Recycling has long been recognized as a small step towards living a more sustainable, ecologically conscious lifestyle. But, what happens when a community doesn’t have easy access to a recycling program?

In the Canal community, this is the situation we face. Our neighborhood provides high density multi-family housing for primarily immigrant families. With so many people living in a small area, we produce a lot of trash. In most of the apartment buildings, there are no recycling bins. In other buildings, there are bins, but people don’t know what they are for, so they just fill up with trash. Early this year, we decided to try and fix this problem by starting a tricycle recycling co-operative. With the $20,000 prize, we would buy a fleet of recycling tricycles and recycling bins for every apartment complex in the neighborhood.

Our tricycle recycling co-operative will impact the Canal community in many ways. First, it will provide an easy way for residents to donate their recyclables while also collecting misplaced recyclables that usually just end up in the landfill. It also allows community entrepreneurs already working in the recycling business to continue their work in a more professional, dignified, and efficient way. Most importantly, our recycling tricycles help encourage residents to recycle and ride bikes more often.

Please vote for our recycling tricycle project so that we can make our community healthier, happier, and more pollution free.