UPCYCLING: THE NEW RECYCLING

BRING is a Eugene-based organization that takes in recycling from the community and upcycles unwanted items. You can find anything from carpet, doors and countertops to bikes, tools and lawnmowers. BRING’s Megan Warner, waste prevention education and event coordinator, provides tours of the store and garden. Typically, there are workshops where people can come and learn how to use tools and even build birdhouses; workshops are currently on hold due to Covid restrictions. Warner also does classroom outreach to K-12 students to teach sustainability tips. She said it’s essential to raise awareness in students at a young age and incorporate eco-conscious practices into the curriculum. University of Oregon partners with BRING through the student sustainability club and works with the school to deconstruct buildings. The organization also provides a 10% discount for students at the BRING store. Local companies have the option to partner with BRING to get an on-site free consultation to implement waste reduction, conservation and efficiency with its Rethink program. Once BRING sees that businesses have successfully implemented changes, they become Rethink certified. Over 400 different local businesses currently participate in the program, and there is even an award for the company that shows the most improvement, given out annually.

BRING will also be making a presence at the 2022 World Athletics Championships in Eugene. The event is partnering with BRING to implement practices to keep the event as ecofriendly as possible. BRING hopes to reduce waste from the event and travel emissions. The program plans to introduce plant-forward diets to competing athletes. BRING’s contributions should help minimize the event’s impact on the city to practice sustainability and reduce waste at the source. Founded in 1971, the community formed BRING through a grassroots effort. At the time, there was no curbside recycling available. Inspired by the first Earth Day, this fueled residents to start a local non-profit organization where members of the Eugene and Springfield community could bring their recycling to reduce waste. Its mission statement said it all, that being: “to provide vision, leadership, and tools for living well on the planet we share.”

Megan Warner, waste prevention outreach and event coordinator, holds the worms she’s raising to bring around to classrooms, where she gives lessons about ecoconsciousness and sustainability tips.

The Garden of Earthly Delights, just a few steps away from the store, is where staff take coffee breaks and relax. It’s also a place where customers can walk around and explore. Some senior pictures have been taken in front of the sculpture made from toilet covers. To the left of the sculpture is an old bridge segment from Florence, Oregon, now being repurposed for the walkway.

Jewelry is for sale by a local artist, Bohemian Antiquities, inside of the BRING store. This is an example of DIY birdhouses that students are taught to build in classroom workshops.

Carpet, panels, furniture, doors, lights, lawnmowers, garden supplies and tools are sold at BRING. Resale saves all repurposable material from a trip to the dump so somebody else can buy it for an affordable price.

BRING will even take in used bikes, fix them up and sell them at the store to avoid dumping them.