Our meeting was called to order today by President Joyce Hunter and Rick Ingram led us in our patriotic song.
Rosemarie Rowney provided our inspiration message today….the day marking 23 years since the tragedy of 9/11. We likely all remember and can easily answer the questions ‘where were you’ and ‘what were you doing that day’ when we first learned of the unbelievable events happening that day. Today is a day for remembering those who were lost and those who survived, but what about September 12, 2001? That was a day of togetherness, where strangers were suddenly in a position of oneness, of solidarity, or patriotism. Can we/will we come together like that again? As we remember 9/11, be sure to tell someone that you love them.
Our musical entertainment today, lead by Downs Herold, was the singing of the tune ‘I want to go back to Michigan!’ We had 4 guests today, some of whom were family members and one visitor just popped in to see what we were all about! We hope he returns.
Several birthdays to announce, including 2 with birthdays today! President Joyce then thanked the group of ‘helpers’ for today’s meeting Rob Shiff, Leo Shedden, Barbara Eichmuller, Marsha Chamberlin, Mary Avrakotos, Pattie Katcher and Larry Gray.
Announcements included a reminder for us to RSVP each week for our weekly meetings! There are instances of only a few individuals actually submitting their RSVP but triple that amount actually appear for a meeting. Please remember to do this so that we have an accurate count and can plan for # of tables, food, etc.
Remember – Rotary’s Adopt-A-Highway event is coming up on Sunday September 22 from 9-11:30am. Join in on our efforts to keep our sponsored section of I-94 cleaned up.
Ann Arbor has a plastics recycling crisis
Dennis Burke introduced today’s speaker, Brian Ukena who is the CEO of Recycle Ann Arbor. This private non-profit organization has been in existence for 45 years and Brian offered a great deal of interesting and helpful information in our community’s efforts towards zero waste.
Some of the divisions of Recycle A2 you’ve likely heard of – Curbside Collection, Recovery Yard, and Drop-off Station. Another division is Zero Waste, which is key to efforts such as clean water, clean air, thriving communities and ultimately a healthy planet. Americans produce an average of 4.5 lbs of waste per person/per day! The reverse-pyramid graphic presented shows that the first two categories should be our first and foremost focus: Reduce and Reuse. The rest of the list is Recycle/Compost, Landfill, and lastly Incinerate. Our country’s model of linear economy (extract, produce, distribute, consume, waste) is one that ultimately produces 42% of carbon emissions with provisions of goods and foods. We’d much rather exist in a circular economy, where recycling saves energy and valuable resources.
We have a plastic recycling crisis! We should strive to reduce the amount of plastic we use in our daily lives. Brian reviewed what items can be recycled in our community: paper/cardboard, metal, glass, plastics (#1, 2 & 5 only), electronics, plastic bags, textiles, and batteries….to name a few. Ann Arbor has a recycling rate of about 30% which is a combination of residential and commercial. Please don’t put plastic bags in recycling! They end up clogging the sorting machinery and cause big headaches. If you can’t find a way to reuse or recycle a bag, it goes in the trash instead. Brian left us with a few thoughts: their employees are UAW unionized and have full benefit packages; many of our plastics are shipped to a facility in Ontario where they are remade back into bottles and also check out their Trash Talk tours which includes scheduled Materials Recovery Facility tours.
Our meeting ended with us reciting the 4-Way Test:
Of the things we think, say or do…
- Is it the truth
- Is it fair to all concerned
- Will it build goodwill and better friendships
- Beneficial to all concerned
