Broad Ripple Random Ripplings
search menu
The news from Broad Ripple
Brought to you by The Broad Ripple Gazette
(Delivering the news since 2004, every two weeks)
Subscribe to Broad Ripple Random Ripplings
Brought to you by:
VirtualBroadRipple.com Broad Ripple collector pins EverythingBroadRipple.com

Everything Broad Ripple HomearrowRandom Ripplings Homearrow2006 12 29arrowColumn

back button return to index button next button
Converted from paper version of the Broad Ripple Gazette (v03n26)
Green Broad Ripple - Community - Civic Glue - by Cortellini
posted: Dec. 29, 2006

Green Broad Ripple header

Community - Civic Glue
Last week I had a conversation with Rich Bees over a beer at that venerable establishment, The Red Key in SoBro (South Broad Ripple). He related his ongoing concern for the litter problem in Broad Ripple. For the past ten years he and his immediate neighbors have diligently picked up trash in their surrounding area. It is often considerable because their homes are located near the Broad Ripple night action. Attentive to detail, Rich has discerned some interesting characteristics of Broad Ripple trash.
It is not the residents of Broad Ripple who trash, but the visitors. Trash is seasonal and event-related. Summer school closing brings increased trash. A major doing at the Vogue is inevitably accompanied by a spike in the trash volume, especially if there is a strong Westerly wind. Trash volume also increases after a Butler U event, but its character changes: one sees a lot more Mickey's Big Mouth and Red White and Blue bottles. The highest quality trash is left by the Formula One race crowd - trendy foreign beer bottles and John Player cigarette packs.
Rich is currently a Member of the Board of the Broad Ripple Village Association (BRVA). He has proposed that the BRVA acquire a street cleaning machine because city street cleaning services are virtually non existent in Broad Ripple. He has researched and found a machine made in Scotland nicknamed the Green Machine, touted to be the world's most versatile sweeper. It is currently in use in many communities, including Buckingham Palace and the Vatican, and has a proven safety record. Committed to developing cleaning routes and schedules, securing a storage facility, establishing a maintenance schedule, and training a corps of volunteers for an ongoing street cleaning effort, Rich is currently submitting grant requests to secure funding for the acquisition. It seems to me that this type of civic engagement by an individual is what produces that mysterious element that binds individuals to each other and to community - Civic Glue.
The beer bottle is arguably the most ubiquitous object in Broad Ripple, so Rich and I began to wonder just how many beer bottles go through Broad Ripple on any given week. We made inquiries to Sam the bartender, and after some consultation we were given the figure of 27 cases. Now if the sedate Red Key serves 27 cases, bars on Broad Ripple Avenue probably do many times that number. The exact figure, however, has proven surprisingly difficult to verify. So let's say, for our purpose, that the average bar in Broad Ripple serves 50 cases per week and the average restaurant 25. The Gazette lists 33 bars and 23 restaurants in the general Broad Ripple area. Using our guesstimates, we conclude that on any given week 53,400 bottles pass through Broad Ripple. With some measurements I made in my kitchen sink with material from our recycle bin, I can report that this translates to 23,779.69 LBS and 10,550.21 FT3. A pile of bottles the size of my house is transported to the landfill every week!
The Greening of Broad Ripple is not going to happen all at once. Rather, it will come to be one manageable project at a time. It seems to me that recycling this glass is a worthy first step. It is doable. It will not require major changes; and is more a matter of logistics and collective will than insurmountable technical difficulty. I have spoken to Rob Sabatini, Average Joe's managing partner, and Gino Pizzi, Ambrosia owner, both of whom expressed an interest in taking part in an initiative. Alan Hague, Gazette editor, expressed a willingness to facilitate. So I raise my bottle to a toast that we in Broad Ripple make a New Year's resolution to "Recycle the Bottle" in 2007. Such a project would not only be good for the neighborhood and the Earth, it may even produce a bit more of that scarce and mysterious element - Civic Glue.
Happy New Year.



Cortellini is a licensed architect in the states of Indiana and Arizona. He holds a BFA from Indiana University Herron School of Art. He has taught architectural technology at the college level at several universities and has pursued independent artistic endeavors. His architectural practice has focused on residential and small commercial projects. He has recently committed his practice to designing Green buildings, is a member of the US Green Building Council and is a LEED Accredited Professional. Send questions/comments to cortellini@BroadRippleGazette.com




cortellini@broadripplegazette.com
back button return to index button next button
Brought to you by:
BroadRippleHistory.com Broad Ripple collector pins EverythingBroadRipple.com
Brought to you by:
EverythingBroadRipple.com RandomRipplings.com Broad Ripple collector pins