Sure We Can
Company type | Non-Profit Organization |
---|---|
Industry | Recycling |
Founded | Brooklyn, NY, 2007 |
Founder | Ana Martinez de Luco[1] Eugene Gadsden[2] |
Headquarters | , |
Area served | New York City |
Services | Providing redemption services |
Website | surewecan.org |
Sure We Can is a nonprofit redemption center and community hub based in Brooklyn, New York.[3]
Services provided[edit]
Sure We Can provides container-deposit redemption services to the Brooklyn, New York area. Additionally, the organization serves as a community hub for the canner community that redeems there and for local environmental causes that promote the organizations dedication to sustainability.[4][5][6]
History[edit]
Sure We Can (SWC) was founded in 2007 by a group led by Ana Martinez de Luco and Eugene Gadsden to serve the canning community of New York.[7] The facility is designed with canners, the people who collect cans and bottles from the streets, in mind, aiming to provide a welcoming place they can redeem their cans and bottles.[8] In 2019, the center annually processes 10 million cans and bottles for redemption, and serves a community of over 400 canners.[8] Sure We Can estimates that they distribute $700,000 per year to canners.[9] The average canner who visits Sure We Can earns $1000 per year.[10]
Starting in 2020, Sure We Can faces eviction by their landlord, who is interested in selling the lot they have rented for 10 years. As of 2021, the organization is seeking funding from either the city or private donor to buy the land.[11][10]
Gallery[edit]
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Short video on Sure We Can - released 2021
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Entrance on McKibbin Street
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Recyclables are stacked, palleted, and stored in shipping containers before pick-up.
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Bottles and cans are sorted by manufacturer.
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Bottles and cans are sorted and stored throughout the facility.
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A community celebration at Sure We Can in the garden community space
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Community space and garden at Sure We Can
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Stacks of sorted bottles and cans wait to be picked up for recycling.
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Sure We Can employee holds a sample sheet of the upcycled plastic film product the redemption center is working on.
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Bags of cans by the Sure We Can logo
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Sure We Can Executive Director leading a tour during Open House New York
References[edit]
- ^ Berardi, Francesca (1 March 2019). "Meet the street nun helping people make a living from New York's cans". The Guardian.
- ^ "Recycling center in Brooklyn creates community while serving those in need". National Catholic Reporter. 26 July 2016.
- ^ Kilgannon, Corey (2015-06-19). "A 'Street Nun' Who Specializes in Redemption". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-03-23.
- ^ Watt, Cecilia (2019-03-01). "New York's canners: the people who survive off a city's discarded cans". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2019-07-03.
- ^ "Canners Versus the City–The Fight Over Your Empties". Brooklyn Based. 2014-04-24. Retrieved 2019-07-03.
- ^ "In the shadow of Brooklyn's luxury apartments, "canners" form a tight-knit community". Mic. Retrieved 2019-07-03.
- ^ Bartfeld, Noa (26 September 2016). "Toxic Site: Sure We Can". Medium.
- ^ a b "Sure We Can - Context history". Sure We Can.
- ^ Davenport, Emily (2020-06-23). "Brooklyn-based recycling coalition calls for funding from City Council • Brooklyn Paper". Brooklyn Paper. Retrieved 2020-06-26.
- ^ a b "VICE - NYC's Last Non-Profit Can Redemption Center Is Fighting to Stay Open". www.vice.com. Retrieved 2020-06-26.
- ^ "City's Only Nonprofit Recycling Center Faces Eviction". www.ny1.com. Retrieved 2020-06-26.