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Earthday 2006

Earth Day, April 22, was celebrated in the Upper Peninsula by the Earthkeepers Coalition who collected an estimated 300 tons of used and out-dated electronics. The Earthkeeper coalition is made up of nine major faith-groups in the UP and works in collaboration with the Lake Superior Watershed Partnership, and the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community.  Earthkeepers is funded by grants from the EPA, Thrivent Financial, and local contributors.

In our community, Earthkeepers is sponsored by Trinity Lutheran Church of Trout Creek  and Bethany Lutheran Church of Covington. More than fifty local residents brought used electronic items to the Covington Events Center, the local Earthkeepers’ drop-off point, and one of the 28 collection sites in the UP. Eight volunteers sorted the electronic materials. 14 pallets were filled with VCRS, radios, computers, televisions, monitors, printers, fax machines and telephones.  The items were later picked up by truck and taken to Technology Asset Disposal, a Michigan company, to be disassembled and the parts recycled/reduced as approved by the Environmental Protection Agency.

Trout Creek area volunteers with students, Ashley and Devan.
Joy Ibsen coordinator visits with Frank Pentti	Al Lundberg and George Kehrer
Devan and Al unload a box of scrap electronic parts.	Devan and Bill Besonen