker of the day in the Rural Recycling panel at this year's AOR conference. Nunpa, the founder and director of the non-profit Ant Farm helps connect kids in the Sandy, OR corridor with work and the natural environment. His connection to recycling? His non-profit pays the rent of their facility with bottles and cans.

Nunpa was a last minute addition to the Rural Recycling panel and I’m so glad we were able to bring him and his organization in to our community. AOR is about connections and without these connections our industry cannot grow.

While volunteering last month on the recycling crew at Pickathon Music Festival, now being lead by volunteer Crew Chief, Eric T. Crum, also of Tomolla Consulting, we were faced with a massive pile of redeemable aluminum cans and plastic bottles destine for the MRF. Though it was already a big victory that the volunteer recycling crew at Pickathon was able to divert this from the landfill, it still seemed like a missed opportunity. The pile made me think of Nunpa and his organization and I sent him an email and a text message with the picture below. Soon after I got an exciting call from Nunpa saying he and his trailer were on their way. Ant farm was able to fill their large trailer twice with redeemables which equate to around $400-$500 total.

This amount of money and recyclables may seem like a drop in the bucket for many of our members, but to our newest ally Ant Farm, it means September’s rent and more programing for their kids.

Let’s continue the connections we make through AOR and multiple these recycling wins as best we can!