Creation of a Community Resource:

A Hall County non-profit service for information exchange with an email list and interactive website.

Introduction

Weekly, even daily, calls are fielded by the Resource Recovery Division from residents and businesses who wish to “find a home” for their usable materials (“stuff”). These materials may be virtually anything. Many times, they may be of use and value to an individual, group, or project, if that individual, group or project could be located and matched with the material(s) in question. After all, “Waste is a resource in the wrong place.”

Current State of the Art

Currently, such materials matching is done manually through collecting newspaper clippings of groups seeking useable items or by personal knowledge of “who is looking for what”. It is tedious, imperfect and the information becomes quickly dated. For example, an organization that needed a computer desk last week may not need one now. Needs change or are met.

The Innovation

This project has created a system of interrelated email lists arranged in a web fashion and a companion internet web site to promote solid waste reduction via reuse and materials matching in Hall County. As such, this project has become part of Hall County’s efforts to reduce solid waste going to disposal. This network also has implications beyond being just a solid waste management tool, however.

Email lists are not new. You can find and subscribe to any number of email lists centered on topic areas from fruit flies to antiques to quilting. This, however is an interrelated email lists called the EnviroShare X-Change. Each email list in this web has been organized around the following proposed sectors in Hall County:

1. EnviroShare Email List (business and industry email list functioning for the last two years-possible source of “stuff”);
2. Non-profit Organizations/United Way Agencies Email List;
3. Schools (city/county, private, pre-school, colleges) Email List;

1. Inform their sector about the project and encourage participation;
2. Assemble e-mail addresses of participants (in their sector);
3. Maintain their sub-web (update the email list);
4. Pay fees; and
5. Filter posts/moderating.

It is difficult to fathom all the needs of various groups, agencies and institutions doing beneficial work in our community. However, this program allows materials and needs to match themselves. As materials become available for reuse, they are matched directly to those sectors doing “public works” or through them to those in need, helping to make Hall County a better place to live, while keeping beneficial materials out of the landfill.

Beyond Waste Reduction and Re-Use

Have a question? Need to get out a meeting notice? Need to spread the word quickly about an upcoming grant or scholarship opportunity? This tool may be just what is needed, not only for materials exchange, but also for information sharing and gathering as well, within each sector (sub email list) and between/among sectors (sub email lists). Linking several lists (sub email lists) together, in an interrelated email list creates a powerful community-building resource.

How It Works?

For example, when materials or information of interest to schools becomes available, it is posted to the Schools Email List. This post could be generated from within the School’s Email List or by anyone on the web (of email lists). When a post crosses from one email list to another, it will be the job of the sub email list (sector) director to decide (filter the post) whether this post is of interest or appropriate to their sector. It’s their judgment call, as they know their sector best. This feature is in place to prevent irrelevant or over abundant e-mails from taking up everyone’s time needlessly.

Rather than include the e-mail addresses of every teacher on the Schools Email List, a “point person” is in place as a point of contact at each school. Therefore, one e-mail address (point person) would be subscribed to the email list to represent each school on the School Email List. All that is needed is an e-mail address for that person and computer access at a given school.

The EnviroShare X-Change: Step By Step

Let’s look at a hypothetical example of how this might work. For example, let’s say a local business contacts Hall Co. Resource Recovery wanting help getting rid of a “bunch” of plastic squeeze bottles. It’s determined that they can’t be recycled, but perhaps they could have re-use potential, hmmm…

Thinking these might be of interest to schools for use in art or perhaps science classes, the bottles are posted as an “available” listing to the Schools Email List Director. He/she agrees these could be of interest to the schools and posts this to the Schools Email List. Each school’s “point person” receives the post and disseminates it per normal procedures in place at each school. Teachers respond positively to the information and the match is made. Hooray!