The Green Project
 |
This article is an orphan, as few or no other articles link to it. Please introduce links to this page from related articles; suggestions may be available. (February 2009) |
The Green Project is an environmental organization located in the St. Roch neighborhood of New Orleans, Louisiana. As a non-profit salvage center, The Green Project develops a culture of creative reuse by building a marketplace for reclaimed materials and cultivating a respect for their value. The Green Project began in 1994 as The Mid-City Green Project as New Orleans had no way to safely dispose of left-over paint. In 1996 The Green Project expanded their operations and began accepting used building materials in addition to household paint. In this effort, The Green Project is dedicated to protecting the environment by reducing the amount of usable materials placed in landfills or disposed of improperly. As an affordable alternative to other building material retail stores, The Green Project aims to provide low-cost materials to the New Orleans community
The Green Project hosts a retail store, Recycle for the Arts, Second Line Recycled Paint Program, a recycling drop-off site, and community workshops. Located at 2831 Marais Street, New Orleans, LA 70117, the store is open seven days per week from 9:00am to 5:00pm.[1]
Contents |
[edit] Materials Accepted
As a non-profit organization, The Green Project depends on donated material for its inventory. The Green Project accepts reusable building materials such as lumber, doors, windows, bricks, tiles, fencing, roofing materials, lighting fixtures, sinks, tubs, toilets, and hardware. All donations are taxed deductible.
The Green Project is also home to the Second Line Recycled Paint Program. Donated latex paint is reblended to create recycled paint, available at a low cost to the community. The Green Project also accepts oil-based paints and primers.
The Green Project serves as a recycle drop-off site while New Orleans struggles to resume its normal recycling services. Aluminum and metal cans, newspaper, and cardboard can be brought to The Green Project. The Green Project also accepts electronic waste such as outdated computers, printers, and VCRs.
Quality art materials are additionally accepted for Recycle for the Arts, a program which provides low cost art supplies to individual artists.
[edit] Programs and Projects
Following the massive destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, The Green Project has continually worked to salvage building materials to be reused by the New Orleans community. By reusing these materials, The Green Project keeps 1.8 million pounds of salvageable material from being dumped in the surrounding landfills each year. Since all of these materials are donated, The Green Project is able to resell them at a fraction of their original cost to individuals still struggling to rebuild their homes and community. By reclaiming these materials, The Green Projects also helps preserve the historic integrity of New Orleans's unique architecture. In the past, The Green Project has participated in the deconstruction of New Orleans's homes and buildings but has since focused only on donations.
The Green Project has provided affordable recycled paint through its Second Line Recycled Paint Program since its founding in 1994 in an effort to create an alternative to disposing paint in landfills or pouring it down drains. The Green Project is the region's only paint recycling center and the only source of paint disposal for Orleans Parish. By diverting thousands of gallons of hazardous waste from waterways, Second Line greatly reduces the expenditure on clean-up of pollutants in the water as well as on hazardous waste disposal. The proper disposal or recycling of paint is essential to preserving the health of New Orleans's surrounding marine environment. The Green Project has prevented over 100,000 gallons of paint from reaching the Mississippi River and surrounding wetlands and recycles over 15,000 gallons of latex paint annually. Due to the popularity of Second Line, The Green Project is currently working to expand the program.
Recycle for the Arts (R4A) merged with The Green Project in 2003. R4A is an art-supply resource center that collects and provides rescued art supplies to the local creative community. R4A's mission is to promote imaginative recycling, support the arts, and educate the public through events based on art-making with reclaimed materials. R4A sells donated high quality paint and brushes, a wide variety of paper and matte board, frames and molding, sculptural styrofoam, darkroom equipment, sewing and craft materials, costumes and other art materials.
While The Green Project serves as a retail store for salvageable materials, they additionally provide creative workshops based upon reuse and ingenuity. These workshops are open to the public, appropriate for all ages, and occur every Saturday. They are free to members of The Green Project and five dollars to non-members.
Volunteers serve in all aspects of The Green Project, from recycling paint to conducting workshops. In 2007, The Green Project and a number of other non-profit organizations in New Orleans partnered with Tulane University Center for Public Service to better serve the needs of the New Orleans community. Through this partnership, Tulane University students volunteer at The Green Project to better learn and reflect upon issues of sustainability, social entrepreneurship, and rebuilding issues in New Orleans.
Much of The Green Project's success can be attributed to the support of its members. Annual memberships help The Green Project sustain their many programs, and, in return, members receive five percent off all purchases, special sales and discounts, free workshops, and voting rights for Board of Directors.
[edit] Stock Carried
Since The Green Project's retail store and Recycle for the Arts rely upon donations, they continually sell a wide variety of building, decorating, and art materials. The Green Project always has a wide array of doors, windows, lumber, bricks, lighting fixtures, and hardware as well as recycled paint from the Second Line Recycled Paint Program. Because of New Orleans's distinctive architecture, The Green Project consistently receives historic building materials. For items of particular interest, The Green Project utilizes Twitter and Craigslist to notify customers.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ The Green Project - Official website
[edit] External links
- The Green Project - Official website
