Oct. 14, 2020 — Over the past few years, Florence residents and businesses, in conjunction with the Master Recyclers of Florence, have been working together to ensure proper recycling of specific plastics, namely the numbers 2, 4 and 5. There have been several community collection events sponsored by the members of the Florence United Methodist Church and its Sacred Earth Initiative Team that have been working to keep these plastics out of the landfill. But when the pandemic hit, these collection events came to a halt.

Cottage Grove based non-profit EcoGeneration has offered to help by hosting a Recycling Take Back Event at the Florence Events Center parking lot on Sunday, Nov. 1.

The free event will take place from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. — with the first hour specifically for residents over 65 years of age. The outside event will follow the State safety guidelines for Covid-19 with masks and social distancing being required. This will be a Zero Waste event, so no garbage will be accepted or collected.

EcoGeneration was founded two years ago by David Gardiepy, a Master Recycler from Cottage Grove. The mission of the organization is to safeguard and improve the ecosystems that humans coexist with. Its focus is on protecting biodiversity in and around the Pacific Northwest.

The organization is comprised of volunteers who not only collect plastics but also many other reusable waste streams, such as health and beauty products, personal care products, electronics and many more items.

In the last year alone, EcoGeneration volunteers have prevented more than 15,000 pounds of plastic from going to the Lane County landfills.

The Recycling Take Back Event will be an opportunity for Florence residents and businesses to bring their recyclables for collection. As with  other past collections, all items must be clean, dry, label-free and sorted by number and type.

“We are very excited to be teaming up with the Florence community to provide recycling events through 2021 as we grow as an organization,” said Gardiepy. “We also are looking for community sponsors to help build local awareness about ethical waste management and help protect the coastal environment.”

Sponsorship opportunities for Florence are available by contacting Gardiepy directly at [email protected].

For information regarding how to prepare recyclables and what products are accepted, visit www.ecogeneration.org.

The Master Recyclers of Florence, as well as members of the Florence United Methodist Church, will be assisting at the event. People can contact Britte Kirsch at [email protected] or Nancy Rhodes at [email protected] to volunteer. There is also an online sign-up at www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0d4fafa92da6f5c52-florence.

PPE items will be available for volunteers.

The Florence United Methodist Church, 333 Kingwood St., is leading community sponsorship with a donation of $750 from church members.