CHEDEMPTION

August 31, 2010 - Click here to see moving of Boxes for redemption.

October 17, 2000 - Gail Miller, Mac Passano and Beth Howe prepare to send over cans and bottles from Chedemption to the mainland on the Casco Bay Boat. Every week they spend many hours organizing and handling all the cans and bottles. Although we don't need people around the clock at the transfer station we still need volunteers for handling all the returnables.

 

 

 

 

 

 

September 17, 2000 was the official opening of our new bottle and can redemption operation at the Chebeague Transfer Station. Beth Howe told us all about the history of the project and then the ribbons were cut by the builders of the building. Unfortunately the original mastermind behind the project Gail Miller was away but we are all greatful to her leadership. The other principles were Tom Calder, Beth and Mac Passano, Frank and Marriane Durgin, Dick Collins, Al Traina and John Maxon.

 

 
Ribbon Cutting

 
Builders: Frank Durgin, Dick Collins, John Maxon and Mac Passano

 

 

 

 

 


CHEDEMPTION: or, The Last Drop 

Chedemption -- the beverage container redemption effort for Chebeague Island -- began at the beginning of this summer.  Sanford Doughty has been doing Chebeague's bottle redemption, pretty much on his own, for a number of years.  The proceeds have supported the development of the Skating Pond.  But this Spring Sanford decided to get out of the redemption business and, between his urgings, and the returnable bottles and cans piling up at the Transfer Station,  a small group of volunteers organized to fill the gap.  Gail Miller, Tom Calder, Al Traina, Mac Passano and Beth Howe began just with the bottles from the Inn.  But once the system of storing them in the shed behind the Nellie G (lent by Fred Martindale, John Thaxter and CTC) and shipping them off, free, on the Casco Bay Lines Maquoit II, was found to work, the effort expanded to the Transfer Station as well.

Over the course of the summer Chedemption, as it came to be called, recruited 28 volunteers who put in more than 184 hours at the Transfer Station -- helping people learn how the redemption sorting should be done.  In addition volunteers picked up bottles at the Inn, sorted at the shed behind the Nellie G, ferried the boxes and bags of returnables to the Casco Bay Line wharf and packed them on pallets for shipment.  Once in Portland the returnables are picked up by a Portland redemption center -- initially Jetport Redemption, and now East End Redemption.  

We knew, however, that we could not always have volunteers staffing the Transfer Station.  We needed some system by which the redemption would more or less run itself, summer and winter, rain or shine.  This required a building to keep the collection out of the weather and allow each day1s accumulated returnables to be stored.  Doug Damon drew up a plan of what we needed.  John Maxon found that we could buy a ready-made shed from Home Depot less expensively than we could build it from scratch.  Adam Ogden, the Town's Public Works Director, got approval for us from the State to have it at the Transfer Station.  And Casco Bay Lines shipped the shed from Portland for free.

The grand opening of the redemption shed at the Transfer Station was held at 11:00 on Sunday September 17.    The construction committee -- Dick Collins, Construction Superintendent, Frank Durgin, Chief Engineer, John Maxon and Mac Passano, labor -- cut the official ribbons while the ceremonial bottle of champaign popped its cork.  Beverly took pictures for the web site.

When all the money up to Labor Day (actually September 6) comes in, there will be a distribution of the proceeds to 12 voluntary organizations on the Island: Chebeague Care Resource, the Island Council, the Hall, the Historical Society, the Methodist Church, the Chebeague Parents' Association, the Recreation Center, the Cumberland Mainland and Islands Trust, the Sailing School, Sanford's Skating Pond and the Stephen Ross Scholarship Fund. According to the Chedemption treasurer, Gail Miller,  the money made during the summer should be about $1820.  The shed at the Transfer Station cost $765.56, and the Recompense Foundation, wanting more of the proceeds to go directly to Island organizations, gave us $500 toward that.  So after the remaining $265 for the shed and $60 for supplies are deducted, we expect to distribute about $1500.  And of course, money is still coming in, though clearly it will be less during the winter.

Now that the redemption shed is open, we are assuming that everyone can do their own sorting.  If you aren't sure what is redeemable, there is a sign on the building to help you, as well as some small fliers that you can take home and stick on your refrigerator.  Thank you to everyone who has brought their returnables!  The proceeds go to many good causes.  And thank you to all the volunteers who have made this such a success so far!  We just need to keep up the good work through the winter and rev up again for the big season next summer.