Recently while organizing a mother of 4 very cute and athletic children, Heather and I encountered our very first recycling stumper. Normally we have a place for everything to go – batteries, old cell phones, expired paint, no problem. But what do you do with 4 bags full of unwanted sports trophies? Yes, these are 4 very talented children.
Well, first I did what any curious person would do, I Googled “recycling sports trophies.” To my dismay, I discovered that only a handful of trophy shops (Awards Mall and Lamb Awards and Engraving) have started recycling programs in which they disassemble your current trophy, add a new top or plaque, and voila! New trophy. Unfortunately however, none of these shops were local, and I didn’t want to spend money on postage or gas to get them there. So I went to plan B.
Next I called around to the local Boys and Girls Club and YMCA, just in case they started a recycling program and merely lacked a PR firm to get the word out. Surely the eco-friendly Santa Monica chapters had thought of something like this right? … Negative. At this point I was ready to throw in the towel. And that’s when a little birdie suggested that I create a posting on Craigslist for “free trophies.” Yes, yes, that’s perfect I said. If you post it they will come!
And you know what, they did! I got so many replies in fact, that I was forced to become selective. I questioned each trophy applicant for their intended purpose and made sure it was a worthy one. And slowly, bag by bag, the trophies disappeared. The first recipient was a law student from UCLA, who repurposed the trophies for a charity roshambo tournament – that’s fancy for rock, paper, scissors. He was so considerate to my cause, that he even followed up with a pic of the trophy refurbishment (see above) – thanks Isaac! Next, was a production assistant who wanted my trophies for film props. Sweet, my trophies are gonna be famous! And lastly, was a soccer coach, who just like me, was a true environmentalist at heart.
So what have I taken away with me from my recycling adventure? That anything can be recycled if you just put your mind to it!
Brooke