Sustainable spring cleaning just got easier. The Nebraska Recycling Council is hosting its annual recycling day event on Saturday, April 24th from 9am – noon at the Nebraska Innovation Campus in Lincoln. NRC’s CHaRM event (a Collection for Hard to Recycle Materials) is a one-stop collection event to recycle old electronics, batteries, scrap metal, EPS foam coolers and packaging, secure documents for shredding, textiles, and to donate reusable housewares and clothing.
Nebraska Recycling Council’s Executive Director, Heather Creevan, is excited to be offering this event again. “In 2019, we collected nearly 28,000 pounds of items to be recycled or repurposed. After having to cancel last year’s event because of the pandemic, we expect people have a greater need for an easy, accessible spring cleanout. We’re especially excited to offer residents a new recycling option for foam coolers and foam packaging. Often incorrectly called Styrofoam, expandable polystyrene or EPS foam is the hard white packaging foam used to transport items such as electronics and perishables. An Omaha company, Plastilite, recycles EPS and it can be turned into products such as surfboard, construction material, and packaging.”
Most items are accepted at no cost except for TVs ($10-$35 fee based on size). A suggested donation of $10 per vehicle benefits the statewide work of the Nebraska Recycling Council. NRC’s website has more information about the event and a list of acceptable items and limitations.
To keep the recycling event safe for everyone participating, residents are encouraged to wear masks and to stay in their vehicles. Materials should be placed in the back seat, trunk, or bed of the vehicle for volunteers to unload. The event takes place in the parking lot northeast of The Mill at 2021 Transformation Drive, cars will enter from Salt Creek Roadway at the far-east entrance close to the 27th Street overpass.
The CHaRM Event is sponsored by Sadoff E-Recycling and Data Destruction, Goodwill of Lincoln, Interstate All Battery, Plastilite, and Shredding Solutions. Nebraska Innovation Campus and Tetrad Property Group are hosting the event location.