A small group of dedicated interior designers and architects in Cleveland are closing the loop on a wasteful practice in their industry—routinely tossing samples of wallcoverings and carpets into landfills.

You wouldn’t think these little binders of materials would amount to much, but last year ZeroLandfill diverted 50,000 pounds by simply providing a dumpster for artists and schools to dive into. They’re starting up again, setting out a dumpster at 3631 Perkins Avenue on June 6 and collecting from noon to 6 pm this and every Friday during the summer. Click here to see what materials they can take.

Recipients of ZeroLandfill materials range from local artists and arts educators to local recyclers. The need to transport and dispose of these products in landfills is reduced dramatically or avoided altogether. In fact, less than 5% of the materials collected by ZeroLandfill in 2007 entered the solid waste stream.

And, the idea has become viral: the Cleveland effort spawned ZeroLandfill Cincinnati, Toledo, Louisville and Boston.

Podcast interview with ZeroLandfill volunteer Mike Dungan by Artist Review Today