A year and a half ago, the Rotary Club of Austin-Southwest decided to address one of the objectives of Rotary International: Protect the Environment. To address an obstacle for Austin citizens, we provide a place for them to easily drop off non-recyclable Styrofoam and our club makes appointments and takes the Styrofoam to the City of Austin Reuse-Recycle collection center. To date, we have collected almost 2000 lbs.
We didn’t start this project as a membership tool, but it has proved to be so. We have two middle school students, Anya and Zoya, who wanted to volunteer with us. We gladly welcomed them
and educated them about what we were doing. They have become our most skilled spokespeople at the “New Home for Styrofoam” booth on the first Saturday of the month at the Sustainable
Foods Farmer’s Market and faithfully work at the booth.
Since the twins don’t drive, their parents had to bring them each month. We got to know their parents, Deepak and Priya, and they now have become Family Members of our Club! Then we met Darrell who brought Styrofoam to be taken to the Recycle Center. After being our guest for lunch and hearing about Rotary, he joined our club. A fourth person, Mary, came by to donate Styrofoam and now is seriously considering membership with us.