A garbage dream: envisioning creative reuse in Moab

Building on years of conversation in Moab, the Resiliency Hub is hosting a visioning session on what creative reuse can look like in Moab. The public is welcome to attend the visioning session on Sept. 19 at 6 p.m. at the Moab Community Recycling Center, 1000 Sand Flats Road

Creative reuse centers collect reclaimed and reusable materials—like fabric, clean cardboard or old jewelry—that otherwise would be bound for a landfill and redirect them back into the community as needed materials and supplies.

The Resiliency Hub will be hosting staff from Clever Octopus, Inc., a nonprofit organization focused on reuse as a tool to foster creativity and environmental awareness.

“They’re coming to talk about the history of their center, which is the first and only creative reuse center in Utah,” said Stephanie Hamborsky, Resiliency Hub board member and event organizer.

The Murray, UT-based organization is particularly interesting to Moab’s recycling community since they may be able to provide solid advice on furthering some long-term dreams.

“This has been a conversation here: the idea of potentially housing a creative reuse center at the Community Recycling Center and what that could look like,” Hamborsky said, adding that the event was also sponsored by the Solid Waste Special Service District No. 1.

“Clever Octopus allows community members to just drop unneeded stuff off, and they also have relationships with industrial manufacturers to get raw materials, which is awesome,” said Hamborsky.

The group runs a retail store where the public can shop for reclaimed materials and industrial offcuts, as well as providing creative meeting space. They also maintain the “Octopod,” a box truck outfitted as a mobile classroom, which travels to schools, adult care facilities, residential treatment centers, community outreach programs, community festivals and private events.

“The dream is to create a statewide or regional creative reuse network,” said Hamborsky, commenting that Moab’s landfill collects construction debris that would be desirable reuse materials elsewhere in the state.

Moab’s Community Recycling Center was founded in 1991, diverting thousands of pounds from the waste stream before the Solid Waste Special Service District took over the management.

In 2016, the organization reemerged as The Resiliency Hub, refocusing on creative reuse, upcycling, and holistic sustainability beyond simple recycling. The Resiliency Hub hosts community events throughout the year, including the Trashion Show, the Upcycled Art Party, and paper and e-waste drives.

“We’d like as many people as possible to come to this event who care about this sort of thing to provide their insight and perspective,” said Hamborsky.

Sara Melnicoff, who has worked with the Community Recycling Center for decades, said “It’s a great idea to reuse items that still have a meaning…Diverting from the landfill is always good.”

Creative Reuse Visioning Session

Sept. 19 at 6 p.m. at the Moab Community Recycling Center (1000 Sand Flats Road)

For more information, go to the Resiliency Hub Facebook at www.facebook.com/pg/resiliencyhub/ or call 281-793-6688

Author: Maggie McGuire

View all posts