This is Jon, and I’m one of Binners’ Project’s newest binner-staff. I’ve just joined on as a Team Lead and have been spending time hosting a Binners’ Project booth whenever we get invited to have one at an event. I love doing this work as it is helping me learn new skills, and you can help me continue by donating today. Something that’s awesome about helping with the booth and with waste at events is getting to talk to all the people that come by. I like to wear fun clothes that I make with things I find binning, and the kids always get excited talking about what I’m wearing. I’ve learned so much about what can be recycled and how to do it properly from my years of binning, and it’s great to be able to share this with others. That’s why I’m happy to be writing to you today, in the middle of our fundraising campaign. I checked in with Brianne earlier, and we have just over $1,000 left to raise before we reach our $4,000 goal. We still have a ways to go. Help us get there and donate here. We’ve been busy working on making sure all the binner members are getting trained up in time for our event season this year. I’ve found that not only is it important for us binners to know how to properly sort waste, but also to feel comfortable when we’re talking with the public about Binners’ Project and what we do on our own. $10 covers one binner’s travel expenses to attend both a training session and a pre-event meeting. You can help build a binner’s capacity by donating right now. Thanks for your support. Jon Guerette Team Lead PS Our deadline for fundraising this summer is June 22, and that’s this Friday! You can help us reach our $4,000 goal by donating here.
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Hey there!
My name’s Mark and I’ve been a member of Binners’ Project for about a year and a half. I’ve been helping out with the events doing waste education, and spent a bit of my time talking about Binners’ Project to the public. I heard there was a fundraising campaign going on, so I wanted to jump in and see if I could get more donations than Bertha did! You can help me by donating here. I bin casually around Gastown picking up the bottles and cans that the tourists leave behind when they’re visiting. It’s starting to get busier with all of them coming in now, but I’m also hoping to get hired with Binners’ Project and become a Team Lead this summer. This way I can help manage my fellow binners and work a few extra hours when we get an event. Davin told me that we need to raise more money before we hire on more binners as Team Leads this summer, so that’s why I’m hoping you can help us reach our $4,000 goal by June 22nd. We’re not quite half way there yet, but you can change that by donating here. It turns out that $50 covers the work of one Team Lead to plan the waste management for one event. This summer, I could be employed for the first time in 2 years. You can help make that possible by donating now. Your money will go a long way. Thanks, Mark Binner PS I’m really eager to get started as a staff member with Binners’ Project and work some events with them. You can help me to be able to work this summer by donating here. Thank you so much for all who have donated so far. We’ve raised $1,200, but we still have a way to go. Make sure you donate today.
I’d like to share a little bit more about what I do with Binners’ Project. When we’re on-site at events, my role is to make sure that everyone is recycling properly. I am happy to teach the binners and the public something they might not have known yet. I have to make sure that the binners dealing with the waste are doing so safely, and that means making sure they have the gear they need. As one of the two Community Coordinators, I am keeping the binners on track. I am starting to be known as the “strict lady”, which I think is a good thing! Just $20 covers the cost of safety gear for a team of 5 binners during an event. This includes gloves, waste-pickers, rain gear, and flashlights. It’s quite amazing to see the binners getting out of the Downtown Eastside, some of them haven’t done so for many years. With new skills, a clean professional outfit, and the proper gear, they are able to confidently help the public with their waste. And what’s even more great is that the families, children and adults, listen to them! It makes me happy to see Binners’ Project helping to decrease the stigma around binning. I’m getting really excited to kick-off our events, but it would be great to start the season knowing that our costs are covered. Help us reach our goal of raising $4,000 by donating here. Your support means so much to us. Thanks, Bertha Cardinal Community Coordinator PS. Did you know that donations to Binners’ Project are tax deductible? I didn’t until today! Click here to donate now. I have some exciting news to share. Yesterday, Binners’ Project started a fundraising campaign to cover the cost of training during our busy summer season. I’m happy to say that we’re 15% of the way to our $4,000 goal!
Will you help us get even further today? Click here to donate now. I recently got promoted at Binners’ Project as a Community Coordinator. I love the fact that I get to work on giving income opportunities to my fellow binners and get to do something good for the environment (especially today, on World Environment Day). I’m really proud to work for a group that makes sure binners get compensated for their time, but this costs a lot to the project. You can help by donating now. I’m excited that us binners get to do more of the daily tasks around the office, but I’m still learning things like how to use a computer and my smartphone. I’m also learning about how much it costs for all us staff-binners to do this work. For example, it turns out $150 covers the cost of one binner coordinator, like me, to support binners at an event as they deal with the public and waste management. And your money now helps us earn more money later, as we grow our partner list based on good performance. Your donation could mean that I can work some more hours and learn new skills about program planning. We’re on our way to raise $4,000 for this year’s busy season, and we’ve received $625 so far. It would mean a lot if you could help us reach our goal by June 22nd. This is when we’re hoping to get all the binners and binner-staff trained up and ready for event season. Thanks a lot, Bertha Cardinal Community Coordinator PS. Binners’ Project helps binners connect with income opportunities and uses their knowledge as recyclers. We need to raise $4,000 by June 22 to kick off our summer training sessions. Will you help? Donate now. When I first met Binners’ Project in 2014, I was struggling with addiction, and binning and vending just to survive. This is a long way from where I am now, working full-time and with goals for the future.
I’ve seen first hand how Binners’ Project builds community, provides income for people with barriers to traditional employment, and reduces stigma around binning. In a few short years, I’ve moved from binning to managing others, handling budgets, maintaining client relationships, and I’m also regularly invited to speak publicly. There’s no way this would have happened without Binners’ Project. This work truly changes lives, and there is so much left to do. That’s why we are asking our community to help us raise $4,000 for critical operations for this summer. Will you help? Click here to donate now. In July and August, we’ll work with 100+ binners to deliver 3,500 hours worth of sorting and waste education, and an additional 110 hours of training ahead of that. With your support, we’ll be able to pay experienced binners to train others how to properly sort and how to interact with the public, among other skills. We are committed to paying our trainers a decent wage to build the capacity of other binners. My team and I have developed a training program that is accessible for people in this community. A little money can go a long way for our operations – just $25 covers 1 experienced binner’s participation in an event training session. I hope you will consider helping us reach our goal. Training starts mid-June and it would be a great relief to go into it knowing we won't have to turn anyone away from the kind of opportunity that got me from semi-homeless and struggling with addiction, to healthy, stable, and, well, here, writing emails like this. So, what do you say? Will you help us hit our $4,000 goal by June 12th? In appreciation, Davin Boutang Manager, Programs & Outreach PS. I got promoted to Manager now, and would love to see other binners follow the same path as me. We only have until June 22th to raise the funds we need to offer a proper training program for binners. Help us get there and donate now. Last week, a recommendation to approve the Single-Use Item Reduction Strategy was adopted by Vancouver City Council; an exciting step towards zero-waste for our city.
We are encouraged by the awareness the new strategy has fostered, but disappointed there are not any measures to involve binners at this point. The Single-Use Item Reduction Strategy presented a unique chance for the City of Vancouver to include marginalized populations in policy. Binners are witnesses of the waste we produce and are keen to see a more robust plan to avoid the massive waste from single-use items. Sorting waste is what they do – it seems like a missed opportunity not to utilize their skills and increase waste diversion. But, we realize change takes time and are optimistic there will be avenues involving binners in the future zero-waste plans. This could include a partnership with the proposed city-wide mug share program, or a program where binners help recover poly-coated cups for financial compensation, helping to ensure the materials are properly sorted and recycled. Binners’ Project has a strong network of mission-aligned businesses that are keen to work with binners to hit diversion targets, whether it's through our back-of-house waste sorting initiative, waste education programs, or more customized approaches. We welcome people to contact us to discuss how they can work with Binners’ Project in this new chapter of Vancouver's journey to sustainability. Warmly, Anna To Mayor Basran & Kelowna City Council:
Kelowna City Council is in the process of passing changes to a bylaw that would prohibit residents from donating bottles and cans to binners near a local bottle depot. People who collect bottles and cans for a living, also known as binners on the west coast, positively contribute to our environment by diverting a considerable amount of waste from landfills. In Vancouver, a bottle depot that is frequented mostly by binners collects approximately 60,000 refundable containers per day. The vast majority of these bottles and cans are picked out of street trash cans or given to/left for binners by people who will not themselves recycle the containers. In Vancouver, although there is still a lot to be done for this city to be more inclusive, binners’ efforts to work alongside residents are booming. In the last two years, instead of criminalizing binners and the people who support them, City staff and council have worked with us, Binners’ Project, to support the development of binner-designed programs, such as the “Binners Hook”, which residents and business install in their alleyway to clearly indicate bottles and cans they have put aside for binners. We are also developing a fleet of purpose-built carts that will improve binners’ efficiency, earning potential, and safety on the job, while reducing reliance on discarded carts. People who bin are among the most marginalized in our communities, experiencing a range of issues that lock in marginalization, poverty, housing insecurity, and political invisibility. They are hard-working people making a sincere effort to contribute to their communities and earn a living legally and safely. Their efforts should be commended not criminalized. Anna Godefroy, Director of Binners’ Project Today, around the world, waste pickers and the the groups that work with them are celebrating International Waste Pickers’ Day.
It’s a moment to celebrate the work of our very own waste pickers – or binners – and to come together to promote the remuneration of their work in cleaning up our streets and diverting waste from landfills. There are three things you can do to help recognize binners today:
From all of us at Binners’ Project: Happy International Waste Pickers’ Day! Hello everyone, Happy New Year from all of us here at Binners’ Project! Thank you to all of you who continue to support the work we do with binners and generating income opportunities and a special thanks to those who gave generously in support of these meetings (above) and our work with binners. As we settle into the new year, we’re hopeful we can count on your business and referrals! This helps us build the capacity of our members and provide stability in their life. Below is an overview of the services we offer residential, commercial, office-based, and event managing clients -- contact Gabby at any point with questions or to get a quote. Warm wishes, Anna, Davin, and Bertha
Contact Gabby for quotes or to ask questions and share leads. Email: gabby.korcheva@binnersproject.org Phone: 778-838-7087 Dear friends,
I hope you’re all well and gearing up for warm and happy holidays! We’re wrapping up a tremendous year at Binners’ Project, and before we say goodbye to 2017, I wanted to make sure that you all got a glimpse of what we’ve achieved. We secured dignified, fairly compensated income opportunities for 84 binners this year. Thanks to our members, dozens of events, buildings, and businesses hit – and in the case of the Fair at the PNE even exceed – waste-diversion targets. On top of great environmental outcomes, binners’ recycling expertise and work ethic was demonstrated to tens of thousands of people across the Lower Mainland. But binners weren’t just seen, they were heard too. As with any expert or consultant, we compensated binners for their time, preparation, and participation as they presented or were consulted 42 times across the Lower Mainland and in places like Ontario and Manitoba. Our members spoke publicly on homelessness, zero-waste policies, alley design, social procurement, social hiring, and much more, ultimately engaging face-to-face with every level of government. Even the recent Governor General and his wife heard firsthand from us about binning and binners’ vision for the future. Speaking of the future, I’m happy to share that the cart share program we’ve been quietly working on for almost two years is close to becoming a reality. Though many details are still being finalized, thanks to some intrepid journalism at MetroNews, the secret is out! (The big reveal will happen in 2018, but if you can’t wait that long for the scoop, there is some info on the website.) As the social enterprise and our membership continue to grow, we’re hoping you’ll make a donation to support us. Just $5 covers the cost of a binners’ participation in the weekly binners’ meeting – the first step to connecting them with safer, more fairly compensated income opportunities. With $22 you cover their participation expenses for the month, and $250 you’d cover one binner's participation for the whole year. I’m proud of how much we do with so little and I know that if you join us as a Binners’ Project donor, you will be too! To help us start 2018 off right, please give what you can here: https://www.binnersproject.org/donate.html With sincere thanks, Anna & the team |
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