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Teaching Life Lessons and Lessons from Her Life When thinking about Earth Day and Earth Month, I got thinking about the two mothers who I would not exist without: Mother Earth and of course, my mom. So, I thought it would seem fitting to interview the woman responsible for me being on Earth. After graduating from college, my mom was a full-time teacher at public schools. But once my older siblings and I came along, she stopped teaching to focus on her children. I remember my mom teaching us all sorts of things at home, but the golden rules definitely stand out: "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." "You are what you eat." Those are definitely quotes that I have taken into adulthood with the lifestyles that I lead. I also had the awkward experience of having my mom teach me in the traditional sense, when she was my substitute teacher a few times in junior high and high school. Fortunately, my friends were kind. I've also learned lessons from my mom about reusing, while it wasn't always obvious that's what the lesson was about. She has always been determined to fix items over and over, until she truly needs to buy a replacement. That certainly continues, as she is still the go-to for mending clothes in our family. Just recently, I finally gave up on a pair of jeans that she had fixed at least half a dozen times and got a new pre-owned pair. My mom's determination to keep items from falling apart truly mirrors her determination to keep her family from falling apart. And she has certainly succeeded. While my mom hasn't taught in schools for years, her teaching certainly hasn't stopped. With her 13 grandchildren (and any day now about to be two great-grandchildren), she's had plenty of opportunity to teach them everything from traditional school subjects to sewing to how to be a better human. OK, here's my mom. My mom and I at the REUSE! Documentary premiere. 1. So, for many years you were a teacher. What made you want to become an educator? I loved kids and enjoyed teaching Sunday school. 2. During your years of teaching, were you able to incorporate any reuse ideas in your classroom? I would use both sides of drawing paper, use crayons until there wasn't enough to hold and collect crayon pieces to melt them at home for projects. Paperback workbooks were not written in, as answers were just on lined paper so that workbooks could be reused every every year. I also got arts and crafts supplies from the free bins that I visited at the Children's Museum in Jamaica Plain, Boston. My mom getting some free arts and crafts supplies at the Children's Museum in 1978. 3. Considering the years that you were a student, the years you were a teacher and now seeing your grandchildren as students, how have schools become more or less wasteful? Markers are used, it seems, more than crayons and they can't be reused once they dry up. I've noticed that workbooks are written in instead of copies of pages on paper and therefore need to be repurchased for the following year. On the plus side, the use of computers and doing things online does save a lot of paper. 4. So, while I'm certainly a solutions guy, we do have to address the problems. Where do you see the most waste in your daily life. In the summer, I purchase water in small plastic bottles to be used by my grandchildren when they come to visit to swim in my pool. The reason for this being I don't want anything glass to be used around the pool or anything that I have to wash in the dishwasher because I have a 20 ft deep well that draws from groundwater. And in extreme heat, the supply of water to my well can be extremely scarce and a few times nonexistent. My well has dried up! At one point, my neighbor had to supply me with water through his garden hose connected to my outside spigot for three months! All plastic bottles are collected and recycled. This makes me want to figure out a better solution for my mom this summer... A Mother's Day gift that I made for my mom. 5. In your personal experience, how do you think recycling has worked and NOT worked as a solution to waste? It seems to me that recycling plastic, cans and bottles has certainly kept these items out of the landfill and hopefully the ocean and reprocessed to have a new life in some form or another. The not working part is when people just toss recyclable items into the trash out of pure laziness and not wanting to take the time to separate. 6. How do you think the U.S. could step up the solutions to our waste problem? Have you seen or heard of anything anywhere else? Reusing as much as possible: composting, repairing items of clothing, furniture, and mechanical and electronic items. And the list goes on. If something has outlived its usefulness to you, it can be donated or parts of an item may be recycled or reused in another way. Local online marketplaces advertise people's items for sale that in previous years have just been tossed out. My mom wearing one of her many sewing jobs for STAY VOCAL. She has always been a good sport about taking and being in photos. 7. It's funny. I always tell people that reusing is nothing new. It’s been going on long before we were here. Do you have any memories of your parents or grandparents reusing in unique ways? Cloth diapers, cloth sanitary products, clothes sewn at home and passed down from one kid to the next, reusing, frozen food packages instead of an ice pack, holes in socks mended, shoes taken to a cobbler to be resoled...etc, etc My mom in the mid 1940s, wearing her father's Christening gown that he wore in 1890 and his sister wore in 1880! 8. Do you have any notable stories about saving money on something because you bought it used instead of new? My parents' first car in the 1960's was handed down from a family member. It was 1950 Chevy Bel Air. When we finally got a new used car, a 1961 Oldsmobile Skylark, we donated the '50 Chevy to the vocational school in Quincy for use in their section for learning about car parts and repair. My grandparents' 1950 Chevy Bel Air and 1961 Oldsmobile Skylark. Fun Fact: My mom inherited the license plate from the Bel Air and still uses the number today! My first car in 1966 was a wrecked 1960 Ford station wagon that was bought at a junkyard and rehabbed using parts from a discontinued used police car and various other used parts. When we put an addition on our house in Norwell, we used perfectly good windows that had been discarded by a construction company. The large Play House for my kids in the back yard was from all used materials too. My parents getting into that Frankenstein of a 1960 Ford station wagon. A piece of our fallen childhood Play House door was used as a canvas for a memory of the home that my mom sold a few years ago. 9. Have you ever taken anything out of the recycling bin or trash to reuse somehow or maybe found something on the side of the road? Many times! A dining room table from the Cohasset dump, wicker kitchen chairs from the Hingham dump, and countless times digging into my recycle bag to pull out a cover or a jar or a plastic container that I needed for some food item or store something in. When my kids were little, we went to the Children's Museum in Boston that had a reuse room of all kinds of little items (thread spools, corks, swizzle sticks etc,) that you could use for arts and crafts. I would bag up a bunch of stuff to use with my kids at home, just like I had done when I was teaching fourth grade in Quincy. Who would ever know that this dining room table came from a dump? Tablecloths work magic. 10. And lastly, what’s the best thing that you ever got used and why? Got a photo? My house.... significant, as it was the first major purchase on my own!! It was 80+years old and is 100 years old this year! The back of my mom's house in 1935 and the front in 2025. To order one of the REUSE! Box Truck T-Shirts like my mom is wearing in her profile photo, head over to the STAY VOCAL shop. COMMENT SECTION BELOW

I know that many of us have said or heard this a lot and I know to others, it just sounds annoying, but seriously, Earth Day needs to be every day. Some people celebrate Halloween for the whole month of October. Some people celebrate Christmas for the whole month of December. But Earth Day isn't just a holiday. It's about celebrating the thing that allows us all to exist. Without a healthy planet, we would have no holidays. We would have no days.  And I'm not saying that we need to be out there wearing green outfits, planting trees, hosting beach cleanups and biking to solar-powered repair cafes every day. I'm just saying that the affects on our shared planet NEED to be considered for the daily choices that we make. Because if we disregard the thing that allows us all to exist, we simply risk our own future and the future of generations to come.

Today, I'd like to announce one of our new partners: The Vegan Potter. Located in Southeastern Connecticut, Lyndsay Dean (AKA The Vegan Potter) has been combining her passion for pottery, animals, and the planet for over 3 decades. She creates ethical stoneware pottery that is made to last. And with her slogans and designs, her pieces serve as a vessel and a voice for positive change. Lyndsay has quite the resume too, including working for The Jane Goodall Institute in Canada. And Lyndsay doesn't just make pottery, she also teaches classes for all ages at her studio & retail shop, Glaze Handmade in Stonington, CT. Lyndsay at work in her studio and retail shop, Glaze Handmade, in Stonington, CT Over the past few years, I became good friends with Lyndsay and her incredibly talented drummer of a husband, Matt. She and I have been vendors at numerous events around New England together and she has become a big supporter of my work with reuse. As I grew to love her unique pottery creations, I asked her if there was any way to make pottery with used materials. I always thought you could somehow melt down broken pieces or something, but that was not the case. Lyndsay was determined to figure something out for my reuse lifestyle, though, as we both wanted me drinking coffee out of one of her mugs. And she did! She made a special collection of mugs with discarded clay from pieces that she collected over time in a bucket. And the glaze is a mystery color that came to be with all of the excess glaze from her brushes and containers. With all of our connections and collaborations, it really was time to make this relationship official! 🚚 🤝 ☕ The Vegan Potter logo will be featured on the movie screen side of the box truck and will be seen by the thousands of people that tour the truck this year. Deek and I with our official mugs for The REUSE! Box Truck; custom designs by me, everything else by The Vegan Potter. To really make our partnership official, I visited Lyndsay's studio a few weeks ago and helped design a whole new batch of the mugs. And this Friday, I will be stopping by Lyndsay's studio with the box truck for an event to launch the mugs! Check out the event details and learn more about Lyndsay's work here. 🤝🤝🤝 If you or your organization is interested in partnering with the Escape The Waste team, we've got some spots left. Email me here.

My recent stock from Supply Bulk Foods going into the box truck. When I came back to Massachusetts in the 2010s after living in Northern California, I found shopping for bulk foods not as easy, especially where I'm from on the South Shore. I was able to find a few places though, like Whole Foods, where I could fill my jars with some staples like coffee, peanut butter, and oatmeal. After the pandemic, many of these places unfortunately stopped letting me bring in my own jars. Luckily, I travel a lot and stock up at places with hundreds of bulk options like Honest Weight, in Albany, New York. But it certainly would be great if there was an option around the South Shore. Well, there actually is. A couple of years ago, I got an email from a woman wanting to make sustainable T-Shirts for her business; a dry bulk foods delivery service! While she was a friend of a friend, I had no idea that Supply Bulk Foods existed and was I excited to learn more. Alys Myers and I connected, we learned more about each other's work, and we got her reuse shirts made. Alys with her first batch of Supply / STAY VOCAL reuse T-Shirts. With the lack of bulk food shopping in Massachusetts, it was great to see that Supply delivers to various locations around the eastern part of the state. So, you don't have to worry about driving to a distant location every time. For me, it's fortunate that one of the delivery spots is my friend Julia's shop: Four Corners Supply Co . in Marshfield. One of the many great things I see about this is that two small local businesses are working together for a common good. Julia Traggorth, owner of Four Corners Supply Co., with my order from Supply. So, why is buying bulk foods a better option? 👤 Buying bulk foods is better for people. We've all heard by now about the increasing studies finding microplastics in human bodies. That is some seriously.... scary... stuff! We don't want that. And that's one thing bulk foods are all about preventing. With Supply, for example, all orders are individually packaged in compostable/recyclable packages and tin tie paper bags with a biodegradable liner. ZERO PLASTIC! These items aren't manufactured in a factory somewhere and kept in plastic for who knows how long. Some of my recent order from Supply. 🌎 Buying bulk foods is better for our planet. Cutting down on packaging also helps save resources and eliminates plastic waste. Plus, the more the local the food is, the less fossil fuels and carbon emissions there are. And that surely makes less of an impact on the planet creating less pollution and eventual climate change. 💰 Buying bulk foods is better for our wallets. With minimal packaging, the costs for the business are down and those costs can be carried over to the customer. You're also less likely to overbuy, as you can just get what you need. You're not stuck with one big package of something. Personally, I only have so much room for food storage in The Reuse Box Truck. The dry goods shelf in The Reuse Box Truck Tiny House. As an added bonus, Supply is also one of the bulk foods companies that takes SNAP/EBT. This is an important part of the brand model to help those facing food insecurity. And buying bulk foods doesn't just benefit customers wallets. By supporting local, small businesses, we're putting more money into our communities. And that's one of the easiest and most impactful ways that we can support our community. If we truly care about our community, we should want to put the money into our community's pockets, right? That being said, I used go to Whole Foods a lot, like I mentioned above. But as of earlier this year, I'm no longer going there. I don't need to give their billionaire more of my hard earned money. (Amazon owns Whole Foods if you did not know.) There are smaller, local grocery stores and bulk foods options like Supply that I can support. With every dollar that I spend, I get to vote for the kind of world I want to live in. And by supporting a small business, I'm choosing to support community and people I actually know. Since I know many of you are not in Eastern Massachusetts, there are plenty of options around the U.S. for buying bulk foods. Here's a great zero waste grocery guide by Litterless . The Dill Pickle Peanuts were not in the assortment on the shelf because they simply didn't make it that far on the way home.

I'm guessing that you celebrate Earth Day in some way? And maybe you're even setting up or taking part in an event? Well, with April approaching, I wanted to share an idea for an easy, inexpensive, fun, and educational opportunity for your school, business, community, non-profit group, neighborhood , etc . A screening of our film REUSE! Because You Can't Recycle The Planet . is a great way to celebrate our shared planet by promoting sustainability and reuse. It leaves audiences of all ages with a positive outlook for the future of our planet and provides viable alternatives to recycling. "The film follows reuse edutainer Alex Eaves' cross-country adventure to the 48 contiguous U.S. states and features endless reuse solutions for the waste problem that benefit people, planet, and our wallets." 👉 You can watch the trailer below and preview the full film in advance here. LICENSE FEES & ADD ONS Starting at just $75.00, we offer numerous licenses based on the size of the audience and if it will be a FREE or ticketed event. Once the screening is purchased, you will also get access to a digital folder of promotional materials to help make for a successful screening. You will also get access to a discussion guide filled with questions and follow up activities about the film and reuse. The director and star of the film, Alex Eaves, is available for a Q&A session; both in person and virtually. 👉 Our events can easily be incorporated into any existing larger earth day plans too. The film can be screened inside, outside, in a tent, etc. That said, screenings are great "Rain or Shine" events. An indoor screening at a business in Washington If you're interested in learning more or you're ready to book, just click the button below. And while Earth Month is a focus, we do book events throughout the year. An outdoor screening at a college in North Carolina

Using His Stage to Stay Vocal About Positive Change for Over 30 Years In 2002, when I was a touring merchandiser for bands, I went on my first tour in Europe. One of the bands on the tour was the German punk band, Donots. I actually rode on a bus with them too. As a result, I literally and figuratively became close with them, especially the Knollman brothers: Guido and Ingo. I admired how the band was such a positive, upbeat group of dudes and were able to go on stage every night, encouraging the crowd to pay attention to problems in our world and offer solutions to benefit all of us. Over the years, because of social media, I've stayed in touch with Ingo and we both casually stayed up to date with what the other was doing. At the same time, in my years working with reuse, I've seen how Germany has been ahead of the game in numerous areas (glass soda and beer bottle refilling, reusable bags, etc). So, I thought I would dip into my past music industry life and reach out to Ingo. And I was reminded yet again that reusing is truly something that everyone in the world can take part in to make a positive impact on our shared planet. Enjoy. 1. You're based in Germany; a place that I visited many times during the 2000s with bands, but unfortunately didn't have much exploring time. I was wondering if used clothing and thrift stores are currently popular there like they are in the US? Oh yeah, that has always been quite a big deal over here. People love vintage clothes, used stuff and exploring fancy thrift shops. And I have a feeling that it’s luckily getting even more popular these days. Ingo on stage with Donots playing to a crowd of 90,000 people at the Rock Am Ring Festival. (Photo: Danny Kötter) 2. With Donots, you have certainly not been quiet about your beliefs and politics. Could you talk about what has inspired you to use your platform to start those conversations? I guess that growing up in a subculture it sort of becomes an obligation or second nature to ask questions and wear your tongue on the sleeve. It’s in the DNA of punk and you’re being exposed to problems that a lot of people don’t think about. You grow up to question traditions, finding alternative solutions, activating other people, speaking up against all the wrong in this world and you get more vocal in the long run. Communication has always been the key and diving deep into lyrics and zine articles definitely shaped me to become the person I am today. Our band has been around for some 30 years now so we met a lot of interesting and amazing people along the way. And on the other hand, we saw a lot of bullshit, double standards, conserative structures, right wing shifts and all the stuff that keeps you awake at night; even more so now that we all have families and kids. But since our band has been doing really well recently and we get to play the biggest shows in 3 decades nowadays, it’d be irresponsible not to use our full scope and range. Playing for bigger audiences of course means playing to younger kids too. And those are the ones you really gotta wanna reach out to. They are still open to new ideas. They’re not spoiled yet and they carry a lot of possible positivity for this planet. That being said, I can’t recommend all ages shows enough! Also we always try to make this world a better place if only for a couple moments by inviting NGOs (non-governmental organizations) to our shows and have them set up info booths and launch street teams to dish out some much needed information. Music is of course entertainment and escapism in the first place but I love the fact that it can be much more than that. You don’t need to be outspoken politically on stage, but I can’t understand how artists don’t raise their voice in interviews or on social platforms. It’s our interface to a better world, isn't it? Ingo sharing the stage at a special matinee show with mostly kids in Wiesbaden, GERMANY. (Photo: Andreas Budtke) 3. As a performer and attendee of many big festivals in Germany, how does sustainability come into play at these events? Do you see reusable drink cups often? I mean there’s still a whole lot of work to be done and space for improvement but things are getting a lot better when it comes to sustainability at festivals these days. Most of the open air festivals are already handing out reusable cups - and there’s already a couple of open airs that even install bio toilets over here. A reusable festival cup introduced by the band Die Ärzte. You sign your name on it and keep it on your belt. 4. So, while I'm certainly a solutions guy, we do have to address the problems. Where do you see the most waste in your daily life? When it comes to myself and the waste that I produce, I’m afraid I am using my car way too often. I try and ride my bike a lot more to cut down on that sort of pollution. Also, I do find myself forgetting my reusable Descendents cup at home way too often and I love coffee just a bit too much too be honest. Apart from that, I can’t believe how much plastic is being used for all sorts of bull crap. Ingo holds his Descendents travel coffee mug. (Fun Fact: I used to have a similar mug from that band's side project, ALL.) 5. In your personal experience, how do you think recycling has worked and NOT worked as a solution to waste? I’m not an environmental expert, but judging from my 48 years on this planet I do see a lot of improvement from back in the day when I was young and nowadays. We did cut down on waste a whole lot more in general, make better use of recycling, alternative energy sources and also waste sorting is much more of a thing today. 6. How do you think Germany could step up the solutions to the waste problem? Have you seen or heard of anything anywhere else? Well, it might not seem like much, but every little bit helps, doesn’t it? I’m really happy that bottle caps in Germany are now attached to the bottles so they’re not being disposed everywhere. Also the legal grip on people smoking is becoming tighter and tighter which is a good thing. These bottle caps are mandatory on all bottles in Germany now, reducing litter. 7. It's funny. I always tell people that reusing is nothing new. It’s been going on long before we were here. Do you have any memories of your parents or grandparents reusing in unique ways? I’d say the most vivid memories would be my parents and grandparents already reusing all sorts of glass when I was young instead of throwing it all away. Like jars for mustard or jam - when they were empty, my parents and grand parents would clean them and reuse them as containers for fruit or as drinking glasses. 8. Do you have any notable stories about saving money on something because you bought it used instead of new? I just love old furniture: old cupboards, shelfs, tables and chairs, all that. I’d much rather buy used ones in second hand stores. The new stuff is almost always way too expensive. Plus, old stuff just tells great stories! 9. Have you ever taken anything out of the recycling bin or trash to reuse somehow or maybe found something on the side of the road? I just can’t walk past piles of vinyl records, old video games or books when somebody puts them in the streets before they’re being thrown away for good. One of Ingo's favorite street finds. Who tosses a Johnny Cash record?! 10. And lastly, what’s the best thing that you ever got used and why? Got a photo? I just LOVE the table in our living room which we bought from a thrift store! Posters from the European tour where I met Ingo in 2002. This was before we took photos of EVRYTHING. I'm wondering if Ingo or any of the guys have photos of us... Learn more about Ingo and his band on the Donots official site . And below, you can also listen to the Donots' new single released this week: " Allein zu allein" (Alone too Alone) To order a One of a Kind REUSE! T-Shirt like Ingo is wearing in his profile photo, head over to the STAY VOCAL One of a Kind Gallery .

Sometimes our choices in life can be frustrating to people. And I know and accept that some of my choices have been frustrating to people in my life. Some people don't want to see alternatives because they don't want their lives changed in any way. Well, I wanted to take a moment to apologize. I'm sorry that I don't think about money first, but rather people, animals, and the planet. I'm sorry that I think about long term effects, not instant gratification. I'm sorry that I think about how my decisions will effect others around me. I'm sorry that I think so much. I'm sorry that I care about having a healthy planet for us to live on. I'm sorry that I care about future generations having a healthy planet to live on. I'm sorry that I smile at people when I see them because it's contagious. I'm sorry that I don't need the newest phone to make my life better. I'm sorry that I don't need a new car to give me status. I'm sorry that I don't need new things to make me happy. I'm sorry that I choose possessions and activities that are better for the planet. I'm sorry that I think recycling has been a failure as a solution for our waste problem. I'm sorry that secondhand is my favorite brand. I'm sorry that I avoid buying certain food because I don't want more packaging waste under our feet. I'm sorry that I choose a diet to positively impact the health of our planet, our animals, and myself. I'm sorry that I don't have an Amazon account and choose to support small businesses. I'm sorry that I don't take leaders seriously who deny climate change and don't fight for our one shared planet. I'm sorry that I'm compassionate and empathetic, which are not typically considered "masculine" traits. I'm sorry that I believe everyone on this planet is in this together. I'm sorry that I value honesty more than anything. I'm sorry that I wasn't being honest with any of the statements above. I'm not sorry about those things at all.

I'm happy to officially say that I'll be bringing The REUSE! Box Truck Tiny House to my alma mater,  Northeastern University . It will be our first event with the truck at NU and it will be featured at their Inaugural Sustainability Innovation Week. Back when I was a journalism student at the school in the late 90s, all I wanted to do was graduate. I had started a street promotions company early on with another student and actually graduated in 4 years, instead of 5. Never did I imagine the chain of events in the music industry and waste that would lead me back to the school. I've actually spoken at the school a couple of times over the years and was also part of an NU student film called, Plastic Linings . Northeastern faculty member and environmental activist Madhavi Venkatesan is featured in The Box Truck Film . And Northeastern actually came to see the Box Truck  and talk to Deek and I a while back. So, we're definitely looking forward to finally bringing our Reuse Roadshow to our old stomping grounds. Fun Fact #1: My co-builder of the REUSE! Box Truck, Derek "Deek" Diedricksen, also graduated from Northeastern the same year. We didn't meet until 15 years later, though. Fun Fact #2: The event is on March 11th (3/11), a holiday for a big fan of the band 311 like me. Note my hat in my NU Student ID and my dorm room below. This was my second year dorm room at Northeastern. I've parted ways with most of those 311 items, but I'll definitely be wearing my jersey to celebrate the day. Check out the Escape The Waste Calendar  for more info on our events and learn about booking your own.

Today, I'd like to announce one of our new partners: Song of the Robin Vegan Bed & Breakfast and Animal Sanctuary. Located near Albany, New York, Song of the Robin (formerly Red Robin Song) is an incredible escape not only for humans, but also animals. It's one of the only vegan bed & breakfasts in New England and a sanctuary for rescued farm animals and wildlife. Founder Lisa Robinson's goal is to educate the public about the many things they can do to make this a better world for animals, while striving to improve our planet and our own health. Set on 85 acres in the quiet town of New Lebanon, there are hiking trails, numerous ponds, and plenty of animals to see and interact with. And it's not just typical animals like goats and rabbits. There's actually a herd of yaks! If you're looking to stay inside, the guest house is a cozy getaway, where you can find plenty of space to write, read, or even play the stand up Pac-Man machine. And there is always coffee flowing! A typical scene at Song of the Robin. I first visited Song of the Robin in 2018, when Lisa hosted a film screening and tours of the box truck. Since then, the location has hosted numerous reuse events with me, some of which can be seen in The Box Truck Film. And in addition to rescued animals, there are a lot of rescued features around the sanctuary. Most recently, I worked with Deek to repurpose a rabbit house as a tiny house for people. All of this said, it really was time to make this relationship official! 🚚 🤝 🐷 The REUSE! Box Truck's favorite parking spot at Song of the Robin The Song of the Robin logo will be featured on the movie screen side of the box truck and will be seen by the thousands of people that tour the truck this year. We expect them to host some of the events too! Head over to the Guest House website to learn more and maybe book a visit! 🤝🤝🤝 If you or your organization is interested in partnering with the Escape The Waste team, we've got some spots left. Email me here.

Championing Sustainability for a Global Company in Singapore Last spring, I got a random message from a woman in Singapore about my YouTube Video, "World's Biggest Volkswagen Diecast Model Car Collection" . That woman was Nicole Golloso and she was an avid collector of Volkswagen Beetle toys and was interested in buying some of them. While I wasn't selling any of the cars at the time, we got talking about how they were gathered during a long term consulting job and massive house cleanout that I did. This naturally led to my work in sustainability, which led to Nicole sharing that she works with sustainability in her job for McCann Worldgroup, a global advertising agency with offices in 120 countries. Working for such a huge company across the globe, I thought Nicole would be a great person to talk to about how reuse solutions and the resulting benefits play a role in her life. 1. You're based in Singapore; somewhere I don't know too much about. I was wondering if used clothing and thrift stores are popular like they are in the U.S.? While I don’t think it’s as popular as it is in the U.S., there are actually a good number of thrift stores in Singapore. For clothes, you can find some of it by Haji Lane (an alley filled with shophouses that have been turned into commercial spaces) and Lucky Plaza (shopping centre by Orchard Road mostly known for having many Filipino stores). There is also a brand called ‘Refash’ which has branches around major shopping areas in Singapore where you can sell and buy pre-loved clothes. For furniture or house items, there are also plenty of second-hand and antique shops where you can find beautiful pieces for affordable prices. My favorite spots are Hock Siong and the Tan Boon Liat Building (a 15-story building of mostly furniture shops and showrooms). 2. Relatedly, I'm a big coffee drinker, so if I was to ever visit Singapore, I would head straight for a coffee shop. Are coffee shops in Singapore similar, where most people get coffee in single use, disposable cups? And are reuse options available? Sadly, it’s not yet widely practiced in Singapore. If I’m not mistaken, Starbucks is the only well-known coffee shop that has an all-year round program that encourages this wherein you get 50 cents off your drink if you bring your own cup. Nicole speaks about sustainability at a conference in Malaysia. 3. As a Director of Human Resources and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for a large company, does sustainability get involved in your work? Yes it does. I am one of the Sustainability Champions that represent APAC in our Global Sustainability Community. Apart from actively taking part in sustainability-related discussions, I am also responsible for rolling out sustainability programs, implementing changes in our practices & processes to reduce our carbon footprint, and facilitating training courses (e.g Green Claims, Recycling, etc.) in the markets that I handle. Some of the notable things we’ve done in Singapore include: Putting recycling bins around our office for paper, cans and plastics, and partnering with organizations that turns those into new products (e.g. coasters, carabiners, etc.) Having a compost bin for our food waste Purchasing Second Hand Furniture from thrift and antique stores for all our meeting rooms when we did our office renovations last year Using recyclable materials for costumes and props that we make for our different office parties, and reusing/repurposing office decorations for cultural events. Some of the coasters at Nicole's office made with discarded materials from her office. 4. So, while I'm certainly a solutions guy, we do have to address the problems. Where do you see the most waste in your daily life? Packaging of different food and household items for sure. 5. In your personal experience, how do you think recycling has worked and NOT worked as a solution to waste? One of my biggest challenges is doing the recycling on my own due to constraints in schedule, space etc. Thus, when I set aside items which I don’t want to waste or I’m hoping to recycle such as paper bags, clothes, linens, etc., it just ends up piling up in my condo for nothing. This is why I’m so glad that that there are collection boxes/ bins around Singapore (1 of which is a 5-min walk from my condo) where you can drop off apparels, textiles, household items, electronics etc.. so they can do the recycling for you. (Check this article out: https://mustsharenews.com/textile-recycling-bins/amp/ ) One of the meeting rooms at Nicole's office. Everything in that room, except for the carpet, are second hand and/or restored furniture. 6. How do you think the Philippines could step up the solutions to the waste problem? Have you seen or heard of anything anywhere else? I think education should be a big part of it. The private and public sectors must lead educational campaigns on recycling, segregation, proper waste management etc. with emphasis on its negative short and long term effects. Enforcement policies related to waste management must also be strengthened on an institutional, local and national level. Communities must be engaged actively and probably also incentivized in a way that it could also impact other aspects of their lives in the long run (e.g. supporting or establishing more social enterprises that can provide more jobs) 7. It's funny. I always tell people that reusing is nothing new. It’s been going on long before we were here. Do you have any memories of your parents or grandparents reusing in unique ways? My grandmother is a very fashionable woman with a unique style, and something I remember her doing a lot is repurposing extra textiles or clothes that she has to make it into bags, shoes and accessories. Also, something that’s common in a Filipino household is reusing all sorts of containers to store food. [Nicole is originally from the Philippines] A popular choice? Ice cream tubs to store fish/meat in the freezer. 8. Do you have any notable stories about saving money on something because you bought it used instead of new? It’s not a secret that Singapore is a very expensive country to live in. Apart from items being pricey, services also cost a lot. So when I moved to Singapore, I was so fortunate to have been able to buy a lot of the old furniture of the previous tenant of my condo. I only paid SGD 800 ($590 USD) for the following items which were barely used: Haylee Queen sized Mattress with headboard (Typical Cost: $600-800) 2-seater sofa (Typical cost ($200-500) 4-seater Ikea dining table (Cost: $629) Ikea coffee table (Cost: $69) Kitchen rack, shoe rack and bed side table (Est. Cost: $100-150) Nicole sits in her condo with the furniture that she bought from the previous tenant. That made for an easier move! 9. Have you ever taken anything out of the recycling bin or trash to reuse somehow or maybe found something on the side of the road? Not really ‘cause it’s not a typical practice in the Philippines and in Singapore nor did I have a huge space in my apartment in LA before even if I wanted to. It’s more my sister and brother-in-law who have done this a few times in both Colorado and Wisconsin, mostly furniture. 10. And lastly, what’s the best thing that you ever got used and why? Got a photo? On a practical note, it’s my first car which was a Silver Honda Civic 2007 because it was reliable and it served its purpose. On a personal note, it would be the 12 Volkswagen Beetle toys I got in Frankfurt, Germany from a Barista I randomly met in a hole-in-a-wall cafe😅. I’m a VW Beetle Toy Collector and these are things that genuinely make me happy. When Nicole travels, she brings a vintage Volkswagen Beetle toy to make her photos a little more unique. To learn more about Nicole and her work , you can visit her LinkedIn page here. To order a One of a Kind REUSE! T-Shirt like Nicole is wearing in her profile photo, head over to the can STAY VOCAL One of a Kind Gallery .

In the early 90s, I was in a rough place in my mind, trying to figure out who I was and where I was going. And to be honest, my future didn't look great. I was a skateboarder from a small town and I felt like an outcast in my community and even in my family. But when I heard the band 311 for the first time, their lyrical positivity changed something in me. Over time, their music, their live shows, and their community helped changed my outlook and led me down a path that I never thought I'd go. A nd later, being lucky enough to work for them helped inspire me to create my own work for positive change. If it wasn't for these 30+ years of experiences, I surely wouldn't have the outlook that I have, nor would I be doing what I do. I recently had the opportunity to sit down with the official 311 archivists: the 311 Odyssey Podcast . It was certainly a fun time sharing my history with the band, stories and visuals that I don't typically share, and how my life has come full circle with the band. I think 311 fans will love it and others will appreciate the journey. Enjoy.

Today, I'd like to announce one of our new partners: The Capable Carpenter. The Capable Carpenter (AKA Chris Strathy) has over 20 years of building experience. He's worked in in marine construction, design, renovation, remodeling, modular, and outdoor living. But in recent years, Chris fell in love with the tiny house movement, which is how we first me. He and I were both showcasing our houses at a tiny house festival in North Carolina. Chris' projects range from complete home renovations to van build outs. And like Deek and I, Chris has a passion for reuse and salvage. He actually has plans to combine that passion with his building expertise to develop a tiny house community. As he says it, he wants to "help everyone go tiny in a huge way." Chris actually helped build shelves in the cab of The REUSE! Box Truck and he's featured in The Box Truck Film. So, it was time to make this relationship official! 🚚 🤝 🔨 Chris' "Pro Tips" section in The Box Truck Film The Capable Carpenter logo will be featured on the movie screen side of the box truck and will be seen by the thousands of people that tour the truck this year. Hopefully Chris will be at some of the events too! Head over to thecapablecarpenter.com to learn more about the great work Chris is doing. 🤝🤝🤝 If you or your organization is interested in partnering with the Escape The Waste team, we've got some spots left. Email me here.