Trash Treasures

Trash Treasures
Trash-o-saurus is the main attraction at the Garbage Museum and an icon in the states sustainability community. Trash-o-saurus is made from one ton of trash, which is about the amount each of us throws away every year.
Giving Back
Located in Connecticut, two museums are foCusing on eduCating the surrounding Communities about trash and reCyCLing through interactive displays and instructional programs.
What are the Crra trash MuseuM and the Crra Garbage Museum and where are they located?: The CRRA (Connecticut Resources Recovery Authority) Trash Museum, adjacent to a regional recycling processing center in Hartford, CT, opened in 1993 as a means of promoting curbside recycling, which had just been introduced in Connecticut. CRRA has operated the Trash Museum since its inception, and through March 2011 more than 387,000 people have participated in its educational programs, either by coming to the museum or our bringing programs to them at schools, community events and other activities The CRRA Garbage Museum, adjacent to a regional recycling processing center in Stratford, CT opened in 1995 as an outgrowth of the regions educational efforts. Beginning in 1993, tours of the recycling processing center were offered, but as they grew more popular, educational exhibits were added in office space adjacent to the processing center. CRRA took over operation of the Garbage Museum in 1997. Through March 2011, more than 342,000 people have taken part in its educational programs. Each museum is staffed by three educators, with the CRRA education supervisor managing both facilities. What can visitors expect to find at both museums?: The CRRA Trash Museum and the CRRA Garbage Museum are similar in theme and purpose, but each has its own unique exhibits. The main attraction at the CRRA Garbage Museum is Trash-o-saurus, a dinosaur made from a ton of trash, which is how much trash an average person throws away in a year. Guests can walk through a giant compost pile, meet resident compost worms and discover how much energy is saved
As Seen In
Images courtesy of CRRA.
just by recycling. The museum also offers a skybox view of recyclables being delivered, sorted and processed at the adjacent recycling processing center. Its art gallery frequently displays the works of professional inartistsIndustry The Advantage the Waste whose media are recycled, re-used and found objects. The CRRA Trash Museum also gives visitors an up-close look at CRRAs single-stream recycling sorting center. The museum also features exhibits detailing the problems of old-fashioned methods of disposal, such as the town dump, as well as current solutions, including explanations of source reduction, recycling, trash-to-energy and landfills. Theres also a mural created by Higganum, CT artist Ted Esselstyn, depicting the history of trash management from pre-historic times to today. Also on display is the amount of trash one person made in an entire year at Sustainable Daves exhibit (http://365daysoftrash.blogspot.com/). The Trash Museum has just added a series of works created by University of Hartford students on climate change. What kind of ongoing educational programs do the museums offer its visitors? Both museums offer special programs throughout the year, including Scout Days, Family Fun Days, Earth Day events and America Recycles Day. This year, on April 30, the Garbage Museum threw a birthday party for Trash-o-saurus, who turned 16. We can tailor our programs to people of all ages. All of our education programs are aligned with the Connecticut state science curriculum standards, so a trip to the Trash Museum or a visit from the Garbage Museum is more than just an hour or two away from the classroom. In fact, many school districts curricula specify a trip to one of our museums.
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Do the museums participate in community events, etc.?: We take just about all of our programs on the road, to school assemblies, corporate environmental group meetings, civic organizations, fairs (all the way up to the Eastern States Exposition) and just about any other place or group of people interested in the environment. Were completing a two-year program funded by a grant from the U.S. Institute of Museum & Library Services to provide targeted recycling education in five school districts across the state and to develop and offer teacher workshops so teachers can bring our curriculum into their classrooms. What is your most popular educational program you offer? Two that generate the biggest wows are watching the machinery in our recycling processing center and vermiculturehome indoor composting using red wiggler worms that, when done properly, reduces trash or takes the load off your garbage disposal and makes garden fertilizer without any foul odors. How many visitors do the museums get each year?: In 2010, the Trash Museum attracted 25,791 participants and the Garbage Museum 30,708. Our alltime best year was 2008, with 27,302 and 32,219 participants respectively. July through August 2010 was our busiest summer on record with a total of 8,855 participants. The Garbage Museum is the 12th most popular tourism and cultural attraction in south central Connecticut as ranked by Business New Haven. What awards have the two museums received?: Our education programs have received the Beth Brown Boettner Award for Outstanding Public Education from the National Recycling Coalition. But we feel our most significant awards come from the people who return year after year. Any future plans for the two museums?: Were always looking for new ways to engage our communities. Our partnerships with professional artists are developing, and theres a lot of potential to attract new audiences with art. Were also about to launch two new computer learning toolsthe CT Recyclo-meter and the CT Recycl-o-maticwhich show people how much energy
The CRRA Trash Museum features a mural depicting the history of trash disposal from prehistoric times through today. The 12-by-36-foot mural was created by artist, Ted Esselstyn of Higganum, CT.
they conserve just by recycling, reinforcing our theme of sustainability. | WA For more information about the Trash Museum, call (860) 757-7765, visit www.crra.org/pages/Trash_Museum.htm or their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/pages/Trash-Museum/94304101163. For more information about the Garbage Museum, call (203) 381-9571, visit www.crra.org/pages/ Garbage_Museum.htm or their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/pages/GarbageMuseum/84731121082. For a complete list of museum programs, visit www.crra.org/ pages/edu_museums.htm. For more information about the CRRA, call (860) 757 7700, e-mail crrainfo@crra. org or visit www.crra.org. These programs depend on the support of environmentally-minded people and organizations. If you or your organization or foundation would like to make a taxdeductible donation to help continue CRRAs work, contact either museum or visit www. crra.org/pages/edu_donate.htm.
2011 Waste Advantage Magazine, All Rights Reserved.Reprinted from Waste Advantage Magazine. Contents cannot be reprinted without permission from the publisher.
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WasteAdvantage Magazine
May 2011

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