Mike Myers, co-founder of The Repurpose Project, does all he can to divert from the landfill exports of Alachua County. Relying primarily on community donations, his organization repurposes garbage for future use. Myers's personal mission, to spread the reuse principles of The Repurpose Project, is a struggle of passion for the 69-year-old man.
Alachua County ships approximately 610 tons of garbage a day through Leveda Brown Environmental Park, which acts as a transfer station for landfills in other counties. The park is also an intermediary for the bulk of recyclables out of Alachua county, according to David Wood, acting transfer station manager.
Standard recycling helps the environment, but many raw materials that can have immediate use are inevitably lost to the garbage cycle.
Myers and Sarah Goff created The Repurpose Project three years ago with the idea of revolving a landfill diversion organization around the source of the trash -- the consumers. Mike stressed the main issue of landfills is plastic, which does not biodegrade easily.
"We never told the millennial generation what to do with that plastic, and now it's just choking everything," Myers said.
The Fall Trash Festival is a new advent of community outreach for The Repurpose Project. By pooling their resources, the group was able to put on a festival that included pizza service from Satchels, live bands, tire swings and even a puppet show. A trash dome created by the children at The Master Builder's summer camp was the main attraction on the front lawn.
Myers said he takes personal responsibility for the trash problems created by his generation, and hopes that, some day, the youth he's reached will take up the same mission.