CORE Crew Newsletter
Ilya Andreyev & Leigh Lawson | February 23, 2023
Greetings duders and feuders, it’s your all-time favorite composting crew, C to the O to the R to the E, coming at you with some wonderful news for this spring. We’ve got some updates to kick off your spring semester of decomposition: everything from a couple of updates on our donation systems, to exciting new developments (of something).
NEW FREESTORE DROP-OFF STATION + GREENZONE BIN
As many of you know, we here at CORE run and steward the beloved campus Freestore. Over winter break, some hard-working crew folk went to work creating a dedicated space to donations, including an accessibility-inclusive parking spot (more info below). Directly outside of the Freestore, you will now be able to find a dedicated Freestore donation station. When people bring down donations for us, often they don’t quite know where to leave them. The dropoff station’s objective is to leave a clear space for donations to be left so your electronics, clothes, etc. won’t be strewn across the parking lot! All we ask is that you:
Scan our QR code to let us know what you dropped off, and
Drop things off in a neat and organized way, so we don’t have to spend 10-20 minutes organizing the mess.
GREENZONE BIN
The trash. You hate to see it, and you hate to use it even more. So you might be considering throwing out an old hoodie with one too many rips and tares, or perhaps some jeans possess an evil spirit that burned down your whole world. Wow. Anyway, you decide against trashing them; you decide the Freestore is the more ethical option, maybe someone will still wear your hoodie with half a sleeve, but it's likely that the clothes you’re donating are too torn and worn to be enjoyed by Freestore shoppers. Boy, do we have the solution for you — You can now donate your unwanted garments to Green Zone Recycling. Green Zone will take your clothes scraps and recycle them. Did you know a whopping 98% of clothes are recyclable when given to the proper recycling facility (like Green Zone) for processing? Now, next to the donations shelf, you will find a large black barrel that has a “Green Zone” sign above it. Take a careful look at your clothes before you donate them. Are they torn? Are they ripped? Essentially: are they wearable? If the answer to that question is no, please drop them into the Green Zone barrel at the Freestore drop-off site. https://www.greenzonenc.com/
FREESTORE ACCESSIBILITY PARKING
We have added a brand new parking space, snug between our friendly neighborhood beasts Butchy and Gigantor and the dropoff shelf. This parking space is primarily dedicated to folx who have mobility issues and are wanting to access the Freestore; you are welcome to use the space to park your vehicle when it is vacant and you are dropping off a donation or taking a lot of goodies home with you - we simply ask that folx who have less difficulty walking to the Freestore be mindful and respectful for those who do.
HARD 2 RECYCLE
We would like to remind everyone that we are still working with Asheville Greenworks to give individuals on campus an opportunity to recycle things that aren’t normally recyclable. If you stop by the main office of our building, behind the recycling dumpsters and against the wall you will find multiple bins with specific uses. So if you want to recycle any of your: tech, electronic appliances, batteries, books, lightbulbs or personal care items, come on down and drop ‘em off any time.
PLATE RENTAL SYSTEM
We have expanded our available-to-rent plates collection to about 265 plates, plus plenty of silverware to match. You do not need to wash them before returning them, as we will run any used plates through the industrial dishwasher in Gladfelter, but it is more than welcome. Please make sure to use this form when requesting a plate rental. Upon receiving your plates we will provide compost buckets and empty crates for dirty dishes as well.
COMPOST LUNCHES (THUR 12 - 12:45)
We are announcing the arrival of COMPOST LUNCHES. Now, from 12-12:45 p.m. every Thursday at the Cowpie Patio, you can come to learn about what goes on behind the scenes with composting, both at CORE and in general. Compost lunches are open to the public, and no sign up needed. Bring your own lunch (no, you will not have to eat compost).
OPEN CRAFT HOURS (FRIDAYS 1-5 P.M.)
We are excited to welcome you into our craft kingdom on Fridays from 1-5 p.m. We will have a crew member or two there to assist and provide materials for any project you have. We have an abundance of materials to share with you all. Please use this form to sign up if you want to come down and craft.
https://forms.gle/TEw3oR9KAZsMoKdYA
We are very excited about these changes and hope that they will make our space more accessible and approachable for all staff and students. We would love to see you all checking out all the new changes for yourselves. Maybe while you're here you could get a fresh new outfit from the free store, or bring us all of your niche recycling. Stay groovy - CORE.
