Every step along the lifespan of a consumer product releases greenhouse gases, from extraction of raw materials, to processing and production, transportation, and finally disposal. CJI’s Trash Circle collaborators are working towards a future of zero waste, in which the concept of trash no longer exists. Learn more about their initiatives and how you can support them!
Trash Circle
Collaborators and Teach-Ins
Aminata Sandra Calhoun
Centennial Parkside Community Development Corporation
fb: Centennial Parkside CDC on facebook
ig: @centennialparksidecdc
Trash, litter, and illegal dumping are blighting our neighborhoods. As individuals, we can make choices to consume as little as possible, and make the conscious decision to challenge and reprioritize our lifestyles to ensure health of the natural world for present and future generations. Wherever you are, clean up your community! Don’t wait – start today!
Teach-In
Issue: Trash, litter, and illegal dumping are blighting our neighborhoods.
Solution: As individuals, we can make choices to consume as little as possible, and make the conscious decision to challenge and reprioritize our lifestyles to ensure the health of the natural world for present and future generations.
Action: Wherever you are, clean up your community! Don’t wait – start today!
Billy Dufala
Recycled Artist in Residency (RAIR)
fb: RAIR
ig: @rair_philly
Construction and demolition (C&D) waste accounts for approximately 600 million tons of trash annually in the United States – more than twice the amount of municipal solid waste. RAIR offers Philadelphia-area artists access to over 450 tons of trash per day, to creatively explore waste culture and promote dialogue about sustainability. Follow RAIR on social media for events and opportunities to donate!
Teach-In
Issue: Construction and demolition (C&D) waste account for approximately 600 million tons of trash annually in the United States — more than twice the amount of municipal solid waste.
Solution: RAIR offers Philadelphia-area artists access to over 450 tons of trash per day, to creatively explore waste culture and promote dialogue about sustainability.
Action: Follow RAIR on social media for events and opportunities to donate!
Shari Hersh
Environmental Justice Department Director
Trash Academy website
fb: Trash Academy
ig: @Trash.Academy
Shari Hersh is a community artist, organizer and facilitator. She has worked with Mural Arts Philadelphia for over twenty years where she established the Art Education Department, the Project Management Office, and founded the Restored Spaces Initiative and Trash Academy Program. She is currently the Director of the Environmental Justice Department.
Teach-In
Issue: Litter is both an environmental and racial justice issue, disproportionately affecting black and brown communities.
Solution: Trash Academy, a project of Mural Arts Philadelphia’s Environmental Justice Department, uses art, games, and participatory research to shift attitudes and prompt collective action around trash and waste.
Action: Follow @trash.academy on Instagram for upcoming events, including monthly virtual meetings!
Ezekiel Torres
Brookhaven Landfill Action and Remediation Group (BLARG)
fb: Brookhaven Landfill Action
ig: @landfillactiongroup
The Brookhaven landfill contributes to health problems in the nearby Black, Latinx, and Unkechaug Indigenous communities. BLARG is pushing for a shutdown of the Brookhaven landfill and a move towards a system of zero waste, including a community composting initiative. Follow BLARG on facebook to learn about composting, zero waste, and more!
Teach-In
Issue: The Brookhaven landfill contributes to health problems in the nearby Black, Latinx, and Unkechaug Indigenous communities.
Solution: BLARG is pushing for a shutdown of the Brookhaven landfill and a move towards a system of zero waste, including a community composting initiative.
Action: Follow BLARG on Facebook to learn about composting, zero waste, and more!
Links:
Ron Whyte
Trash Academy
fb: Trash Academy
ig: @trash.academy
Litter is both an environmental and racial justice issue, disproportionately affecting black and brown communities. Trash Academy, a project of Mural Arts Philadelphia’s Environmental Justice Department, uses art, games, and participatory research to shift attitudes and prompt collective action around trash and waste. Follow @trash.academy on instagram for upcoming events, including monthly virtual meetings!
Teach-In
Issue: Litter is both an environmental and racial justice issue, disproportionately affecting black and brown communities.
Solution: Trash Academy, a project of Mural Arts Philadelphia’s Environmental Justice Department, uses art, games, and participatory research to shift attitudes and prompt collective action around trash and waste.
Action: Follow @trash.academy on Instagram for upcoming events, including monthly virtual meetings!
Ciara Williams
Post-Landfill Action Network (PLAN)
fb: PLAN
ig: @postlandfill
Most products follow a linear path from resource extraction, to production, consumption, and finally disposal. This system exploits people and the planet at every step, generating profit for the powerful, and leaving the rest of us behind. But students have the power to challenge this system! Whether blockading the path of a pipeline, starting a compost program, or distributing an informative zine about upcycling across campus, everyone has skills they can use to intervene. Interested in starting a PLAN chapter on your campus? Click here for resources and support!
Teach-In
Issue: Most products follow a linear path from resource extraction, to production, consumption, and finally, disposal. This system exploits people and the planet at every step, generating profit for the powerful, and leaving the rest of us behind. But students have the power to challenge this system!
Solution: Students have the power to challenge this system! Whether blockading the path of a pipeline, starting a compost program, or distributing an informative zine about upcycling across campus, everyone has skills they can use to intervene. Interested in starting a PLAN chapter on your campus? Click here for resources and support!
Terrill Haigler
Ya Fav Trashman
ig: @_yafavtrashman
Linktree: Ya Fav Trashman
Early in the pandemic, Terrill became an essential worker. He created the Instagram page @_yafavtrashman to give residents an inside look into what sanitation workers experience during the pandemic. When Terrill noticed that his co-workers didn’t have the proper PPE to execute their jobs safely, he started a fundraiser to purchase PPE, hand sanitizer and cleaning supplies. Now, he is a full-time advocate for sanitation workers and zero litter.