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“Outstanding service. They were extremely careful delivering the extra large container into our driveway.” -- A. L. GARNER
SHELBY COUNTY, Tenn. (localmemphis.com) - MEMPHIS, Tenn. (localmemphis.com)Chris Woode is the general manager of a nursery on Hacks Cross."It's rough coming in and seeing it every single day," Woode says, "...to see that out there and there's really nothing we can do about it."Helpless. Chris Woode felt helpless. Once a year, he says, there have been crews out here picking up. Shelby County officials say they are out here far more than once a year.They might disagree on the number of times crews have come to cleanup, but they don't disagree on the problem."Trash has gotten pretty bad, especially as the traffic backs up in the afternoon," Woode told us. "I guess people get done eating lunch or whatever, throw it out the window and there it all sits."Hacks Cross is a two-lane dumpster. It narrows from four lanes to two about a mile or so from the Mississippi State Line. That's where the trash begins.Danny Daniels of Shelby County Public Works admits, it’s one of the worst cases of roadside litter he's seen.He says, "The traffic is so bad here, as you see, it's just terrible, with just a two-lane highway. Once t... (www.localmemphis.com)
New York City’s Department of Sanitation, streetscape photographer Larry Racioppo, Hack:Trash:NYC that hosts hackathons on waste management, the Lower East Side Ecology Center that collects electronic waste, and Material for the Arts that collects and distributes art supplies to schools and nonprofits. The City Reliquary is also hosting complementary programing, such as an upcoming screening of Canners (2017) on collectors of New York City’s cans and bottles, and a tour of the Treasures in the Trash Museum. In April, an installation of trash art by local artists will open in the City Reliquary sculpture garden. While the exhibition itself is small, it is an engaging portal to the ongoing challenge of New York’s trash, and how your trash does not truly disappear after it vanishes from the sidewalk curb.Installation view of NYC Trash! Past, Present, & Future at the City ReliquaryInstallation...
Five organizations -- Hack:Trash:NYC, Industrial/Organic, Lower East Side Ecology Center, Materials for the Arts and RISE Products -- will be featured on how each of them is combating the waste problem. RISE, for example, recycles spent grains from breweries into baking flour, Scanga said.Artists Mierle Laderman Ukeles and Larry Racioppo also have a spotlight -- both specialize in capturing the urban landscape, which often includes waste, on film and sculpture.The exhibit will grow, too: Additional artists will be invited to contribute pieces to the Reliquary’s backyard in April.“We’re burying ourselves in garbage,” Scanga said. “When you see this exhibit, it won’t take long before you buy yourself a reusable water bottle. We really wanted to give people a sense of, ‘wow, this is a lot of stuff we have to deal with.’ ”“NYC Trash! Past, Present & Future” opened on Nov. 2 and continues through April 29. The Reliquary is open Thursdays through Sundays, from noon to 6 p.m. Admission is $5. The opening reception, which will feature a garbage truck lined with mirrors by Ukeles, is set for Nov. 12 at noon. Visit cityreliquary.org for more information.
On October 27-29, 2017 HEINEKEN USA, the NYC Department of Sanitation, and 15 other organizations are partnering on Hack: Trash: NYC, a three-day hackathon challenge for developing innovative solutions for waste reduction in NYC.Hack: Trash: NYC aims to support the NYC Department of Sanitation’s 0x30 Campaign, which has set the ambitious goal of sending zero waste to landfill by the year 2030. With this goal in mind, the theme of Hack: Trash: NYC is “Reuse.” Waste experts, designers, technologists, policymakers, lawyers, entrepreneurs, and more will come together in small teams to develop and pitch an innovative product, business model, service, policy, or education campaign that reduces waste and increases reuse in NYC.Three winning teams will have the opportunity to pitch their innovation or idea to an investor roundtable and will receive cash prizes. The first-place winner will also have an opportunity to pitch their innovation or idea in the next Talk Trash City competition.“HEINEKEN USA is proud to partner with Hack: Trash: NYC to help identify scalable solutions to NYC’s waste-generating problem,” said Stephanie Johnston, Director of Corporate Social Responsibility at HEINEKEN USA. “As part of our commitment to Brewing a Better World, we’re supporting cities like New York in becoming more sustainable for the long-term.”More infor... (Sustainable Brands)
On its western end, adjacent to and under the N. 2nd Street bridge, a homeless encampment — known as a El Campamento — has shacks made out of wooden pallets. In some cases, people sleep on mattresses among trash, human excrement and used needles.NBC10 went inside the encampment and trench as part of the award-winning digital investigation, Generation Addicted. With the heroin and opioid crisis worsening, overdose deaths along the tracks have mounted. Last year, 17 people died in the trench from drug overdoses.For years, officials played round robin over who should be responsible for cleaning and securing the area. With increased attention focused on the trench from local and national journalists and cries from activists reverberating louder, city officials and Conrail announced they would clear the area.Seven months of negotiations carried on before Conrail said in June it would clear brush and trash and erect a prison-grade fence on street level to prevent trespassing, among other efforts.Conrail couldn't put together a total for the cleanup effort, saying it's still working to finalize contractor costs, but said the fence alone will have a price tag around $90,000.Philadelphia police will step up bike patrols from the street level as well.Generation Addicted: The TracksAs part of the cleanup project, the city also announced it would seal vacant buildings in the surrounding area, fix street lights and make other quality of life improvements to deter open-air drug use. Neighbors have long complained of the city neglecting the area effectively labeling any chances of improvement as hopeless. The city pegged the cost of the neighborhood revitalization at more than $830,000.City officials said they will be providing services like food, homeless shelter placement and access to drug rehabilitation programs to those who are removed from The Tracks as part of the cleanup project.Trailers will be positioned at the corner of 2nd and Indiana through Wednesday to provide these services. A mobile trailer will also be placed daily at Tusculum and A streets for the entire cleanup process, city officials said.Philadelphia's Health and Human Services departments said 84 people accepted city assistance since officials increased outreach efforts in early May.Mayor Jim Kenney's office said at least 1... (NBC 10 Philadelphia)