Press Releases

Center Receives National Award

MT. LAUREL, N.J. — The National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO) has chosen Columbus, Ohio-based Waste Not Center (http://www.wastenotcenter.org/) as the winner of the 2010 Organizing Excellence Award. NAPO’s Awards Committee Chair, Sheila Delson, CPO-CD®, will present this Award to a representative of the Waste Not Center during NAPO’s 22nd Annual Conference and Organizing Exposition, which will be held in Columbus, from April 21 – 24. According to Delson, the Waste Not Center not only meets the award’s criteria, but also aligns with NAPO membership. The Center’s Director, Neil Drobny, explained that one of their hopes is to increase public awareness and create a change in the way people think about recycling. He stated: “A common mindset about recycled items is that they are ‘not good enough’ for reuse,” a common concern shared by the professional organizing industry as a whole.

About Waste Not Center
The Waste Not Center (WNC) receives donations from individuals and businesses of supplies that would otherwise be discarded and makes them available to teachers, artists and non‐profit organizations at no charge other than a small annual membership fee. The Center accomplishes the dual objectives of enabling teachers to obtain materials for their work that would otherwise be unaffordable and reducing the burden on local solid waste disposal systems. On an average day, the Center will host 30-40 clients who collectively select about 1500 pounds of material and supplies for which they pay nothing other than the small annual membership fee. Member clients estimate the collective value of what they obtain at the Center each week is about $4,500 based on what the items and supplies would cost if they were purchased commercially. On that basis the Center contributes to the community about $250,000 of value each year. The Center is a 501(c)(3) organization, so all donations are tax deductible.

"The Waste Not Center, Where Nothing Goes to Waste."