Friends Fellowship Community has welcomed three new recycled benches! These benches are the result of a collaborative effort involving residents, staff, and several local businesses.
Last year, Independent Housing resident Judy Peacock took the initiative by announcing her project to collect plastic lids for recycling. After over a year of gathering, processing, sorting, washing, and bagging specific plastic caps, lids, and bottles, the moment arrived to exchange all that plastic for new benches.
In October, with a truck generously donated by Wetzel Auto for the trip, 650 pounds of plastic were prepared for transport to Green Tree Plastics in Evansville, Indiana. After an all-day shift working in FFC’s Food Services Department, Ryan and Mary Gethers knew Judy would need help getting the load ready for the road. Ryan stepped up to the plate, taking charge of weighing, loading, and securing the bags, which allowed Judy and Mary to pitch in without too much stress. What a great team effort!
After some light-hearted teasing from the Maintenance Department about driving such a large truck, Judy was ready to go! Having arrived in Evansville without incident, she delivered the 650 pounds of plastic to Green Tree Plastics. Only one unacceptable product was found in all of the plastic items, earning Judy an A+ from their sorting team.
After a round trip of 468 miles, Judy successfully delivered the three six-foot benches to their new location at Friends Fellowship Community. Equally important is the fact that those 650 pounds of plastic were diverted from the landfill.
A tremendous thank you to Judy Peacock for leading this project and dedicating countless hours to clean and sort the plastics!
We also extend our gratitude to Meijer and CVS on Chester Boulevard for their generous donations of medication lids, as well as to Phillip’s Drugs for both the donation and delivery of medication bottles and lids! Additionally, a special thank you goes to Wetzel Auto for providing the truck for Judy's trip!