By Jim Cawley
NASA’s Kennedy Space Center
Kennedy Space Center employees dropped off everything from batteries and electronics to clothes, toys and housewares as part of the Florida spaceport’s annual support of America Recycles Day.
The 2019 event was stretched over two days — Nov. 13 and 14 — featuring seven-hour stints near the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) and farther south in Kennedy’s Central Campus area. This year, employees accounted for 211 drop-offs totaling approximately 5,500 pounds.
“The main goal is to remind employees to keep recycling their stuff and not to throw it out,” said Jeanne Ryba, an Environmental Sustainability Program specialist who coordinated the events. “We add different collections; we just try to improve it every year.”
Kennedy partnered with Goodwill Industries and several other local organizations, making it a win-win for all involved. Employees were able to quickly and easily unload items with the assistance of volunteers. Their donations will be recycled, resold or repurposed, all while reducing pollution.
“The employees love it; some collect all year long for this,” Ryba said. “It’s convenient — they load up their car and just pull in on their way to work or during a break.”
Hypergols engineer Patrick Murr is one who had been “saving up stuff for this event.” Clothes, CDs, batteries and cards were among his donated items.
“I’ve been wanting to clear out some clutter, and I figured this is a good opportunity,” Murr said. “I kind of go toward the minimalist thing, where the less I have the better because it’s less holding me down. And I feel like if I’m not using it, someone can use it.”
Mechanical engineer David Doerman recently bought a house, and the previous occupants left several items behind. The KSC event proved to be the perfect solution. Doerman, whose donations included old electronics, stuffed animals and blankets, had a main goal in mind.
“Mainly that it avoids the landfill,” he said. “Beyond that, if something can go to somebody to help them, that’s great. If it has to be broken down and recycled into other things, then that’s good, too.”
Training specialist Cindy Silvestri dropped off electronic equipment that her family was no longer using. A first-time participant, she said she greatly appreciated Kennedy’s participation in America Recycles Day.
“I think it’s awesome because a lot of people, like me, don’t know what to do with this stuff,” she said. “It’s a nice outlet and people can benefit from it.”
Created in 1997, America Recycles Day celebrates and promotes recycling in the U.S. Since 2009, it has been an integral part of Keep America Beautiful, the largest community improvement organization in the country.