We were pleased to have been mentioned in the Omaha World Herald for our presence and participation in Earth Day Omaha. Thank you to everyone who came to the event. Read on for the article that was published in the local newspaper about Earth Day and our efforts toward making electronic recycling safe, easy and convenient.
Recycling, Relaxing on Earth Day
By Rick Ruggles WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER
Forty babies bared their bottoms Saturday in honor of Mother Earth, but mainly because their own mothers required it. This public display of immodesty, a statement on the value of cloth diapers, took place at Omaha’s Earth Day celebration at Elmwood Park.
The babies and their parents participated in a worldwide effort to set a record for the number of simultaneous cloth-diaper changes. Proponents of cloth diapers say they are better for the environment because they are reused, unlike disposable diapers, which are utilized once and shipped to the landfill. After changing the diaper of their 5-month-old son Adrián, Cassandra Cabrera beamed and said to her husband: “He’s a revolutionary already.”
Many believe it will take revolutionary thinking, or at least considerable change in human behavior, to protect the planet from ruination by pollution. Earth Day Omaha included booths espousing recycling, energy conservation and locally grown produce. Above all, Earth Day Omaha gave families an excuse to delight in Elmwood Park on a spring Saturday, even if the temperature barely exceeded 50 degrees. Activities included rock-wall climbing, hula hooping, face painting, bongo playing and tai chi demonstrating.
It also afforded dogs an opportunity to sniff, growl at and play with each other. At one point, at least nine stood in a tight pack as their owners chatted. Three of the dogs were greyhounds and two were Great Danes. Karen Muhvic’s Great Dane, named Donnie, weighing more than 200 pounds and at about 3 feet tall, loomed over the rest. “And he’s a lap dog,” said Muhvic, of Plattsmouth.
Brian Gubbels, chairman of the Earth Day Omaha Coalition, said last year’s event drew at least 8,000 people. Gubbels said the chilly weather might have diminished the turnout Saturday.
Gubbels’ recycling company, EDT, set up a truck south of the festival so people could drop off old electronic equipment.
Some equipment was handled for no charge, and a fee was assessed for televisions and monitors. The fee, based on the size of the screen, was required because lead and mercury must be extracted from them before the devices are recycled.
Irene Mahoney, 82, of Omaha, dropped off a load of technology – a VCR, a scanner, a couple computer monitors, a keyboard and other items. “They’ve been hanging around for a while,” Mahoney said of the devices.
Back at the diaper-changing event, moms and dads placed their babies on mats atop wooden benches inside a park pavilion. Time counted down to 11:30 a.m., and the change began. Forty cloth diapers came off, and 40 went on.
Adrián’s father, Ariel Cabrera, said that over the long run, it’s cheaper to use cloth diapers. And while water is used washing cloth diapers, Cabrera said, he was sure this was better for the environment than putting loads of disposable diapers into landfills.
Resting placidly in his mother’s arms, Adrián appeared to be neutral on the topic. “Someday he’ll look back and say that was pretty cool,” his mother said. “Right now I don’t know if he cares that much.”
