The sharing economy is flourishing, leading to a stronger sense of community and environmental benefits. It’s a trend that facilitates peer-to-peer exchange of goods and services for everything from bicycles to lodging.

In many ways, our culture values experiences rather than ownership of things. Take the Marie Kondo movement, for example: Self-proclaimed minimalists find bliss in a life without the bookshelf of odds and ends. All over Oregon, community organizations are hearing the call and creating ways to reduce waste and excess by sharing with others.

The Washington Oregon Higher Education Sustainability Conference is seeking proposals for its 2019 conference to be held at the University of Washington February 25-27.

Many of the recycling/waste reduction coordinators that work with schools are jointly nominating Nancy Bond for the AOR Lifetime Achievement award. Nancy will be retiring in June after a long and successful career as a Resource Conservation Coordinator for Portland Public Schools. 

Free Geek stands out in the recycling ecosystem because of its unique circular model. By taking two massive societal problems—e-waste and the digital divide— and pointing them at each other, Free Geek uses one problem to solve the other.

The SRC Network is a networking group for those working in the sector of schools sustainability implementation in the Portland  Metro  region. They  meet  every  other month to share projects, resources and ideas, successes and challenges, troubleshoot issues and hear from speakers on topics that move their work forward.

The Green Team at the Coos Bay Bureau of Land Management was nominated and awarded for starting a more robust recycling program and at the District Office, educating staff on waste prevention/recycling, and offering recycling at some of the popular recreation sites they manage. The Green Team is a group of nine employees who work together to reduce the federal government’s environmental footprint and find sustainable business practices including reducing waste, energy use, and water use.

Terry McDonald spins garbage into housing, jobs, new products.

Science teacher Helen Haberman facilitates the only school-based Master Recycler training program in the state using most of the same presenters and tours sites as the adult class, including Recycling 101 online.