Your SXSW Sustainability Solution
audience-1853662_1920.jpg

Use the Austin Materials Marketplace to find new homes for surplus materials

The official cancellation of SXSW 2020 is unofficially the biggest bummer of the year. With the loss of an economic opportunity worth around $350 million, many of us are working to find new ways to support those directly impacted by loss of work and find responsible uses for the food, beverages and materials originally meant to service the roughly 73,000 attendees. Of course, local creativity and innovation will prevail as alternative events absorb opportunities left stranded by the conference, local programs help redirect resources, and panel organizers consider the practicality of virtual conferencing in lieu

Many of us working in Austin’s zero-waste community are concerned by the large amount of perishable food, promotional “swag,” service-ware items, construction materials, and furniture that may be orphaned by the cancellation. If your SXSW event or activation has surplus items available, please use the Austin Materials Marketplace to sell, trade, donate, or recycle locally. 

In years past, the Austin Materials Marketplace has worked with SXSW activators to build materials recovery programs that maximize environmental and social impact through recycling and donation opportunities. From 2017-2019 we diverted nearly 11,892 cubic feet of SXSW materials from landfill which translates to about 21 tons of CO2 equivalent emissions avoided. The program has been so successful that we even replicated it the fall of 2018 and 2019 with ACL Music Fest.

This Spring, we had already been helping event producers meet sustainability goals and cut costs with material recovery services as part of their post-festival plan. Now with many events and venues unable to open their doors at all, the need to move surplus and unused materials is greater than ever anticipated. Fortunately, many community leaders have already stepped in to address the urgency of moving expirable food and hopefully recover related costs, but some challenging items still remain.

Over the years we’ve built a comprehensive network of Austin-area charities, recyclers, reusers, repurposers, and recreatives capable of keeping just about everything (except for dirty diapers) out of landfills. Additionally, as another local nonprofit, we’re looking forward to extending our services to more partners than ever before this season and helping our amazing community overcome the challenges brought to us by one unlovable virus. 

Stay weird. Stay green.

Kara Wright
Sustainability and Temporary Events: SXSW Panel turned Podcast

Originally scheduled for Friday the 13th, House of Scandinavia was due to host a discussion of sustainability in temporary events. Moderator, Amy Stansbury of Austin EcoNetwork, was to lead panelists Cecilie Svegaarden, Scandinavian Airline; Cindy Y. Lo, Red Velvet Events; Andreas Groth Clausen, Roskilde Festival; and Kara Wright, US Business Council for Sustainable Development in a conversation regarding the responsibility event organizers have to create experiences that are culturally, socially and environmentally sustainable.

In the wake of the SXSW 2020 cancellation, House of Scandinavia will remain in Scandinavia and the panel will not exist in its originally intended format. Instead, local event professionals and sustainability enthusiasts will join the Shades of Green Podcast on March 12  which airs every Thursday from 1-2 pm on 91.7 FM KOOP. You can also catch recorded episodes posted on the program’s website.

**Zero-waste will be generated in the making of this podcast. 

Stay weird. Stay green.

Kara Wright
The [Re]verse Pitch Competition is back for 2020!

Does your business need raw materials? Entrepreneurs, are you looking for inspiration? The [Re]verse Pitch Competition back for 2020 - and is awarding $10,000 to the best repurposing business ideas. Come to Opening Night on February 10th to learn about the products, meet the material suppliers, and network with fellow entrepreneurs.

During the opening pitch event, you'll hear from businesses and institutions consistently generating or collecting by-product, surplus or otherwise underutilized materials streams in Austin, Texas that could be put to higher and better use in new social enterprises.

This event is free and open to the public, but your RSVP is requested. Attendance is mandatory to compete for an Innovation Prize. Learn more and RSVP at reversepitch.org.

Daniel Kietzer
ACL Music Festival 2019 Seeks Recycled Art
rfp2.png

Austin Materials Marketplace + C3 Presents / Request for Proposal – CARES Lounge Art

The Austin Materials Marketplace and C3 Presents seek artwork to be displayed inside/alongside the CARES Lounge at ACL Music Festival 2019. The CARES Lounge will sit in the center of the main ACL CARES area, which is ACL’s cause-related and non-profit area of the park.

LOCATION/CONTEXT: The CARES Lounge will offer festivalgoers a space to relax in the shade, interact with beautiful and interesting art, and learn about sustainability through selected furniture & décor. Everything within the Lounge will be intentionally selected to challenge the way we think about, interact with, and generate “waste.”

PROJECT DESCRIPTION: The work should be attractive, photo-worthy, and interesting. Above all, the work must be primarily (if not entirely) made from reused/recycled/repurposed materials which viewers should easily recognize and find surprising, amusing, thought-provoking, and/or inspiring. The work itself (and the artist) should be models of how environmental consideration adds value to art and our relationship with it. We are looking for items that can act as furniture, décor, or stand-alone art.

PROJECT SITE: The CARES Lounge will be located near the center of ACL, North of the main entrance. The Lounge will be shaded by a large, colorful, and web-like covering. The exact area is roughly 20 ft x 30 ft. Selected works may be displayed inside or outside of the Lounge in whatever manner is appropriate for the space and the work.

INSTALLATION: Selected works should be primarily (if not entirely) constructed off-site and easily deliverable to the festival grounds (Zilker Park). The festival begins on Friday, October 4th, with load-in available on the Wednesday and Thursday before. Load-out would take place on Monday, October 14th following the end of Weekend 2 of the Festival.

PROJECT FUNDS/AWARD: Selected artists will be given exposure to thousands of ACL guests over both weekends; prospective digital marketing/social media promotion via Austin Materials Marketplace and/or C3 Presents before, during, and after the festival; and no financial assistance for the production of the work. Artists will retain full ownership of the work and damages to work sustained during the festival will be addressed case-by-case after the festival. 

CALENDAR: (subject to change)

  • Application period: September 17th through September 29th, 2019

    • Works will be selected on a rolling basis

  • Completion of Art: September 30th, 2019

  • Delivery and Installation of Art: October 2nd-3rd, 2019

  • Reclamation of Art: October 14th, 2019

SELECTION CRITERIA

  • Adherence to theme in design, medium, and production

  • Ease of installation

  • Perceived professionalism of artist and deliverability of work

PROPOSAL REQUIREMENTS:

Proposals should be submitted via email to kara@usbcsd.org and cares@c3presents.com with the subject “RFP: CARES Lounge - Name” within the application period. In their preferred format, artist must provide:

  • Name and brief description of proposed work

  • Visual representation of completed or proposed work 

  • Written representation of how the work adheres to the theme in design, medium, and/or production including the manner in which materials were obtained

  • Brief explanation of artist’s capability to transport, install, and remove work

QUESTIONS/FOLLOW UP:

  • All questions and follow up inquiries can be directed to Kara Wright, kara@usbcsd.org

THE AUSTIN MATERIALS MARKETPLACE AT ACL MUSIC FESTIVAL 2019:

We have happily partnered with C3 Presents to address their sustainability goals for ACL Music Festival in 2019 through the Materials Recovery Program and beyond.

ABOUT SUSTAINABILITY AT ACL MUSIC FEST:

Keeping our event site and the planet healthy for future generations is a key mission of ACL. That’s why all aspects of the event are planned through an aggressively “green” lens – from on-site fan activations to waste diversion practices to biodiesel-fueled generators.

Live Nation Entertainment, the world’s leading live entertainment company, recently announced that its global sustainability coalition, Green Nation, is committing to new environmental goals for all Live Nation owned and operated festivals. The primary targets include reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2030 and ending the sale of single-use plastics at all owned and operated venues and festivals by 2021, including ACL. The charter outlining these goals can be viewed here

In 2018, ACL recycled 112 tons of material, filled more than 800,000 water bottles at our water refill stations, and offset 950 metric tons of carbon emissions. ACL continues to be a leader in sustainability thanks to your participation in programs like this one. We appreciate you!


Kara Wright
Materials Recovery Program Returns to ACL Music Festival 2019
acl.png

After a successful pilot at ACL Fest 2018, Austin Materials Marketplace is teaming up with C3 Presents to continue the Materials Recovery Program as part of ACL Fest's broader sustainability efforts. We will be behind the scenes taking inventory of all available materials so that Marketplace users get priority post-fest... Last year, more than 3k lbs of materials were traded resulting in over $12k of economic benefit to local nonprofits including:

+ wood panels to Museum of Human Achievement
+ musical instruments to Kids in a New Groove and AISD schools
+ t-shirts to Austin Area Quilt Guild
+ bicycles to Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church

We will be sharing exclusive updates regarding available materials, pick-up times, and locations with users and partners on the Insider List this October.

Kara Wright
SXSW 2019 Tradeshow Upcycling
AMM04-Image1.jpg

The Austin Materials Marketplace is working closely with SXSW and the SXSW Trade Show again this year to help with their waste diversion efforts. The event will be held at the Austin Convention Center and we will be scheduling pick-up windows for easy load-out. Last year we saw large quantities of plywood, furniture, sandwich boards, foam core signage, vinyl, and a whole lot more. (see a summary here)

Availability of all materials is subject to change as we work with vendors and coordinate opportunities. If you're interested in materials from SXSW, click here to subscribe to our notification list:

You'll also need to be an Austin Materials Marketplace participant, with an account on our platform. Click here to learn more. Questions? Contact Petey Peterson at peterson@usbcsd.org.

Daniel Kietzer
Common Cents: Material Trades Teach Kids about Money & Sustainability
Kids_Presenting.jpg

By Valerie Vines | Article originally appeared on Road to Zero Waste, Austin Resource Recovery’s blog, featuring tips, how-to's, stories, news, and inspirational ideas on rethinking your waste. Click here to read more.

Austin Materials Marketplace (AMM) has been helping even the youngest of start-ups reap the benefits of the circular economy.

Moolah U, one of AMM’s newest participants, uses entrepreneurial summer camps to teach business basics and financial literacy to kids ages seven through 16. Over the course of a typical week, Moolah U guides campers through pitching product ideas, applying for venture capital micro-loans, and producing and selling original merchandise. This past summer, they encouraged their young entrepreneurs to create upcycled products from materials listed on the Austin Materials Marketplace.

The kids’ final creations included:

  • Bags made from recycled fabric tiles

  • Fridge magnets decorated with old magazine clippings

  • Computer cases composed of old City of Austin Transportation department banners

The camp strives to include sustainability themes in their curriculum, which is largely inspired by the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals. Because Moolah U’s 2018 focus was Goal 12: Responsible Production and Consumption, camp directors wanted to impart the importance of reuse within the business environment. Gayle Reaume, CEO of Moolah U, noted that the camp aims to “create a culture of caring by teaching kids to think through all costs, including environmental, of the products and services their business is selling”.

Partnering with AMM helped the kids learn first-hand that in successful enterprises, economic and environmental sustainability are symbiotic. The economic benefit of recycling was sure to have made an impression; the campers got to keep any revenue generated by their week-long businesses, so any money not spent on raw materials was money in their pockets. Who says you can’t be a business mogul and an environmental steward at the same time?

As Moolah U can attest, a business (or business owner) is never too young to start incorporating sustainability. Large or small, AMM has something for all entrepreneurs; to see what recycled materials are currently available, visit AustinMaterialsMarketplace.org to sign up for the program.

Daniel Kietzer
Apply to be a Material Supplier at the next [Re]Verse Pitch Competition
StillAustin-KG_63_DRAFT-2.jpg

Material supplier applications for the next [Re]Verse Pitch Competition just opened! If you're not familiar with [Re]Verse Pitch, its goal is to have entrepreneurs come up with ways they could repurpose another Austin business' material. We do this by having businesses "pitch" a surplus or by-product material to entrepreneurs at an opening event--these entrepreneurs then receive mentorship and technical advice while they create and refine a business idea to repurpose one or more of the competition materials. The top ideas are presented at the final event and the winning entrepreneurs receive cash and in-kind prizes to support the launch of their business idea.

Do you have any surplus or scrap material that you regularly generate but don't have a good way to divert it? If so, you could apply to pitch it in [Re]Verse Pitch and potentially find a solution through the creativity of local entrepreneurs! The competition is headed into its 4th year and other local businesses with surplus materials have seen some great successes from participating--you can see a few of their stories featured here: https://www.bizjournals.com/austin/news/2018/11/15/austin-businesses-find-win-win-partnerships.html

It's free to participate as a Material Supplier and the application is short and straightforward. If selected, you would put together a short pitch for the material for the opening event (in late February 2019) and then work with any entrepreneurs who are repurposing your material to answer questions as they arise over the next several weeks. We would also ask for your input during the judging process to make sure the winning choice is an idea that works for you as the potential supplier.

The deadline to apply is December 7th. Here is the link: http://reversepitch.org/pitch-material

Daniel Kietzer
Austin Resource Recovery's AMM Series: SXSW Discards Benefit Local Nonprofits, Farms And Artists
Originally appeared on Austin Resource Recovery's Road to Zero Waste blog. 

Originally appeared on Austin Resource Recovery's Road to Zero Waste blog

SXSW, the annual 10 day event bringing countless activations, expos and people to Austin, transforms the Austin Convention Center into an interactive landscape of creativity and learning. Then as soon as it appears, the festival seems to vanish until next year. But what happens to all the materials that were used to construct the wonderful world of SXSW? Where do all the unique and valuable elements (set designs, exhibits, signage, etc.) end up?

In years past, much of the creations constructed during the festival were landfilled after the event ended. This year, however, Austin Materials Marketplace aimed to make SXSW an opportunity to rescue materials and put them to use for the community. AMM worked hard to connect local business owners with the surplus material created by the festival, taking material off organizers’ hands and providing local business with new resources. Organizers of SXSW and material generators such as Sony and Production Glue were essential in making these trades possible and serve as great examples of ways companies can manage their materials responsibly.

Because of the wide array of expos and activations, the festival provided useful and valuable material that would be difficult to find elsewhere. Participants were able to receive free lumber, fabric, fiberglass, furniture, fencing, insulation and much more!

Participating businesses and organizations included the Museum of Human Achievement, Austin Tinkering School, Austin Creative Reuse, Colorado River Event & Cultural Center, various farms, and local artists. 

Participating businesses and organizations included the Museum of Human Achievement, Austin Tinkering School, Austin Creative Reuse, Colorado River Event & Cultural Center, various farms, and local artists. 

AMM04-Image2.jpg
DTT-0281.jpg

SXSW 2018’s left-overs were reused in a variety of practical and creative ways. Johnson’s Backyard Garden is using SXSW discards to create arts & crafts activities and signage. Taylor Farm used building materials to create farm volunteer housing and the Museum of Human Achievement used recovered wood to build a new wheelchair ramp for their headquarters. Austin Creative Reuse store is selling material as-is and artist Calder Kamin used many of the discards to create an installation at the DoSeum.

Overall, SXSW’s discarded materials were salvaged and reused by 15 businesses and organizations which ultimately kept about 15,000 pounds of materials out of local landfills. But the trades aren’t just eco-friendly, they make economic sense too. By rethinking their waste, SXSW exhibitors avoided trash pick-up fees and recipients got over $21,000 in materials. — A win, win!

While SXSW comes and goes each year, repurposing of these formerly discarded festival materials will continue to support local business and organizations for years to come.

Katie Duffy
Austin Resource Recovery's AMM Series: Cricket Grower Reduces Waste By Supporting Hog Farm
Originally appeared on Austin Resource Recovery's Road to Zero Waste blog. 

Originally appeared on Austin Resource Recovery's Road to Zero Waste blog

What do crickets and hogs have in common? They’re both helping the circular economy go ‘round here in Austin, Texas. A circular economy is an economy where waste is reduced by reusing and recycling material as much as possible before it’s sent to the landfill.

So what do crickets and hogs have to do with it?

Aspire Food Group is a food-grade cricket farm located in Southeast Austin dedicated to sustainability and reaching Zero Waste. Aspire Food group raises high-protein edible insects using technology while maintaining a small environmental footprint.

Eden’s Cove Farm is a heritage hog farm that offers various services like homesteading classes, raw milk pickups, and kitchen rental.

Crickets_Piggies.jpg

As a company centered on sustainability, Aspire Food Group saw an opportunity to reduce their waste through the Austin Materials Marketplace. Because crickets need fresh food, they produce a large quantity of leftover uneaten feed. Instead of throwing it out, Aspire Food Group sought out an opportunity to help another nearby farm.

Each week, JoAnn Smotherman of Eden’s Cove Farm picks up buckets of this high-quality, nutrient-rich feed from Aspire Food Group for the hogs on her farm. The feed is comprised of organic corn and soy meal – it even contains bonus larvae which are very healthy for hogs.

Beneficial to both farms, this trade allows Aspire Food Group to stay true to their Zero Waste values while providing Eden’s Cove access to high-quality feed at a much more affordable price. To date, they've diverted over 70,000 pounds of organic corn and soy meal from landfills!

Similar values of sustainability and resourcefulness made these two farms a perfect match. According to Vincent Vitale, Business Development Manager of Aspire Food Group, AMM has helped their company solve problems that they don’t have the bandwidth to solve themselves. AMM is helping bridge gaps and make connections between businesses that otherwise would not be able to coordinate these exchanges.

BlogKatie Duffy
March Madness - Austin Materials Marketplace Style
The UpCycle area at South by Southwest's Trade Show - a collaborative effort between the Austin Materials Marketplace team, South by Southwest, and Austin Resource Recovery. 

The UpCycle area at South by Southwest's Trade Show - a collaborative effort between the Austin Materials Marketplace team, South by Southwest, and Austin Resource Recovery. 

March was a wild month for Austin and the Austin Materials Marketplace program - South by Southwest electrified Austin for 9 days and joined forces with the Marketplace program to divert a record-shattering amount of materials.

The Marketplace team and our partners at Austin Resource Recovery worked with the SXSW trade show, Sony’s activation, and the Land of Lake’s activation. All in all, 16 Marketplace participants diverted approximately 15,000 pounds of materials from the landfill - our most impactful effort to date. Materials rescued from the landfill as a result of this collaboration include construction materials (lumber, insulation foam, flooring, and more), furniture pieces, decor items, office supplies, and electronics.

We can’t wait to share more details about this effort, where the materials ended up, and how you can get involved in more of our event material recovery efforts. Stay tuned...

 

Katie Duffy
From Trash to a New Home - Austin Eastciders supports local farm with materials instead of sending them to the landfill

Austin Eastciders is a booming local cidery that signed up for the Austin Materials Marketplace to discover reuse opportunities for their traditional and non-traditional wastes. Recently, these materials have included a number of construction and demolition materials from a recent remodel. Like many construction projects, Eastciders had surplus materials at the end of the project  - 2x4s, plywood, beams, steel piping, conduit, and more. 

The Marketplace team assisted with taking inventory, creating listings, promoting what was available out to the Austin business community, and identifying potential takers for the materials. The team found a successful match when they reached out Taylor Farm, a small organic farm that offers eggs, meat, and fresh produce. 

Taylor Farm hosts volunteers to teach them about organic farming practices, and is in the process of creating a housing structure for the volunteers as well as a portable composting toilet. 1,000 pounds of lumber from Austin Eastciders will be used in the construction of these two structures - saving an estimated $1,888 in purchasing costs for materials as well as a reduction in operating expenses of $80/month (the price paid to rent a composting toilet). All in all, this transaction saved approximately $2,000 between the 2 businesses, diverted 29 cubic feet of materials from the landfill, and avoided 1.38 metric tons of carbon emissions that would have been emitted from creating virgin lumber. 

The Austin Materials Marketplace makes it easy for companies and organizations to collaborate on their waste materials in a way that also creates value for their business, the community, and the environment. Get your business signed up today and see what opportunities are in store for your “trash”. 

Blog, Success StoriesKatie Duffy
Austin Resource Recovery's AMM Series: Partners in Reuse - JOSCO Products & Austin Creative Reuse
Originally appeared on Austin Resource Recovery's Road to Zero Waste blog. 

Originally appeared on Austin Resource Recovery's Road to Zero Waste blog

There are simple ways for us to reuse; using canvas grocery bags, bringing a coffee mug to work or purchasing rechargeable batteries. But how can businesses join the reuse movement? Thanks to the Austin Materials Marketplace, businesses and nonprofits all over the City are connecting to exchange and reuse surplus materials that would otherwise be sent to local landfills.

In Austin Resource Recovery's new series, AMM Success Stories, they take a look at some of the program’s most impactful and dynamic exchanges. Learn more and get inspired by local businesses who are taking an active role in helping achieving Austin's Zero Waste goal!

Austin Creative Reuse & JOSCO Products

It all started with buttons. JOSCO Products had them and Austin Creative Reuse wanted them.

After connecting at a 2015 meetup held by Austin Materials Marketplace, Carole LeClair, Board President with Austin Creative Reuse, and Colleen Halbrook, President and CEO of JOSCO Products, discovered this need and the gears started turning. A partnership was born!

But first, a little back story on Austin Creative Reuse and JOSCO Products. 

Austin Creative Reuse (ACR) is a nonprofit that collects and sells donated craft materials. Their goal is to give unwanted materials a new life through crafting and upcycling. ACR is a volunteer-run organization that seeks to “foster conservation and reuse through creativity, education and community building.”

JOSCO Products is a local textile recycler and industrial manufacture passionate about reuse. Founded in 1980, JOSCO creates upcycled industrial cleaning products out of surplus textiles such as clothing, sheets and fabric. Much of the textiles they receive are old uniform shirts used by various City of Austin departments.

Flash forward— JOSCO Products is supplying Austin Creative Reuse with both buttons and workman’s patches removed from shirts before they’re turned into Eco-Rags.  As you can imagine, buttons are in high demand at Austin Creative Reuse. From collages to jewelry to mosaics, crafters visit the center to pick up buttons for creative projects every day. This transaction has diverted 965 pounds from landfills and generated value for Austin Creative Reuse and its customers!      
 

AMM02-Picture_HighRes_.jpg

What could make this partnership even better? After touring JOSCO’s manufacturing facilities, the team at ACR discovered a way they could return the favor.

Because ACR is a donation-based retailer, they receive all sorts of materials. This includes lots of fabric. However, not all of it can be sold in their store. Some fabric is too small, too smelly or too dirty.  So the question became: what to do with the unsellable fabric? Because of their existing partnership with Austin Materials Marketplace, the answer was clear. JOSCO would collect unsellable donated fabric and recycle it to make their signature, Eco Rags.

JOSCO has been an eco-minded business for 30 years and was eager to help another local business divert waste from landfills. This exchange is ongoing and has diverted 1,353 pounds from landfills while saving JOSCO a lot of money on materials!

These aren’t the only businesses committed to reducing waste; stay tuned for more Austin Material Marketplace Success Stories for inspiring tales of rescued materials and creative partnerships.

Katie Duffy
Austin Resource Recovery's AMM Series: The Who, the What, then When, the Where, the Why
AMM Series Header.png

Originally appeared on Austin Resource Recovery's Road to Zero Waste blog

We’ve heard the saying one person’s trash is another person’s treasure—Thanks to the Austin Materials Marketplace, the age-old adage rings true for Austin businesses! For the past three years, Austin businesses and non-profits have been saving money, making valuable connections, and reducing waste by trading items back and forth. In the first of a series showcasing the AMM, let’s breakdown the nuts and bolts of the program and look back at some of its accomplishments as we celebrate its three year anniversary and the launch of a new program website and marketplace platform.

The Basics

Who:  So far, 264 companies are participating and any business, entrepreneur or non-profit in Austin or Travis County are welcome to join.

What: A business-to-business reuse platform run by the U.S. Business Council for Sustainable Development with support from Austin Resource Recovery. AMM works like a specialized Craigslist for businesses if Craigslist had a person constantly watching the “free!” and “wanted” sections and facilitating matches between them. The program is free for participants with suggested donation levels depending on the size of your business.

AMMB1-01.jpg

When: Anytime! Sign up online and upload your available or wanted materials at your convenience.

You can also join the AMM for one of their monthly meet-ups (starting back up in March '18).

Where: Central Texas. AMM is also part of an international network of Materials Marketplace projects across the globe, from Ohio to Turkey.

Why: Because trading materials makes sense for you, your fellow businesses, the City and the planet. AMM has generated an estimated $372,000 in savings or value creation for participants, diverted an estimated 45,000 cubic feet from the landfill and avoided the approximate equivalent of more than 758 metric tons of carbon dioxide from going into the atmosphere.

Success Stories

How are businesses and non-profits using the AMM? Here are just a few examples of recent trades:

  • Harmony School of Science received 60 student desks from Austin Community College
  • Viking Fence’s leftover sawdust from its manufacturing process went to the Compost Coalition for use as a soil amendment
  • The Austin Disaster Relief Network acquired a used ice machine from the Habitat Suites Hotel
  • Electronics refurbishment and recycling company R2 Corporation traded tech benches and other business equipment with audio manufacturer Avenson Audio
  • Creative space The Museum of Human Achievement gave a second home to a serving cart, patio umbrella, clothes rack, towel rack, picnic table, and rugs leftover from SXSW events organized by Production Glue
AMMB1-02A.png

What could you trade through the Austin Materials Marketplace?
In the coming months, we'll share more in-depth stories with you from the Austin Materials Marketplace program.

Katie Duffy
Build A Sign and Austin Creative Reuse reframe waste as a resource - helping their business, the environment, and the community
BuildASign scrap sign material.jpg

Build A Sign, an Austin printing company, joined the Austin Materials Marketplace to help close the loop on some of their most common byproducts - flag fabric, canvas, vinyl, sticker, gator board, and mesh scrap. The Marketplace team stepped in to learn more about these materials and promote their availability to businesses who could potentially use these materials.

After researching these materials and their reuse applications, the Austin Materials Marketplace team cast a wide net to promote them to local businesses and organizations, and hauled in Austin Creative Reuse as an interested taker. Austin Creative Reuse is a local non-profit whose primary mission is to promote conservation and reuse through education, creativity and community building. Since September, Austin Creative Reuse has been making weekly pick-ups for Build A Sign materials. This ongoing transaction has diverted 443 pounds of materials from the landfill which in turn avoided 1.74 cubic tons of carbon emissions from being created. These are some impressive numbers that will continue to grow in the coming year.

Build A Sign and Austin Creative reuse are also seeing monetary value created from this relationship. Build A Sign is saving on disposal costs and Austin Creative Reuse is realizing value from selling these materials at a fraction of their retail price to cost-conscious consumers such as teachers and artists. We estimate that around $2,000 worth of materials have made their way through the reuse center and back into consumers’ hands to be reused as raw material.

Even if a business recycles and composts, in many cases there are still odd materials that end up in the dumpster. Responsible businesses are exploring opportunities through the Austin Materials Marketplace to minimize costs and environmental impact by recovering these waste streams for higher & better uses - join the program to get involved!

Build - Create - Learn: Austin Materials Marketplace Workshop Recap
slack-imgs-4.jpg

A big thanks to those who made it out to our Build-Create-Learn event on November 4th! We heard from Aspire Food Group about their commercial grade cricket farm that makes protein-packed snacks using minimal resources compared to other foods. Around 1,400lbs of oyster shells were diverted from the landfill and used to create a decorative lining for a pavilion. And everyone got to enjoy a beautiful day outside at Green Gate Farms surrounded by folks passionate about reuse. 

Want to learn more about what reuse events are going on in Austin? Like our Facebook page

Katie Duffy
Production Glue receives national recognition for their material recovery efforts during SXSW 2017

Event company’s diversion efforts generate $10k in value for local nonprofits, help the fight against hunger, divert 1,371 cubic feet from the landfill, and avoid 6.71 metric tons of CO2 emissions.

Production Glue, a live events company and participant in the Austin Materials Marketplace, is the recipient of this year’s BizBash Event Style award for Best Sustainability / Corporate Social Responsibility Program for an Event or Meeting for their 2017 SXSW activation for TNT’s Animal Kingdom. This is a big deal. Creating a fantastic event is hard work, and taking measures to be eco and communally conscious makes that job even harder. With the full backing of their client, Civic Entertainment Group, Production Glue went above and beyond, and with our help made a positive environmental impact, helped support our local community, and gained recognition as a sustainable industry leader.

As a company, Production Glue has helped set the standard for sustainable practices in the event industry. Sustainability is baked into every part of their process, touching materials choices, logistics, energy use, waste management, execution logistics and final reconciliation. But for a production company working on a national scale, finding local connections to make these goals a reality can be a real struggle. To help fill this gap, Production Glue worked with the Austin Materials Marketplace team early in the planning process of the Animal Kingdom activation to help identify local organizations that could take and benefit from materials from the activation, and easily track and report impact metrics from the effort.

Ian’s Giving Gardens and Frutas Frescas was one of the nonprofits that received materials from the activation. Ian McKenna, 12 years old, started his giving gardens to combat hunger in Austin. Any student who comes to school hungry has access to the organic and fresh produce from his gardens. Ian received picnic tables for his gardens to enable students to have lessons outside; tools to increase the yield from his gardens; and a new canopy that he uses to set up a mobile free produce stand in communities around Austin. All in all, seven Marketplace participants accepted around $10,000 worth of materials from Production Glue including furniture, equipment, decor, landscaping materials and more. The reuse of these materials avoided 6.71 metric tons of carbon emissions and diverted approximately 1,400 cubic feet of resources from the landfill.

The Austin Materials Marketplace is beginning to engage more with large events in Austin, in part due to Austin Resource Recovery’s efforts to engage city-wide events in zero-waste initiatives. As case studies like this show, reuse of event materials can create a tremendous community impact. If you’re planning now for SXSW ‘18 and know you’ll have bulky, hard-to-recycle materials left over, contact our team for assistance - we’re happy to help!

Success Stories, BlogKatie Duffy
As parking pay stations get upgrades, old technology finds new life
The Austin Materials Marketplace helped the Austin Transportation Department divert these old pay station doors and solar panels from the landfill - saving money and avoiding CO2 emissions.

The Austin Materials Marketplace helped the Austin Transportation Department divert these old pay station doors and solar panels from the landfill - saving money and avoiding CO2 emissions.

If you’ve paid to park at a City of Austin parking spot, you’re probably familiar with the pay stations that courteously dispense parking stickers for you to slap onto your windshield (that is, unless you’re using the parking app). Well, the trusty towers in Austin's downtown core received upgrades in September, with more efficient solar panels, new and improved batteries, front panels with color displays, and better data-crunching capabilities. What’s more – much of that old hardware is getting a second life!

Working with the Austin Materials Marketplace, the Austin Transportation Department has donated approximately 130 solar panels to local education nonprofit Hackstarz. These panels will live on as both energy sources and instructional materials for hackers and makers working with solar electronics. The Marketplace team also enabled a connection to recycle 143 pay station doors, which amounts to over 2,600 pounds of metal and plastic saved! Join the Marketplace program today to help with your business' sustainability efforts. 
 

Blog, Success StoriesKatie Duffy
What's New in the Marketplace - Materials and Users

Materials

We have some fresh new materials listed in the Marketplace. These materials could save big for your business while also avoiding the carbon emissions that it takes to make new materials. Log in to your Marketplace account to check out these listings or get signed up here.

Here's a peak at what's available:

  1. Penco Clipper Industrial Metal Shelving Units
  2. Connected Stadium Style Waiting Room Seats
  3. Senergy Stucco
  4. Wall Mounted Baby Changing Station
  5. Gaylord Boxes

Users

The Marketplace community rounded up some fantastic new additions recently. We are so excited to now be working with: Austin EcoNetwork, C3 Presents, The Eclectic Quirkinator, Peregi, Austin Beerworks, Global Material Recycling,Vision Gland, Big Foot Recycling, Taylor Farm,  Bailey Middle School PTA, Hebe, and CSC Management,.

Go, team!

Katie Duffy