Labor Day has come and gone, schools are back in session, and once again teachers are on the hunt for classroom supplies. Many of them will head straight to Resources for Rhode Island Education, a non-profit organization that, for 25 years, has been recycling manufacturers’ excess material, and making it available to schools and community organizations.
In many ways, this story really starts with the fact that there are always people with stuff they want to get rid of, like Mack the Finger, from Bob Dylan’s classic song “Highway 61.”
“I got 40 red, white and blue shoestrings, and 1,000 telephones that don’t ring,” the song goes. “Do you know where I can get rid of these things?”
Well, if you’re in Southern New England, you can take them all to the loading dock at 95 Hathaway St. in Providence, an old mill building that is home to Resources for Rhode Island Education.
This is where the stuff some people don’t want meets the people who do want it. People like high school art teacher David Guadelupe, who was there on a recent morning preparing for the start of classes at Nazarene Christian Academy in New Bedford Massachusetts. The school has a group membership at RRIE, a big help in these days of tight money for schools.
“Especially when you’re talking about things like the Arts,” said Guadelupe. “The recyling center is very important to use because we can come here and get our supplies and different essentials at a discounted price, and it’s extremely helpful.
The warehouse floor here is like nothing so much as a farmers’ market, offering the local harvest of cast-off produce from businesses and factories. Bins of plastic and paper tubes, left over from some unknown manufacturing process; wooden spools the size of bushel baskets, now empty of the wire or cable they once held; piles of folded cardboard, rolls of black felt, a box of punched-out gray metal discs.
All of this can be had for 40 cents a pound. Guadelupe calls that a bargain, and an invitation to get creative.
“So when you come here, you have to come with an open mind. Think not necessarily what you’re looking for, but open your mind up to whatever they have,” Guadelupe explained. “Because you might actually be developing new innovations within your curriculum, and also staying within an appropriate budget.”
Amy Petrino, a former pre-school teacher from West Warwick, describes the place as “fantastic.” She first started shopping at RRIE about a decade ago.
“Just the idea that you can get all of this stuff, that a lot of it would just be trash,” Petrino said. “It was a waste to some company, and they donated it, so now you can put it to good use. The resources are amazing.
Petrino has come with her daughter, Jessica Hammond, who is about to start home-schooling her two little girls. Hammond’s already made her first find, two of those empty wooden spools.
“That I’m going to use for stools to make a little story corner,” Hammond said. “Cover them with stool covers, and then it’ll be a nice little padded seat for them to sit in.”
Petrino points out that you can also find more conventional supplies here, from stores that have either down-sized or gone out of business.
“Office supplies that they have donated that you could actually go and buy in a regular store, that you can come and get even cheaper. Saves people a lot of money,” said Petrino.
Meanwhile art teacher David Guadelupe is still browsing for inspiration. He recalls a breakthrough moment from last year, when he came upon a trove of old vinyl records he brought back for his art class.
“I brought in my record player, and I had students listen to the record. And then they had to paint on the record something that inspired them from the music,” Guadelupe said, adding that the idea was to draw on multiple senses.
“When’s the last time you relied on your sense of hearing in art? So it was really cool for me to bring that other sense into the classroom.”
So, Mack the Finger, if you’re listening, no need to go all the way out to Highway 61. Just head down Rt. 95 and find Resources for Rhode Island Education. Someone here is just waiting to make creative, educational use of your ringless telephones and red, white and blue shoestrings.
