Sustain Compassionate NYC Redemption Service!

Sure We Can is a nonprofit recycling center, community space, and sustainability hub in Brooklyn, NY. For over 18 years, Sure We Can has supported canners -- folks who make a living collecting cans and bottles from the streets, redeeming them for 5 cents each. Canning helps them keep a roof over their heads and provide for their families, and also reduces street litter and diverts waste from landfills. Sure We Can is the only redemption center in New York that directly supports canners by providing space and amenities to meet their needs in both their work and their lives, and aims to help create a sense of belonging and low-barrier access to work and community. Today, that safe haven remains threatened by systemic neglect and reactionary forces outside Sure We Can’s control. If civic leaders won’t take action to help our most effective recycling system and the essential workers who keep it going, it’s up to normal allies who care, like you. Please help us keep this critical work going!

Redemption centers like ours depend on what’s called a “handling fee.” This is what we’re paid by beverage distributors for returning to them the containers they sold in the first place. The rate of 3.5 cents per container is set in the law and hasn’t risen since 2009, while the cost of operating a business in New York City has increased dramatically in the same timeframe. At the same time, New York hasn’t increased its bottle deposit of 5 cents since 1982, disincentivizing canners or consumers from returning their containers for recycling. Other states are trying–Connecticut recently increased its own deposit to 10 cents–but this change combined with New York’s stubborn unwillingness to update the law means that now much of the redeemable material being captured downstate is making its way illegally across the Connecticut border to be redeemed for twice the value. This is a big problem for Connecticut, and for the redemption centers that depend on a high volume of material to make ends meet. Since this problem arose, Sure We Can’s recycling volume (and revenue) have dipped almost 30%.

Sure We Can faces logistical and operational challenges unique to this sector of work, and must continually balance the demands of running a traditional nonprofit organization alongside the demands of maintaining a small business model in an industry facing deep systemic challenges. As a nonprofit, we are lucky to have the support of foundations and funders to provide expansive programming to support canners & the broader community. This support is not sufficient to ameliorate the financial obstacles we’re currently facing. These challenges put the continuity of Sure We Can’s programming at risk, threatening our ability to provide stable service to a community itself facing significant barriers and instability, especially in this moment. In order to continue offering our special style of service to canners that can’t receive this kind of support anywhere else, we are turning to our community for assistance to close the gap we’re facing. That’s why we’re reaching out to you with a heartfelt request to donate, and help us raise $30,000 in order to maintain our essential redemption service over the next few months.

Photos by Carlos Rivera