With the expiration of the citywide recycling program, Silver City needs a new path to recycle plastic. One of the most successful and least resource intense solutions is to process recyclable materials locally into other value-added products.
Chris Lemme is looking for help to fund a proof-of-concept process that uses crushed glass and plastic bottles to create construction materials such as paving bricks.
"Specifically, we will use the funds raised to purchase an extrusion machine to melt the plastic so it can be mixed with crushed glass and poured into molds," according to the notice on the GoFundMe page, which has a goal of $2,000. "Your support will be the beginning of a process to reduce the waste stream going into our landfill, create new jobs in our community, and generate a stream of outside revenue which will build our local tax base. Thank you in advance for supporting our community, the environment and local jobs."