Urban Ore and Beyond– A Visual and Conceptual Tour

Knapp, Daniel

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/16436 Copy

Description

Title

Urban Ore and Beyond– A Visual and Conceptual Tour

Author(s)

Knapp, Daniel

Issue Date

2010-06-07

Keyword(s)

• Recycling (Waste, etc.)
• Recycling centers -- California

Abstract

Urban Ore is located at an old steel mill in Berkeley, CA where over 30 employees work at Ending the Age of Waste. Urban Ore has three acres of used goods that come from both the public and the local transfer station. The company has three trucks that collect and deliver goods, two receiving departments to accept reusable goods and two sales departments, the General Store and Building Materials. Urban Ore also has a salvage crew who do all of the hands-on recycling and the company outsources with several other recycling businesses that recycle what Urban Ore cannot at its facilities. The key is to reuse as much material as possible, and waste as little as possible. The value of reuse is that it conserves not only the material, but also the embodied energy and craft that went into the manufacturing. This value is reflected in more income and a business whose process deal with individual objects, not bulk commodities. Conserving cultural value is also important. Any still- usable everyday things can fill a need or come in handy for someone. Some people genuinely prefer to buy or consume in a way that respects the resources and the planet. Urban Ore was founded in 1980 by Daniel Knapp, a former faculty member of Sangamon State University (now the University of Illinois at Springfield). This presentation was made for the Illinois Recycling Association, June 7-8, 2010.

Type of Resource

other

Language

en

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http://hdl.handle.net/2142/16436

Copyright and License Information

Daniel Knapp

Owning Collections