Zerolandfill is an organization that supports the constantly expanding sustainability activities in Northeast Ohio by collecting and recycling the castoff materials from interior design firms. The organization launched in 2006 when interior designer Amanda Dempsey saw the need to recycle as she cleaned out her product library.

“It is a necessity to show clients the latest samples, and the manufacturers never want the old samples returned,” Dempsey said. “The product libraries were an untapped resource for recycling.”

As she cleaned out her library of old samples of vinyl, fabric, carpet and the large binders that stored the materials, a mountain of trash collected. She found that other interior designers in the area saw the need to recycle as well.

Thus the Zerolandfill project team was created. The team includes Amy Todd (Bialosky and Partners Architects), Kristina Kosloff (HGF Architects), Christy Gray (The Red Dot Project), Jeff Krejci and Debbir Horvath (InterfaceFlor) and David Fox and Mike Dungan (BeeDance).

The team called for all designers in the area to drop off their product samples, which were then separated into containers based on their materials. Within a few hours, tons of materials ranging from glass and bricks to carpet and wallpaper were donated to the pick-up site. The materials were redistributed to local artists and design and education programs. Perhaps the most beneficial was the reuse of library binders. These were donated to local schoolchildren to use in classroom.

In 2009, Zerolandfill organized nine harvest days and diverted 50,160 pounds of creative materials donated by the interiors and architectural industry from the waste stream. The materials were returned to the community for use in studios and classrooms. The donation process is simple. Donors can drop off their materials at the ZeroLandfill resource center at 3631 Perkins Avenue, in mid-town Cleveland.

It is also an opportunity to bring awareness to both the environmental and arts communities. Zerolandfill coordinators have worked with Christine Mitten, director for Young Audiences, a non-profit focused on making the arts an essential part of education. The materials collected from design firms will be reused for children’s art and education.

“We have had a lot of great feedback from design firm principals,” Dempsey said. “But to really make it work, the firms need an employee to spearhead their plans for donation.”

Mike Dungan blogs about the Zerolandfill effort–with groups forming in Columbus, Akron, Toledo and Cincinnati, they have diverted 200,000+ pounds of expired specification samples and have shifted awareness in the industry.

Vist the Zerolandfill.net page or the Zerolandfill Cleveland blog.