2024

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• https://grist.org/accountability/plastics-industry-support-waste-pickers-global-treaty/ Does the plastics industry support waste pickers? It’s complicated.​

• The Joint Office of Homeless Services has partnered with Outside the Frame, which trains "homeless and marginalized youth to be directors of their own films and lives," to create a series of videos about local easy entry employment programs. Ground Score is featured along with Cultivate Initiatives and Stone Soup PDX. https://vimeo.com/showcase/11277501

• From BikePortland: "There’s a revolution in waste management taking hold inside a nondescript building in Old Town. Ground Score Association is using a fleet of pedal-powered cargo trikes to pick up trash, create good-paying jobs, and be much gentler on the community and the planet." https://bikeportland.org/2024/07/26/cargo-trikes-help-old-town-nonprofit-create-good-out-of-garbage-388838 

• From OPB: 'Some nonprofit groups provide other types of trash services to homeless camps. Ground Score, which contracts with Portland to collect trash around the city, employs homeless and housing-insecure people as “waste pickers.” Much of the trash they collect is then reused or recycled.' '“Ground Score’s mission is to change society’s perception of who and what is considered valuable,” co-founder and co-director Barbie Weber said.' 'Most of its staff have been homeless at one point, including Weber, who used to camp along the Willamette River. She said waterways offer people a sense of peace and refuge from the constant threat of camp removals, but they’re not safe places for people to sleep.'” https://www.opb.org/article/2024/07/15/oregon-willamette-river-trash-problem-homeless-camp-removals-make-worse/ 

• Thank you, City of Portland, for highlighting Ground Score and our work on the City's website! From the City of Portland, OR: "City of Portland staff proudly presented at the 1st Elective Congress of the [International Alliance of Waste Pickers - GlobalRec] in Buenos Aires, Argentina earlier this month. Katie Lindsay, Program Analyst with the City’s Homelessness and Urban Camping Impact Reduction Program travelled with colleagues from local nonprofit organization Ground Score Association to attend the Congress and share information about how the City has contracted with Ground Score to provide waste collection services and integrate formalized work opportunities. Though the partnership operates relatively quietly here in Portland, the Ground Score programs supported by the City of Portland are celebrated, globally, as models for how municipal government entities can inclusively and justly hire workers, while solving City problems related to sustainability and waste collection at the same time." https://www.portland.gov/homelessness-impact-reduction/news/2024/5/29/city-portlands-partnership-ground-score-association

• We were featured on KOIN 6 in this in-depth story by Elise Haas. Multiple Ground Score workers were interviewed for the story, which emphasizes the importance of creating easy entry jobs that give people a chance at rebuilding their lives. It shows both our GLITTER (litter collection) and TPD programs, highlighting how we work to keep Portland's streets clean and protect our environment. https://www.koin.com/local/multnomah-county/barbra-webers-vision-give-people-meaningful-work/

• https://www.portlandmercury.com/news/2024/05/16/47206194/county-commissioner-candidate-saw-more-than-40k-funneled-to-her-husband-by-a-board-she-oversees County Commissioner Candidate Saw More Than $40K Funneled to Her Husband by a Board She Oversees

• Tune in to understand the stakes for waste pickers in the UN Plastics Treaty process. Featuring our very own Taylor Cass Talbott, in her advocacy role with the International Alliance of Waste Pickers - GlobalRec (IAWP), exploring the crucial role that waste pickers play in shaping effective and fair environmental policies. https://rss.com/podcasts/redemptionthepodcast/1482397/ 

• https://www.streetroots.org/news/2024/05/15/rapid-response-bio-clean-complaints-lawsuits Former employees, homeless Portlanders cite various violations, lack of training in Rapid Response Bio Clean's practices

• From the City of Portland: https://www.portland.gov/homelessness-impact-reduction/opportunities 

• Ground Score Co-Founder and Co-Executive Director Barbra "Barbie" Weber speaking at INC-4 about the importance of listening to and lifting up waste pickers https://fb.watch/rKuBMHbxUD/ 

• https://www.okapi-reusables.com/ground-score OKAPI Earth Day partnership page

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