Project Log
2014 - 6th annual Denim Drive project. Third year to recycle unwanted Shoes in ANY condition. Renewed partnerships with Blue Jeans Go Green® (previously Cotton. From Blue to Green.) and USAgain.
Articles 2014:
2013 - 5th annual Denim Drive project. Third year to recycle unwanted Shoes in ANY condition. Renewed partnerships with Blue Jeans Go Green® (new name) and USAgain.
Articles 2013:
-”The Sustainable Spot” article, Jan 2013.
-EcoErek featured in People magazine article on People.com, April 2013.
-EcoErek selected as Finalist on Gloria Barron prize for Young Heroes, Sep 2013.
-EcoErek delivers shoes to USAgain, Dec 2013.
2012 - 4th annual Denim Drive project. Second year to recycle unwanted Shoes in ANY condition. Renewed partnerships with Cotton. From Blue to Green.® and USAgain.
Articles 2012:
-The Suburban Press, March 2012. Erek wins Judge’s Award at Eastern Maumee Bay Chamber of Commerce Prism Awards banquet.
-EcoErek wins Honorable Mention in Action For Nature’s “Eco-Hero Award”.
-”The Press” article, May 2012, “EcoErek reaches milestone...”
-EcoErek’s video for BGSU’s Camp Millionaire and Guinness World Record shoe drive, Oct 2012.
-EcoErek delivers shoes to USAgain, ABC7 Chicago coverage, Nov 2012.
-WGN 720 Radio with Jonathon Brandmeier and EcoErek, Nov 2012.
-”The Sustainable Spot” article, Jan 2013.
2011 - 3rd annual Denim Drive project. New in 2011 - recycle unwanted Shoes in ANY condition. Held 3 drives over 2 months, coordinated DROP BOXES at new businesses to collect on our behalf. The 2011 Collection is 3,811 pr. of jeans and 2,916 pr. of shoes! This converts to 8,400 lbs. of cotton or an equivalent of approx. 12,700 sq./ft. of insulation, enough to insulate over 7 homes! The denim filled 15 Gaylord crates and the shoes filled 18 Gaylord crates.
Erek was honored in October at the “Green Gala” hosted by the Ohio Environmental Council in Columbus. He received an Environmental Achievement Award for his active participation in reducing landfill waste by holding recycling drives in Ohio.
Articles 2011:
-Letter from Cotton Incorporated.
-The Suburban Press, May 13, 2011 article on 2011 EcoDrive.
-Fox36 Talk Back with Erek Hansen, May 30, 2011.
-Channel 11 CBS (Toledo) Your Saturday Morning, June 4, 2011.
-Channel 11 CBS (Toledo) EcoErek receives shoes and clothing for recyling from BGSU, June 6.
-13abc (Toledo) LIVE coverage of Recycling Drive on June 11.
-The Toledo Free Press, June 23rd, 2011, article.
-Erek is mentioned in “The Huffington Post” article October 27, 2011, America Recycles Day: Get Involved, by CEO of USAgain, stating “I’m thrilled to see young people...taking initiative...to raise awareness about environmental causes.”
-Amateur video coverage of Erek’s acceptance speech, Oct. 22, 2011, Green Gala, Columbus, OH.
2010 - 2nd annual denim collection project. Held 5 denim drives over 3 months, coordinated many company and school denim drives to save landfill space and ultimately benefit victims of U.S. natural disasters. We lauched on Earth Day, April 22nd and finished with a collection of 4,154 pcs. of denim for 2010! This converts to 9,100 lbs. of cotton or an equivalent of approx. 13,800 sq./ ft. of insulation, enough to insulate just over 8 homes!
We incorporated DROP BOXES at local businesses this year, which allowed people to come whenever they could to deliver their old jeans. It worked very well! As we spread the word about the usefulness of coton denim fibers remanufactured as housing insulation, many more will recycle in this way.
Articles 2010:
-Erek on Star 105.5 morning radio show launching denim drive 2010 on Earth Day.
-The Suburban Press, April 15, 2010 article on 2010 denim drive.
-Channel 11 CBS (Toledo) coverage of Owens Comunity College denim drive, April 28, 2010.
-Channel 11 CBS (Toledo) Your Saturday Morning, June 5, 2010.
2009 - I read an article in my favorite magazine, National Geographic Kids, that asked readers to send in their old, holey, ripped up jeans, that otherwise would have been thrown away, in order to help comunities in need AND help set a Guinness World Record (GWR). The jeans would be sent to Cotton. From Blue to Green. which is an organization that sees those jeans remanufactured into housing insulation. This organization then arranges for all the insulation to be donated 100% back to victims of natural disasters. In the past, the donations have gone to Habitat for Humanity to help communities devistated by Huricane Katrina in the Gulf Coast region. It takes approx. 500 prs. of denim jeans to insulate ONE avg. size U.S. home. For more information on what happens to the denim, you can always look at the process more in depth at www.cottonfrombluetogreen.org and w.bondedlogic.com.
In response to the article, I asked my mom if I could send in my old, holey jeans, and she said, “Sure!” We then held a Denim Drive in our Driveway event that brought in 1000 pairs of jeans. A local alternative energy company heard about our project and had an employee drive that raised an additional 600 pair! We shipped 1684 pcs. of denim (enough for just over 3 homes) to National Geographic in Washington DC where they became a part of the “Largest Collection of Clothing to Recycle”. I got to keep clothes out of the local landfill, help people in need AND helped set a Guinnes World Record. I was awarded a ticket to the ceremony in Wash DC because I was the single largest donor to the project. I LOVE to recycle and this project had a great cause! It was SO much fun!
Articles 2009:
-Erek is in the March 2010 issue of National Geographic Kids.
-2009 Fox 36 (Toledo) coverage of Guinness Ceremony August 2009.
-Stuart Claxton’s Blog from GWR.
-Video of Erek and Stuart with Guinn. World Record.
-Washington Post August 14-16, 2009.
-NatGeoKids magazine Green Scene Blog with time-lapse video of display contruction.
-Toledo Blade article June 13, 2009, Denim Drive.
-Toledo Blade article July 22, 2009, Going to Washington DC.
-2009 Channel 13 ABC (Toledo) coverage of denim drive June 2009.
