Thanks to all the volunteers for their generous contribution of time, talent and labor, and to all the residents who participated in the event, the FHA / Green Scene Spring Event on Saturday May 18, 2024 was another resounding success ! The success of such important community events obviously depends upon the efforts of a significant number of people before, during, and afterward.
We had 210 vehicles pass through the process. They brought 4,644 pounds (2.32 tons) of paper to be shredded - which is now on the way to a toilet paper factory in Georgia to be "reprocessed" into a useful product.
2.32 tons of recycled paper saves approximately 40 trees, the energy equivalent of 1,383 gallons of gasoline, 7 cubic yards of landfill space, 9,280 kilowatts of energy, and 16,240 gallons of water. This represents a 135% water savings, and 140 pounds less air pollution! That's because one tree can filter up to 60 pounds of pollutants from the air each year.
The Chatham County Sheriff's Department collected 35.5 pounds of unneeded pharmaceuticals. That's a lot of pills. In fact, a 36% increase from the 26.1 pounds collected at our October 2023 Event. And the enthusiastic members of the North Chatham Volunteer Fire Department distributed a variety of fire prevention tips to help keep our homes safe and secure from the risk of fires.
In addition to expressing my appreciation to all of you on site volunteers, I would also like to acknowledge the financial support of the FHA Board in funding the Shimar Recycling Shredding Truck. And also for the very helpful blast email event "reminder" that Communications Director, Tony Carroll, sent to the entire community prior to the event.
Kudos as well to Grounds, Infrastructure, Facilities, etc. Director, Patrick McGahan, for conceptualizing and then CREATING the NEW SHED in The Gathering Place parking lot. The new shed has already demonstrated its value by providing much needed, convenient, storage space to be used for items that support a variety of outdoor Gathering Place activities ( such as signs, road cones, tools, etc. ). One of the first items to find a new home in "The Shed" is a large, free standing Umbrella - useful for protecting volunteer workers from rain and sun in activities such as the FHA / Green Scene,Spring and Fall Events. We are grateful to Gillian and Gene Rogers for donating that Umbrella to the Fearrington FHA. Despite the dubious weather forecast, we were fortunate not have even one drop of rain during the event.
Planning ahead, consider circling the third Saturday in October (October 19, 2024) on your calendar, when we will have the opportunity to replicate our spring community recycling efforts.
