Sure We Can
TypeNon-Profit Organization
IndustryRecycling
FoundedBrooklyn, NY, 2007
FounderAna Martinez de Luco[1]
Eugene Gadsden[2]
Headquarters
Brooklyn, New York
,
U.S.
Area served
New York City
ServicesProviding redemption services
Websitesurewecan.org

Sure We Can is a nonprofit redemption center and community hub based in Brooklyn, New York.[3][4]

Services provided

Sure We Can provides container-deposit redemption services to the Brooklyn, New York area.[4] Any person can come to Sure We Can during business hours and redeem NY state accepted bottles and cans.[4] Additionally, the organization serves as a community hub for the canner community that redeems there and for local environmental causes that promote the organizations dedication to sustainability.[5][6][7]

History

Sure We Can (SWC) was founded in 2007 by a group led by Ana Martinez de Luco and Eugene Gadsden to serve the canning community of New York.[4] The facility is designed with canners, the people who collect cans and bottles from the streets, in mind, aiming to provide a welcoming place they can redeem their cans and bottles.[8] Sure We Can is the only non-profit, homeless-friendly redemption center in New York City.[8] In 2019, the center annually processes 10 million cans and bottles for redemption, and serves a community of over 400 canners.[8] Sure We Can estimates that they distribute $700,000 per year to canners.[9] The average canner who visits Sure We Can earns $1000 per year.[10]

Starting in 2020, Sure We Can faces eviction by their landlord, who is interested in selling the lot they have rented for 10 years. As of 2021, the organization is seeking funding from either the city or private donor to buy the land.[11][10]

In 2021, Sure We Can worked with the Street Vendor Project to release a study documenting the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City on canners and street vendors, whose income dwindled during restrictions even as these informal workers were ineligible for government support.[12] Sure We Can is a member of the Community Advisory Board of New York City's Test & Trace Corps.[13]

References

  1. ↑ Berardi, Francesca (1 March 2019). "Meet the street nun helping people make a living from New York's cans". The Guardian.
  2. ↑ "Recycling center in Brooklyn creates community while serving those in need". National Catholic Reporter. 26 July 2016.
  3. ↑ Kilgannon, Corey (2015-06-19). "A 'Street Nun' Who Specializes in Redemption". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-03-23.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Bartfeld, Noa (26 September 2016). "Toxic Site: Sure We Can". Medium.
  5. ↑ Watt, Cecilia (2019-03-01). "New York's canners: the people who survive off a city's discarded cans". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2019-07-03.
  6. ↑ "Canners Versus the City–The Fight Over Your Empties". Brooklyn Based. 2014-04-24. Retrieved 2019-07-03.
  7. ↑ "In the shadow of Brooklyn's luxury apartments, "canners" form a tight-knit community". Mic. Retrieved 2019-07-03.
  8. 1 2 3 "Sure We Can - Scrap Yard in Brooklyn,New York, United States". ScrapMonster.
  9. ↑ Davenport, Emily (2020-06-23). "Brooklyn-based recycling coalition calls for funding from City Council • Brooklyn Paper". Brooklyn Paper. Retrieved 2020-06-26.
  10. 1 2 "VICE - NYC's Last Non-Profit Can Redemption Center Is Fighting to Stay Open". www.vice.com. Retrieved 2020-06-26.
  11. ↑ "City's Only Nonprofit Recycling Center Faces Eviction". www.ny1.com. Retrieved 2020-06-26.
  12. ↑ "Press Release: New Report on NYC Street Vendors and Canners Reveals Depth of COVID Exclusion on Informal Workforce | WIEGO". www.wiego.org. Retrieved 2021-02-06.
  13. ↑ "Test & Trace Corps". www.nychealthandhospitals.org. Retrieved 2021-08-30.
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