FAB's Load OUT Saves 52,000 Pounds of Material from the Becoming Garbage

By: Apr. 13, 2011
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Fourth Arts Block (FAB) diverted 52,000 pounds of useable materials from the NYC waste stream this past weekend at their Load OUT! event. This unique re-use and recycle event aimed to increase the capacity of arts organizations to effectively reduce waste from their activities by providing a drop off site and connections to re-use and recycle groups. This year's event featured donations from 15 different arts organizations, including La Mama E.T.C. and Classic Stage Company. The donated and useful materials, valued at almost $9,000, were then redistributed to 87 different arts organizations from around Manhattan, who attended Load OUT.

"These are puppets waiting to happen," said Joseph Silovsky, puppeteer in the Puppetlab at St. Anne's Warehouse, as he looked at box of oversize holiday ornaments. Mr. Silovsky intends to use the round silver baubles as the feet of his puppets in his puppet piece "Send for the Million Men" in the first week of June.

After various artists and arts organizations had taken the best materials from the lot, FAB's reuse and recycling partners, Eco Action Network, Wearable Collections, and Materials for the Arts, took the majority of the remaining materials. This year's event ended with a small sanitation pick-up for trash and recyclables.

FAB will continue to hosts Load OUT events one to two times a year, in hopes of helping more artists and arts organizations better and more easily reuse and recycle materials, and therefore improving both the environment and the materials available to the arts. "People need to make their art out of something and with events like Load OUT artists really can make treasure out of trash, and do that basically for free," said Tamara Greenfield, FAB's Executive Director.

FAB aknowledges the generous support of Whole Foods Market, the first sponsor of FAB's Sustainability Program, Downtown Art and Alpha Omega Theatrical Dance Company for donating their lot cum performance space for the event, and their recycling partners, Materials for the A5rts, Eco Action Network, Wearable Collections, and the NYC Dept of Sanitation.

About Fourth Arts Block
Fourth Arts Block (FAB) is the leadership organization for the East 4th Street Cultural District, working to improve and promote the East Village/LES as the destination for diverse, experimental culture. To learn more about the Fourth Arts Block, please visit www.fabnyc.org.



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