By JOHN E. WEARE
KAB
Astute visitors to the Keep Alliance Beautiful Recycling Center may have spied a few recent changes on the north and south sides of the building we share with other tenants. Granted, there is a constant flow of activity with patrons dropping off recyclables and those same materials processed and ready to ship in the alley. Along Second Street, specifically, is a yet to be labeled red horse trailer to place corrugated cardboard in – increasing capacity beyond the existing green trailer and the smaller, white horse trailer. In the alley, the west end of the former creamery has been fenced off to avoid temporarily placing any of our items on the property.
Incorporating a new (to us) trailer is always exciting though pretty straightforward: park it, train the public what to load into it and do our best to unload before it overflows. The other change is an initial step in a goal to beautify our work
Twine traces the general path for an envisioned art wall of recycled and repurposed materials. Our executive director, Kathy Worley, showed me a few weeks back what she had in mind from posts online. Basically, participants attach an eclectic array of recyclables to a fence also sourced from sturdy materials de jour. I can imagine, in our case, a combination of pallets and king-sized boxes from local body shops to form the underlying wall. Then . . . the sky’s the limit. The idea is to engage the public while creating an evolving canvas that brightens a setting that currently would not look out of place on the set of Sandord and Son.
No timeline has been set for erecting the wall though our goal is to have it up this spring then invite the public to contribute during scheduled events. We will need to coordinate with our neighbors before anything is official and, of course there is a chance it may not materialize. However, I want to plant the seed for all our “eco artists” out there on the assumption the KAB art wall becomes a reality.
Depending on the number of people interested, participants may each garner their own section as a fresh canvas. Though KAB is not accepting any additional paint starting this month, artists are welcome to use our extensive stock. Anything at the center is yours for the asking, yet I look forward to seeing what becomes part of the wall that has languished in junk drawers, basements, attics or other storage because “I might need it someday”.
If this idea sees a green light in the coming days, the particulars on how to add your unique touch to the wall will be forthcoming.