CRRA to Celebrate Earth Day's 40th Anniversary at Trash Museum in Hartford, Garbage Museum in Stratford

Events to Feature Pop Artist Michael Albert and Leo Sewell, Creator of Trash-o-saurus

The Connecticut Resources Recovery Authority’s award-winning education centers, the Trash Museum in Hartford and the Garbage Museum in Stratford, will mark the 40th anniversary with a series of special events in April. All events will be open to the public.

Highlighting the celebration will be two events on Saturday, April 17:

• The Trash Museum will feature pop artist Michael Albert leading a workshop called “Cerealism,” in which he demonstrates the use of cereal boxes to make collages. Seating for the workshop, which will run from 1 to 4 p.m., is limited, and reservations can be made by calling the Trash Museum at 860-757-7765. Visitors to the Trash Museum may also tour the facility and view the many museum exhibits.
• At the Garbage Museum, Trash-o-saurus, the 2,000-pound dinosaur made entirely from trash, will be reunited with junk sculptor Leo Sewell for the first time since the artist created him in 1995. Sewell will also display some of his other works from noon to 1 p.m., and visitors will be able to make their own works of art from recycled materials and take part in scavenger hunts. The Garbage Museum will be open 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on April 17.

According to the Earth Day Network, the first Earth Day was held April 22, 1970, when 20 million Americans took part in rallies across the country demonstrating for a healthy, sustainable environment.  The Trash Museum and the Garbage Museum have taught more than 500,000 people how they can protect their environment just by thinking before throwing something away. The museums have received the Beth Brown Boettner Award for Outstanding Public Education by the National Recycling Coalition.

The Garbage Museum has additional special events scheduled:

• Tuesday, April 13, will feature vermiculture – the practice of composting using red wiggler worms. Visitors can meet the worms “up close and personal” and plant a seed in soil made by the worms, then bring it home and watch it grow.
• On Wednesday, April 14, visitors can meet B.B. the Bluefish, mascot of the Bridgeport Bluefish baseball team, from noon to 1 p.m., and create a bluefish windsock using recycled materials. On the same day, Janet Levinson from Cool Smiles Dentistry will clean Trash-o-saurus’s teeth and hand out free toothbrushes.
• Thursday, April 15, “Story time at the Museum.” Guest storytellers will read to visitors. Participants may also create their own recycling book.
• On Friday, April 16, there will be fun and games for everyone. Visitors may participate in recycling games and create a recycled craft.

And every weekday at the Garbage Museum, visitors can watch their recyclables being delivered, sorted and baled, create a recycled craft and participate in activities like the all-time favorite, Trash Bash. At the Trash Museum, visitors can watch CRRA’s state-of-the-art recycling center process bottles, cans, paper and cardboard, check out the Temple of Trash and see the new exhibit featuring all the garbage Sustainable Dave made in a year – 28.5 pounds – and compare it to the 1,600 to 2,000 pounds most people make every year.

Admission to the Trash Museum is always free. The Trash Museum is located at 211 Murphy Road, Hartford. Call 860-757-7765 for more information.

Admission to the Garbage Museum for these special events is $3 per person (the Museum will be open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. April 13-17 only), with children 3 years and younger admitted free. The Garbage Museum is located at 1410 Honeyspot Road Extension, Stratford. Call 203-381-9571 for more information.

Click here to learn more about CRRA’s education centers. You can also go to Facebook and become a fan of the Garbage Museum and the Trash Museum.

The Connecticut Resources Recovery Authority is a quasi-public agency whose mission is to work for – and in – the best interests of the municipalities of the state of Connecticut. CRRA’s new board of directors and new management team develop and implement environmentally sound solutions and best practices for solid waste disposal and recycling management on behalf of municipalities. CRRA serves more than 100 Connecticut cities and towns. CRRA also runs sustainability education programs through the Trash Museum in Hartford and Garbage Museum in Stratford. Computer users can also discuss CRRA at its blog and follow CRRA on twitter.