It’s with mixed sadness, disgust, and a dose of p.o. that I write about a theft from Haines Friends of Recycling’s fishnet recycling work area this past weekend. Our work outside the center has been obvious since May.
Overnight between gillnet work parties, someone stole a supersack of coiled poly line that HFR volunteers spent many hours stripping so nets could be recycled. The bag alone is worth $50.
HFR would love to repurpose poly lines if someone asks for them. But did you have to sneak in during the night to take it? We have neat coils of salvaged line available for sale in the HFR Scrap Box store, open when staffed on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. All we ask for is a small donation to help keep the lights on and show your support for HFR as a nonprofit and for our volunteers’ efforts.
HFR’s community service comes with expenses that we cover by donations, grants, memberships, and the labor of more than 110 volunteers. Expenses include advertising, shipping, facility rent, electricity, and repairs, and two part-time employees. Leaving garbage in the recycling bins or stealing items costs us and is a disrespectful and selfish slap in the face of all those folks who help keep this community service functioning.
If it weren’t for all the great volunteers who support HFR’s public service, I’d feel pretty disheartened by that one bad apple person’s theft of our nonprofit’s sweat equity.
Molly Sturdevant
HFR Vice Chair, Fishnet Recycling Project